and the shadows took him

I finished this book a few days ago, and ever since then Joey has haunted me. I think of him every time I make a decision that does nothing to move me forward in life. I loved this book. I felt like it address' the real issue in regards to success or failure in life; personal choice. There are always outside factors and influences in our life, but ultimately we choose our path.
It was frustrating to watch Joey continually make destructive choices in his life, but it made me recognized how I do the same thing in my own life. Of course, it's to a lesser degree, I'm not in a gang or taking PCP, but I struggle nonetheless.
I felt like the ending was about choice also. Chacon left it open to the readers choice, as to what would become of Joey. I was really glad he did this. Had he given us Joey's fate in the end, it would have taken away the need to really think about what happened and what it all meant. There is always that initial let down when the ending isn't exactly what you were hoping for; neat, tidy and happy, but once I got over that and really thought through it, I saw that it was the best possible way for him to end it.
The only thing that I felt didn't fit was the rape of Amy. Yes, William was a big jerk, but up until we get to Oregon he never showed signs of being that big of a jerk. It just seemed like it came out of the blue.

Decisions

“and the shadows took him”

Daniel Chancon’s, “and the shadow took him,” delved deep into the soul and weights in with the reality of reconciling one’s dreams to the reality of one’s life. I found the book to be very moving and a bracing anthology of the human psyche.

I feel that the book was not meant to encourage the reader to “love or hate” the characters, but in fact, to encourage the readers to question and find understanding in the motives and reasoning each character uses when making their decisions. Furthermore, to take these insights into their own lives to have better understanding of what has been the true motivation for their own decisions and/or perhaps some of the decisions others around them have made and why.

This book was not meant to entertain or educate the reader only about what it means to be Mexican-American. I feel that it was written to inspire the reader to analyze the decision processes and coping mechanisms that each character utilized throughout. What forces drove the characters to the decisions they made; what impact did the decisions make in their lives and the lives of those around them? I feel that Daniel Chancon did not intend for the reader to hate the characters for their failings as human beings, but rather to questions and find understanding in the reasons behind the decisions. Personal experiences distort how we see reality and how we interact with society. Mr. Chancon in giving the world this book provides the readers a safe place to build skills needed to find truth and understanding in each of our own realities, perhaps for the betterment of society.

If I were able to ask Mr. Chancon a couple of questions they would focus on this subject. Did I interpret the book correctly? What was his motivation for writing it? It is easy to hate the characters, for instance William having raped Amy. However, was that meant to instill hate and anger or inspire me into questioning William’s motives: such as: his despair and depression over losing his wife in a moment of bad decision-making or was it fueled by his fundamental need for control and power? Have I totally missed the mark, nonetheless the target, and read more into the novel than was there?

After reading the other blogs why an I not reading this insight from other people? How can so many students be focused on the ending, (which I thought was great) when I felt it was about the journey. I understand that many of the students feel the need for closure, however if I am correct this book is not about right and wrong, but the shades of gray that are used to create reality and there are no absolutes or closure. I loved the book! I am finding myself analyzing my own motives, coping methods and decisions. Wondering, how are my past dramas impacting my decision making today, and what impact will they have on me and those around me. Hopefully this is what Chancon intended, more awareness. Was anyone moved like me, by the truths this book revealed about the human psyche? Do you feel this is what the author intended? Val

the end

i enjoyed the book alot. i like the ending to an extent. i felt it could have had more closure then just ending with joey throwing the heads. what my one question is: is why the drug PCP?? how come at the end joey just couldnt have been so mad at his dad he threw the heads down, why did he have to be on PCP also.

A Different Kind of Disappointment

I don't find the ending of the novel disappointing; I find students' reactions to the ending disappointing. If you want neat and tidy, dust off your copy of The Notebook (book or DVD). Ultimately, education is about learning how to ask better questions, not having all the answers. And reading a novel is more about examining and trying to understand yourself and those around you than being able to fit the characters into particular boxes. After all, life is more complicated than that, isn't it?

