The Crossing

In Part 2, Paulsen continues to utilize the repetition of particular words and phrases to show Manny and Robert’s thoughts and emotions, and to emphasize particular ideas. For example, Paulsen uses the phrase “so fast” (60) multiple times as Manny thinks about his life on the streets and the limited time he has to learn how to do things. If Manny isn’t learning, deciding, and moving quickly, he will die. Another example of repetition is Locke’s thought’s about “the friends” (84) that appear before him when he is sober and alone, referring to Locke’s friends who died in battle. Locke constantly monitors “the edges” (84) of his sobriety coming back and continues to drink to chase them away. These are just a few examples of Paulsen’s use of repetition, a signature element of his writing style in both this and others of his novels.

As Paulsen develops Manny’s character, he shows how Manny’s independent, self-reliant spirit contrasts with his need to have someone to look up to. The description of the market emphasizes Manny’s observational learning, a skill that contributes greatly to his survival on the street. Despite Manny’s ability to fend for himself and determine how to get food from the vendors, he wants a hero to idolize. Paulsen reveals that Manny never knew his father, and this motivates Manny’s desire for a male role model in his life. Even Manny’s name comes from his admiration of bravery and strength: He chose the name Mañuel Bustos for himself after a famous prizefighter. Therefore, when Manny meets the sergeant, Paulsen suggests that Manny is drawn to him for more than just the possibility of money; Manny looks at the many medals on Robert’s chest and thinks he must be a great man, mentally comparing him to Pancho Villa, the Mexican revolutionary who fought battles in Juárez in the early 1900s. Paulsen shows that the lack of strong male influences in Manny’s life lead him to search for someone to fill this role, and he believes he has found a strong and brave hero in Robert Locke.

In Paulsen’s development of Robert’s character, he uses flashbacks and stream-of-consciousness to depict Robert’s interiority. Paulsen’s diction stands out as Robert considers the specific vocabulary the army has given him. He gets lost in thought often, particularly when he attempts to remember moments from the past. His thoughts often jump from one idea to the next without much awareness of what is happening around him in the present. Paulsen uses flashbacks to show some of Roberts past military assignments, but many of his memories are mixed up at first, suggesting Robert’s memories, along with his daily life, are foggy. Paulsen also reinforces the idea that Robert has two personas that he switches between: the man in the mirror (the sergeant), and Robert. This back and forth between the personalities is portrayed as a means of coping with the trauma he experienced as a soldier. Although Paulsen never fully explains Robert’s past, he provides enough glimpses through flashbacks and Robert’s jumbled thoughts for the reader to understand that Robert is likely experiencing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Paulsen begins to explore the nature of truth and lies in these chapters. The sergeant recognizes that Manny is lying when he talks about his father but understands that lying is a survival mechanism on the street, and even expects Manny to deceived him. Later, Manny admits that he lied, but then replaces the first lie with a second. Manny lies to Robert in an attempt to gain his sympathy. However, Robert sees through Manny’s lies, primarily because Robert also lies, not so much to others, but to himself. Paulsen shows that lying acts as a coping mechanism for both Manny and Paulsen; without their lies, they are vulnerable, so they use deception as a way to protect themselves. Ironically, their efforts to conceal their true selves allow Robert to recognize the motivations behind Manny’s behavior and feel compassion for the teenager.

Paulsen establishes a few of the novel’s key symbols in these chapters as well. One is the monkey that Robert remembers from when he was stationed in the Philippines. Seeing Manny eat, Robert is reminded of the starving monkey who broke loose and ate everything in sight, only to be eaten by a snake shortly after. Robert continues to compare Manny to the monkey, both in his mind and out loud to Manny. By bringing up this memory and the sergeant’s comparison between Manny and the monkey, Paulsen shows that the sergeant cares about Manny to some degree; he seems to want Manny to learn from the monkey’s fate. Although Paulsen intends to portray Robert’s compassion through this memory, it is important to note that having a white character compare a Mexican character to an animal is a dehumanizing literary trope. Paulsen does make an effort to resist the biased stereotype of portraying white American soldiers as liberators of citizens of other nations: Robert has many faults, his initial compassion for Manny is more perfunctory than heroic, and Paulsen establishes the ambivalence of the American Border Patrol and tourists. However, the monkey anecdote participates in literary tropes that can perpetuate racial biases and contribute to the racist “white savior” narrative.

Another symbol Paulsen highlights is the bullfight, an event that takes on symbolic meaning at the conclusion of the novel when Robert fights the men attacking Manny. Locke is drawn to the bullfight poster because it reminds him of something he cannot pinpoint. Even though he doesn’t understand why, he feels the need to see the fight. During the fight, Robert alternates between “the sergeant” and himself, putting up a wall to block out the sights he cannot handle. Robert is intensely bothered by the suffering and death of the bull, emphasized by Paulsen’s repetition of phrases such as “All for nothing” and “a game” (94). Paulsen’s use of this event as symbolic becomes clear at the novel’s conclusion, when Locke dies fighting to save Manny. However, the bullfight also has significance for Locke’s character development, showing his compassion and the effects of his emotional battle scars in his everyday life.