Buried Onions

1. Plot Stages

1.1. 1) Eddie buys a dozen onions for $3.44 at the local bodega.

1.2. 2) buries the onions

1.3. 3) Eddie and his brother ride bikes and play baseball all summer, checking in on the onions only occasionally.

1.4. 4) Eddie hires some Mexican day laborers to pick his onions for $1.38 an hour.

1.5. 5) Eddie's grandmother prepares the onions in a traditional meal, her last act before she dies. Forever after, the main character associates the crying he does when cutting onions with his grandmother's passing saying that even the onions weep for her.

1.6. Method of Evaluation

2. Characters

2.1. Eddie

2.1.1. The protagonist of the novel. He is 19 years old and has lived his entire life in the barrio of Fresno.

2.2. Major Characters

2.2.1. Eddie, Jose, Angel

2.3. Minor Characters

2.3.1. The Coach, Mr. Stiles, Samuel, and The Onion Man

3. Theme

3.1. Eddie grew up in this culture and he hates it. He believes there is something better for him somewhere else, though he does not know when or how he will ever get there. In this barrio, everyone knows everyone else's name, and that's not exactly a good thing.

4. Conflict

4.1. Eddie Feels that Angel killed his cousin

4.1.1. T

4.2. Turns to his mother for guidance but was never able to get it

4.3. By, the end feels he needs to leave the town for the military because he will get the guidance he needs

5. Setting

5.1. Barrio in Fresno