Trivia
This is the author and narrator.
Who is Reyna Grande?
When Grande describes the dusty streets, the smell of food, or the heat so vividly you can picture it, she is using this technique.
What is imagery / sensory detail?
The emotional and physical gap between parents and children named in the title points to this central theme.
What is separation / distance in families?
Identify the technique in: 'The whitewashed walls of Abuela Evila's house felt cold and unwelcoming.'
Reyna and her siblings are left in Mexico in the care of this stern paternal grandmother
Who is abuela Evila?
This condition of life in Mexico has driven Reyna's parents to life in the United States.
What is a poor economy / no work opportunities to support their family?
Early hints or clues that something (like hardship or separation) is coming are called this.
What is foreshadowing?
Reyna's longing for her absent mother and father reflects this theme
What is the desire for parental love/belonging?
Identify the technique when the narrator says 'I didn't know then that it would be years before I saw her again.'
What is foreshadowing?
This older sister acts as a protective, mother-like figure to Reyna in their parents' absence
Who is Mago / Magloria?
This condition is what Tio Crece suffers from.
What is schizophrenia?
This technique is when context or history is given before a story's main events happen.
What is backstory?
The idea that leaving for opportunity also causes loss reflects this theme.
What is the cost/sacrifice of immigration?
Identify the technique in a passage where characters speak directly to one another in quotation marks.
What is dialogue
The children call the country their parents left to by this name.
What is el otro lado?
Abuela Evila likes to frighten her grandchildren with stories of this evil spirit.
Who is La Llorona?
When a character’s mood is reflected in the setting around them, it is called ...
What is pathetic fallacy?
Mago raising her younger siblings develops this theme about family roles.
What is responsibility / sibling bonds / resilience / absent parents?
Identify the technique(S) in the following quotation: She was running away from the glittering pool and its blue tiles, from the memory of my father and her wading in the water, arms intertwined, from the pain of knowing that ... he eventually had let go of her ...
What is imagery / what is flashback?
Papi originally goes to the U.S. to earn money for this specific purpose.
What is to build a house for his family?
It takes this many attempts before Reyna, Mago, and Carlos are able to cross into the United States with Papi.
What is three times?
Identify the technique when an object or image represents a deeper meaning or idea.
What is symbolism?
This (or these) central ideas are well-developed throughout part one of The Distance Between Us.
"Elida's hair was so long, it tumbled down her back like a sparkling black waterfall" represents these two techniques.
What is imagery / what is simile?
Mami accuses Papi of this crime, and Papi denies doing it.
What is attempting to murder her?