Taylor Swift

Ms. Lim

Literature 4A

January 22nd 2018

Literary Response for “The Circuit”

In the short story "The Circuit" by Francisco Jimenez, the author describes Mr. Lema as an

understanding and educated teacher. In the story, Panchito who is the son of a bracero, finally goes to

school when the season is over. That is when he first encounters Mr. Lema who promptly becomes

Panchito's best friend. First, to Panchito, Mr. Lema is a considerate person. When Panchito is asked to

read from the novel on his first day of school, Mr. Lema recognizes he is frightened: “‘You can read it late,’

Mr. Lema said understandingly” (36). This shows Mr. Lema understands that Panchito is uncomfortable

and helps him out of an embarrassing situation. He decides to maintain Panchito’s confidence instead of

forcing him to read when he is clearly showing signs of vulnerability. This demonstrates how Mr. Lema is

compassionate.

Therefore,