50 pages • 1 hour read
Sonia ManzanoThe Revolution of Evelyn Serrano
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2012A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 7-12Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 7 Summary: “First Spanish Methodist Church”
After attending a church service, Evelyn and her mother encounter a group of young men known as Young Lords, who are cleaning the streets and distributing flyers. Their presence prompts discussion among the adults about the group’s intentions in the neighborhood, with Evelyn’s mother dismissing them as “hippies.” At the family bodega, Evelyn’s stepfather expresses contempt for hippie culture and cautions Evelyn against associating with it. This pronouncement angers Evelyn, prompting her to leave and reflect on the situation as she walks through the neighborhood and critiques the effectiveness of the Young Lords’ cleaning efforts.
Chapter 8 Summary: “A Separate World Nearby”
Evelyn strolls through different neighborhoods until she encounters her coworker Dolores. Dolores is accompanied by college students who are assisting her mother with book research. Evelyn joins them in Dolores’s apartment, noticing its liberal decor and intellectual atmosphere. During a brief discussion over civil rights movements, Evelyn involuntarily reveals that her grandmother keeps pictures of the Ponce Massacre. Feeling out of place in the resulting discussion, she abruptly leaves, angrily returning home.
Chapter 9 Summary: “Angel”
Evelyn skips church and spends the day alone at home. Going outside to enjoy the weather, she oversees Angel’s father physically reprimanding him. Evelyn’s grandmother offers explanations for the incident, suggesting that the anger of Angel’s father stems from the challenges of life. Evelyn seeks out Angel after the incident, finding him injured and upset. They decide to spend time together in a park and take solace in each other’s company.
Chapter 10 Summary: “Garbage on Fire”
As Evelyn and her mother head to church, they encounter the Young Lords and neighborhood residents sweeping the streets. A disagreement ensues between Evelyn’s mother and grandmother about the group’s motives. Despite Evelyn’s efforts to mediate, tensions rise as more people join the cleaning efforts. While Evelyn’s mother tries to avoid the growing protest, her grandmother eagerly participates as the crowd swells. The escalating commotion disrupts traffic and culminates in protestors setting fire to the garbage, protesting the city’s irregular schedule of waste collection. Media coverage highlights the event, evoking distress from Evelyn’s mother and supportive reactions from her grandmother.
Chapter 11 Summary: “Who Is a Young Lord?”
The New York Times features the Young Lords’ protest, eliciting excitement from Dolores and irritation from Evelyn’s manager, Mr. Simpson. Evelyn purchases multiple copies of the newspaper and shares it with her grandmother, sparking a conversation about Puerto Rican activism and their family history. Evelyn’s grandmother shares that she had limited opportunities and married young; she was 17 when she married her 30-year-old husband, Emilio. She reveals pictures of a 1937 massacre in Ponce, Puerto Rico, during which police shot at Nationalists who were advocating for independence. Abuela also discloses that Evelyn’s grandfather was among the policemen involved. The arrival of Evelyn’s mother interrupts their discussion, prompting her grandmother to hastily conceal the photo album, signaling secrecy.
Chapter 12 Summary: “The Faceless Killer”
Evelyn finds her grandmother reading on the sofa and asks about her grandfather, Emilio. Her grandmother reminisces about their courtship and marriage, revealing her initial love and subsequent disillusionment. She recalls the difficult economic situation in Puerto Rico following the Great Depression and recounts her exposure to the pro-independence movement on the island. When describing the Ponce Massacre, she expresses her shock at witnessing the violence and voices her disillusionment with Emilio, who excuses his actions that day by claiming that he was just following orders. The conversation abruptly shifts as Evelyn’s mother accuses her grandmother of lying about Emilio’s involvement, while Abuela insists on the truth of her account. Overwhelmed by the conflict, Evelyn seeks solace on the roof. Later, she notices the absence of her grandmother’s photographs. That night, Evelyn dreams of a faceless killer shooting at protesters from the roof of her house.
