The Madonnas of Echo Park

All of the characters in The Madonnas of Echo Park are connected to one another, whether through direct relationships or chance interactions. What do you feel the author is trying to suggest by illustrating this network of connections?

The Madonnas of Echo Park presents numerous situations where the characters are confronted with ethical dilemmas whose boundaries seem unclear, including Hector’s entrustment with the sledgehammer, the racially-motivated incident on Efren’s bus, the community response to Felicia and Aurora’s interaction during the drive-by, and Manny Jr.’s conversation with his army-bound son. Select two different ethical dilemmas faced by two different characters in this book and compare their personal responses.

Over the course of the book, the image of the flowering jacaranda tree appears in numerous stories, beginning with the words of Felicia’s grandmother: “a drowning flower moves toward the water, not away from it […] when its petals grow wet and heavy, they drag the flower back into the water and that causes it to die” (26). What is the symbolic significance of the jacaranda flower in The Madonnas of Echo Park? How does this symbol evolve from the beginning to the end of the book?