Buried Onions

Chapters 1-2

Reading Check

1. They are from “a huge onion buried under the city.” (Chapter 1)

2. He quit after his cousin Jesús was killed. (Chapter 1)

3. He paints the numbers of houses on the curbs. (Chapter 1)

4. “He was anything but an angel.” (Chapter 2)

5. A gun (Chapter 2)

Short Answer

1. Lupe and Angel want Eddie to help them seek revenge on Jesús’s murderer. Eddie does not want any part of the plan, and he refuses to help. (Chapter 1)

2. North Fresno primarily consists of “white”/ Asian, and usually wealthy, populations. He notices that the man and his wife drink alcohol, and how they did not escape the sadness of the “onion.” (Chapter 1)

3. He helps Mr. Stiles with landscaping work. As he digs a hole for a tree from New England, he wonders “what this tree was doing in Fresno.” (Chapter 2)

4. Mr. Stiles sends Eddie to the dump in his truck. At the dump, he finds a refrigerator that he takes back to his apartment before returning the truck. After stepping inside for a moment, he returns to find the truck with the refrigerator stolen. (Chapter 2)

Chapters 3-4

Reading Check

1. Mr. Stiles’s truck (Chapter 3)

2. Norma (Chapter 3)

3. A note from Mr. Stiles asking for his truck back (Chapter 3)

4. A cop (Chapter 3)

5. Onions (Chapter 4)

Short Answer

1. Eddie starts to follow a guy with yellow shoes, since Jesús’s killer had yellow shoes. He follows “El Yellow Shoes” around campus and then to his car, where he approaches him about killing Jesús. “El Yellow Shoes” denies any involvement, and Eddie walks away after seeing campus police approaching. (Chapter 3)

2. Eddie’s mom and his tía Gloria visit Eddie’s apartment. They bring him a burrito and encourage him to find a girl, like Norma Rodriguez. They also share that, unlike tía Dolores, they do not want him to get involved in avenging Jesús’s death. (Chapter 3)

3. Norma tells Eddie that Angel killed Jesús because they stole a car and Angel did not give Jesús any of the profit. Eddie is hesitant to believe her since he “couldn’t see Angel doing Jesús like that.” (Chapter 4)

4. José Dominguez is Eddie’s friend from school who is visiting Fresno and Eddie on his military leave. As they leave a restaurant, they see Mr. Stiles’s car across the street. José tries to get back the car, but he is stabbed and is sent to the hospital. (Chapter 4)

Chapters 5-6

Reading Check

1. By drawing the lines with chalk on the playground (Chapter 5)

2. Squirrels (Chapter 5)

3. “Messing up the world” (Chapter 5)

4. Coach (Chapter 6)

5. For “the brutal beating of an old man in a Laundromat” (Chapter 6)

Short Answer

1. Eddie calls his mother asking if she can send him money so he can buy a ticket to visit her in Merced. He explains that he needs to get out of Fresno for a bit. (Chapter 5)

2. They go to the pound together so his nina can euthanize her sick dog. (Chapter 5)

3. Eddie and Lupe visit José in the hospital, who is doing much better and will be released soon. When they arrive, they find Angel there too. (Chapter 5)

4. Coach calls Mr. Stiles to verify Eddie’s story about the car and vouch for his character. He helps Eddie get his job back. While he’s on the phone, Samuel approaches Eddie and threatens him with a knife, informing him that he is now hanging out with Angel. (Chapter 6)

5. At the urging of Coach, Eddie visits a Navy recruiter at the Fresno Mall. Eddie tells the recruiter his life story, but as the recruiter begins to give him more information, he starts to question his decision and quickly leaves. (Chapter 6)

Chapters 7-9

Reading Check

1. The hospital to see José (Chapter 7)

2. The cockroaches in his apartment (Chapter 7)

3. Groceries (Chapter 8)

4. Girls with this name are destined (i.e. Determinism) to do “waitressing and cashier work.” (Chapter 8)

5. Lupe (Chapter 9)

6. The navy recruitment office (Chapter 9)

Short Answer

1. Mr. Stiles called the police on Eddie because he wanted to make sure he was not involved in the beating of the old man at the laundromat. (Chapter 7)

2. The three of them take a trip together to the river for fishing. They talk about sensitive subjects, such as who stabbed José, tattoos and future plans. (Chapter 7)

3. After seeing Angel on his block, he decides to go to Angel’s house as opposed to waiting for him. He lures Angel outside and fights both him and Samuel, blaming them for killing Jesús. (Chapter 8)

4. Eddie accompanies José to get his stitches out at the hospital. As they are leaving, they see Angel, and Eddie immediately fights him. (Chapter 8)

5. Eddie wonders if Norma told him the truth about Angel, or if she was just spreading rumors. (Chapter 9)

6. While they wait for the California Highway Patrol to come rescue their car, Eddie sees the man who sold José onions outside of Cuca’s restaurant. He begins to cry “the last of childhood tears.” (Chapter 9)