I was reading through the other posts and I think I left certain things unsaid. In terms of William, I feel like he was nice when he was accused of doing something bad. So he would try to make up for his wrong by trying to do something good. And I think that's the role of an abuser. Trying to bribe in some sense the victim in order to make himself feel less guilty about the crime. I think the heads he created were a portrayal of his control. These were people he could control, and he could create and destroy them. And I think in the end when Joey destroyed them, I think it was a way in order to destroy him. I felt like Rachel was somewhat of a lost human in the beginning, and somewhat nearing the end as well. She didn't really know what she wanted. I think she fell prey to his schemes. When he got a raise, she loved him more. When he was an abuser, she hated him. If anything it was a love/hate relationship. It was extremely turbulent because it seemed like their relationship was more out of necessity than out of love. And in the end we come to realize that Rachel only stayed with him for the money, because she didn't want to be poor, and left when she knew she could make it on her own. I think she was a good and bad mother. I think she tried to show affection but didn't know how, and I think she was a bad mother because she accepted the fact that her husband was an abuser, and continued to allow her children to live with him. Abuse isn't necessarily physical, and I think in most of the dialogue it's quite evident to see the abuse of William over his children. Billy I think was the least important character due to the fact that he never really had a personality. He was just a shadow of sorts and I think he was quite mellow and a follower. I think he realized that his brother was considered more of a favorite to his mother and he just let it be. I think he went with the flow of things and enjoyed an "white american" lifestyle compared to his own. I think Joey is the most contradictory character because nothing fit. I think he knew he had something, but he didn't know how to use it and I think because of his enviroment everything kept holding him back. In some sense he was still six year old Joey, rather than sixteen. He just couldn't overcome his fear of his father until the very end, and even then he was trying to please someone other than himself. He wanted to tell his mother and veronica that he did it. I felt like he was cutting himself short of his full potential.

Another aspect of the book that I found extremely compelling was that of streotypes. I felt like the author wanted people to know how devastating streotypes can be and what they can do to a person. In this particular case, I felt like it was the sole cause of the formation of their gang. Each member of the gang was a minority and I think that they felt like if as a minority they can unite then they can outbeat the majority. I think people are truly frightened by what they don't understand and I think history repeats itself, and in this case, they needed something to protect themselves from being individually harassed and the gang was their only option. I think also gangs also form families and I felt like in this case, there wasn't that close of a bond in terms of families, but each member had a person to fall back on.

William was raised to a higher position in the workforce, but nonetheless he was still considered a minority. And I think Daniel Chacon was implying that no matter how high up a minority climbs that financial ladder, they are still considered a minority. And I think that was evident in the story when Rachel points out that at the party, he was considered to be a "macho mexican" and she was his prize. Money doesn't change the color of a person or their origin and I think that's what the author was trying to portray.

And the Shadows Took Him

I just finished reading, "And the Shadows Took Him," by Daniel Chacon, and I was extremely disappointed by the ending. I felt like it just left the reader hanging, without really explaining what happened with Leah. Throughout the entire reading, I was waiting for the big "bang" so to speak and there wasn't one. It was just problem after problem after problem without really resolving anything. In the end, there left more to be desired than the actual ending.

There were a few things that bothered me about the book. For one, I felt like it didn't really have any ground to stand on because I never felt like I could relate to any of the characters. I felt like they were all one person but each with different moments of their "realities" so to speak.

The entire gang concept never really sat well with me because Joey was afraid of pain but then wanted to pretend he's strong, while still trying to be in the drama club. It was just too many contradictions one after the other. And I still don't understand why his father would call him to make sure not to do something like go inside a refrigerator, and then not explain why he foreshadowed such a thing.

I felt like the mother and daughter relationship went way passed mother/daughter but more like veronica was the mother and rachel was the daughter. And when she says her daughter is brilliant, it's more or less of what her children accomplish rather than who they are. Veronica herself doesn't feel like a real character. I mean there were times when hated him, but then there were other times when she would sit with her dad in the garage and laugh. It just didn't add up. I think all of the relationships were turbulent.

I don't mean too sound too harsh about the book, but I felt like it just left me hanging and I felt like some things just didn't add up. I felt like there was a sense of hatred between Gilbert and George and Joey but it never amounted to anything in the end of the story. I just felt like there was one dead end after the other. And maybe that's how the author wanted it to be, but I just couldn't feel a connection the entire time that I was reading.

