Dear Martin

After Manny’s death, Manny’s parents give Justyce an expensive watch they had planned on giving Manny on his 18th birthday. The watch not only symbolizes the wealth of the Rivers family, it also reminds Justyce that Manny’s life was quite different from his own. Justyce and Manny are two teenagers who Straddle Different Social and Cultural Worlds, one of the major themes throughout the book. Compare and contrast the characters of Justyce and Manny: how are they similar and how are they different? Do they find themselves straddling the same two worlds (or more than two worlds)? Next, compare Justyce and Manny with other characters throughout the book. What do the tensions that arise from straddling different social and cultural worlds reveal about the worlds themselves?

Teaching Suggestion: To help students organize their thinking, ask them first to define and list out the various worlds that Justyce and Manny find themselves a part of. Next, have students compare and contrast their findings, before having them define the various worlds in which the other characters (Quan, SJ, etc.) exist. If students struggle to think of the “worlds” at play here, invite them to review the Diversity Wheel to help pinpoint some, since “world” in this context refers to a set of shared social and cultural understandings among a group of people. In thinking about the tension arising from straddling different social and cultural worlds, explain to students that this is a good way of sussing out social injustice, since this tension seems to exist when there is an imbalance in equality or power of one of the worlds.

Differentiation Suggestion: A differentiation strategy for visual learners would be to map out each character’s identity on the board using an identity chart. The identity charts will reveal points of similarity and points of difference among the characters, in a more visually-forward way.