A Study Guide for Gary Soto's "Broken Chain"

By Gale and Cengage

A Study Guide for Gary Soto's "Broken Chain," excerpted from Gale's acclaimed Short Stories for Students. This concise study guide includes plot summary; character analysis; author biography; study questions; historical context; suggestions for further reading; and much more. For any literature project, trust Short Stories for Students for all of your research needs.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Cengage Learning - Gale
• Release date: Jul 27, 2016
• ISBN: 9781535820004

Book preview

Broken Chain

Gary Soto

1990

Introduction

Broken Chain, included in Gary Soto's 2000 short-story collection for young adults, Baseballin April and Other Stories, tells the story of a seventh-grade boy, Alfonso, who is about to embark on his first date with a girl, Sandra, after he invites her to go bicycle riding with him. The story focuses on Alfonso's emotional ups and downs as he frets about how he looks, how he is dressed, and whether his bicycle will pass muster. Sandra's bike has a flat tire, but Alfonso's brother, Ernie, refuses to loan Alfonso his bike for Sandra to ride. Disaster strikes when the chain on Alfonso's own bike breaks, and he has to walk tomake his date with Sandra. Ernie, though, comes to his rescue by appearing with his bike, which he loans to Alfonso. The story ends as Alfonso, with Sandra on the handlebars, rides around the neighborhood on the bike.

Broken Chain is similar to the other stories in Baseball in April in examining small events and what they can tell the reader about such themes as love, friendship, growing up, and the problems of youth. In this respect they draw on Soto's experiences growing up in the Central Valley of California. His characters are typically Hispanic, but readers recognize that the problems, anxieties, dreams, and desires of his characters transcend particular cultures and are common to everyone.

Author Biography

Soto, a Mexican American poet and fiction writer, was born on April 12, 1952, in Fresno, California. When he was just five years old, his father died, and the family struggled to make ends meet. He came from a working-class family, and in his early years he worked on farms in the San Joaquin Valley and in factories