Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna

This section of the novel explores the aftermath of Petra’s decision to stay with her family rather than join the rebel army, highlighting the Importance of Family in Times of Upheaval, and cementing Petra’s position as the leader of her family with her father’s values and Marietta’s example as her compass. Petra works tirelessly to get her family to the border toward safe refuge and, she hopes, a better life. Although she has embraced her leadership role, Dobbs uses this section to bring Petra to her lowest physical and emotional point from which she will ultimately rise to complete her arc. The most difficult part the family’s journey occurs when Petra and her family crawl across a precarious bridge to reach the train that will take them to the border. Petra struggles to get herself and her family across the bridge in almost total darkness, fighting to maintain her composure as the bridge becomes perilously unstable in the middle of a storm. Though Petra has had previous moments of feeling overwhelmed and exhausted from the effort of keeping her family safe, Petra feels more defeated and desperate on the bridge than in any moment she has experienced thus far. The inner resolve she summons to get herself and her family across to the safety of the other side, allows Petra (and by extension, the reader) to experience the triumph of rising to a seemingly impossible challenge.

Despite Petra’s momentary victory, the remaining obstacles to their success continue to create conflict and build suspense. Petra’s confrontation with the Federales at the border camp brings the story full circle to where it began—with the danger of an impending raid by the Mexican Federal Army—allowing Dobbs to build toward a satisfying narrative resolution.