Chapters 7-12 Analysis
The arrival of the Young Lords in Evelyn’s neighborhood introduces the protagonist to The Power of Community Activism and its role in effecting social change. The Young Lords’ efforts to clean up the neglected streets of El Barrio represent a form of resistance against the social injustice of neglect and marginalization to which their community has been subjected. However, while Evelyn herself initially feels curious about the group, her family’s skepticism casts a long shadow on her first impressions. As a result, Evelyn is caught between her desire to form her own opinion about the Young Lords and the pressure to align with her family’s disapproval. Thus, she ultimately echoes her family’s doubts regarding the effectiveness of the group’s actions, and this moment foreshadows her internal struggle with the ingrained influence of her family’s more conservative views. This initial encounter also sets the stage for an important development in Evelyn’s journey of self-discovery as she grapples with understanding her place in her community amidst conflicting family expectations.
Evelyn’s visit to Dolores’s apartment further highlights her pull toward the Young Lords and their activism despite her family’s conservative stance. This “separate world nearby,” as the chapter title suggests, exposes Evelyn to a different perspective of community activism. At Dolores’s apartment, for example, Evelyn encounters individuals who embrace social change and openness, and her first glimpse of this world begins to tug at her own desire to challenge the constraints of her family’s conservative views. In this liberal and open environment, Evelyn feels a sense of ease and liberation that prompts her to disclose personal details, such as her grandmother’s photos of the Ponce Massacre, which she has been reluctant to share with her own family. This involuntary disclosure reveals the discomfort she feels within her family dynamic, highlighting her yearning for free self-expression and the exploration of new perspectives beyond the confines of her upbringing.
Evelyn’s grandmother therefore emerges as a significant figure in the protagonist’s exploration of The Power of Community Activism, serving as a source of inspiration and connection. Unlike her mother and stepfather, who view activism with a skeptical eye, Evelyn is drawn to her grandmother’s openness and willingness to share her stories of past independence movements in Puerto Rico. Through her grandmother’s narratives, Evelyn gains new insight into the history of Puerto Rican resistance and activism, further fueling her growing interest in the Young Lords and the significance behind Affirming One’s Cultural Identity. Evelyn’s grandmother also provides profound insight into the relationship between historical struggles and contemporary activism, linking the protest in El Barrio to past movements for liberation in Puerto Rico. The recent protests in the city come as a result of the neglect that marginalized neighborhoods experience, highlighting the frustration and anger of the residents, who resort to extreme measures to draw attention to their plight. To Evelyn’s grandmother, such enduring resistance against systemic injustice is a way of defending community rights and well-being. As she says to Evelyn, “Don’t you see, mija? It’s people standing up for themselves. It’s Puerto Ricans standing up for what’s right” (84-85). This conversation serves as a pivotal moment for Evelyn, deepening her understanding of the transformative power of community mobilization and instilling a newfound sense of cultural pride that ultimately paves the way to her determination to advocate for change in her community.
However, Evelyn’s mother presents a stark contrast to her grandmother’s perspective, and the two women’s differing views are rooted in a complex web of personal history and unresolved trauma. Evelyn’s mother views the protests as chaotic and disruptive and perceives Abuela’s participation as a way of prioritizing external causes over familial matters. This dynamic suggests an unresolved conflict regarding the perception of personal and collective responsibilities. Mrs. Serrano berates Abuela, saying, “You always have to help everybody in the world. Why don’t you clean your own house first? Sweep our apartment? Or the bodega? No, you want to sweep the streets. But you are not helping anybody!” (75). As the narrative will reveal, this perception resonates deeply with her own childhood experiences, hinting at unresolved feelings of abandonment stemming from her mother’s prolonged absences while protesting back in Puerto Rico. However, these fiery family conflicts complicate Evelyn’s understanding of her mother’s relationship with her grandmother and ignite her curiosity about activism further. This intergenerational conflict also highlights the complex interplay between personal history and activism. The inability of Evelyn’s mother to come to terms with her family’s past, particularly her father’s potential involvement in the Ponce Massacre, clouds her judgment on present-day issues. Her resistance to the subject hinders Evelyn’s desire to gain a more complete understanding of the historical event and its ongoing impact on their family dynamic. As Evelyn navigates these contrasting viewpoints, she is forced to grapple with The Importance of Critically Examining History, not just on a societal level, but also within the context of her own family. This struggle becomes central to her journey of self-discovery and her developing sense of responsibility toward her community.