I felt like the best chapter in the story was probably the first, because it was the most interesting. And it foreshadowed the entire family, and how each of them would be. There were too many things going on all at once that there wasn't time to focus on one particular aspect of the book. I think another aspect that I liked was the acting aspect because I could relate to that.


I'm really hoping there's a sequel because for me novels should always have a certain closure, and I couldn't feel that with this book. I just felt like it left wide open spaces, and I'm hoping that the author closes them.

I desired a little more...

I have just finished reading "and the shadows took him" and I have to say that I am rather disappointed by the ending. It seems to me that in general a novel usually has some closure to it. This story however was left very open ended and I can't help but wonder why. There are so many questions left unanswered, all I can think is that the ending has been left open in anticipation of a sequel. Aside from the ending the story itself was quite engaging. The characters were develped well, the story flowed well and was easy to follow along with.

I found it interesting though that in the beginning of the story it seemed as though the main focus was not just on Joey, but that there was a spotlight on William as well. William seemed to be almost the main focus of the story as narrated by Joey, but in the later half of the novel, William was almost non-existant. Not only this, but there was also a major spotlight on how poor the family was, how food was such a precious commodity, and how Joey was thrilled to be able to experience dining at a restaurant in the first half. In the second half of the story, food lost it's place as a focal point, and seemed to become something that was just there, and had little significance to the Molinas and the story itself. The only exception to this that I saw was when Joey made the comparison of his hot dog burrito to Billy's hot dog on white bread.

I thought that this comparison really illustrated how immigrants become part of american society. While both the Molina boys came from the exact same backgroud, the paths they chose to take once they arrived in Medford were completely different. On one hand, Billy seems to embrace his new peers and way of life takes on the common characteristics of the local culture. He becomes more of a cowboy and finds himself with a white girlfriend. Even though he comes from a poor minority family he finds himself fitting in with his new surroundings. Then on the other hand, Joey decides to avoid his unease at being the new guy at school by pretending to be hard-core and so finds himself holding fastly to the culture that he witnessed but was never a part of in Fresno. He does this just as his father did by painting his Fresno house pink like he says they commonly do in Mexico. William tries to demonstrate his cultural heritage, but he himself has never been to Mexico, he has never truly experienced that which he bases his decisions on.

The way the men of the Molina family respond to changes within their social status and local demographic can be paralleled with the way in which immigrants respond to the same factors. Immigrants and the families of immigrants want both the merge with society, to take on local customs, and to maintain a sense of identity by holding onto their cultural heritage. They want to fit in, without giving up what they know and love. But in the end the path they choose, the white bread, or the tortilla, the meat will still be the same inside.

Why Did it have to end this way?

I just finished, "and the shadows took him" by Daniel Chacon with a sense of disapointment. I was hoping for a more detailed and explained ending rather than a make you guess ending. Which path was Joey Molina going to follow? Twenty-six year old empanda eating Joey or six year old do everything right Joey. I would be interested to hear anyone elses opinions on which path they think Joey will take.
At first I was hesitant to pick the book up and read it, but once I started reading I couldn't stop. For a novel I was wondering if everything that was being portrayed really does resemble a percentage of Chicano Lifestyle? Do some Mexican families really live like that? Overall I really enjoyed the book it was extremely well written and always kept me interested.

The ending

I just finished the book last night, and I was also disappointed with the ending, but not because I was hoping for a change in William. Joey seemed to be moving toward "becoming" his father as Rachel feared. The final scene left a great deal unresolved, and that's what good books often do. I will be interested to hear what the author has to say about Joey's future.

Chacon's novel...Let's get started!

Alright, students, let's hear it! What reactions do you have to the text? What questions are you burning to have answered? What characters suprise you the most? What "universal truths" does the novel capitalize on? How much of the plot is "real" to you? What conversations in the text leave you puzzled, curious, interested, exhausted, excited, etc? There's so much to say, and I can't wait to hear your thoughts.

Hopefully, we can look forward to a post or two from Mr. Daniel Chacon himself. Watch the blog for the author's insights, questions for you, and/or thoughts on characters, plot, theme, setting, and/or much, much more...

Who will be the first to post?...