The Red Umbrella

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2010

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-4

Chapters 5-8

Chapters 9-12

Chapters 13-16

Chapters 17-20

Chapters 21-24

Chapters 25-29

Chapters 30-33

Chapters 34-37

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

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Discussion Questions

Chapters 5-8Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 5 Summary: “New Cuban Policy Planned by U.S. —The Daily Inter Lake, May 7, 1961”

Chapter 5 begins with Lucia lounging in her room, flipping through an American magazine. She is listening to Elvis and worries that she may not be able to get new magazines because “all of Cuba’s problems with the U.S.” (58). Ivette comes to visit Lucia, who learns that there will be a dance at the local Yacht Club and that Manuel will be there. The girls gossip and listen to music, and Lucia vows to attend the dance. For the next several weeks, Lucia waits for a good opportunity to ask her mother if she can go to the dance. Mama has grown used to seeing soldiers and has relaxed the restrictions on Lucia by allowing her to run a few errands by herself. When Lucia asks her mother about the dance, Mama nearly agrees to go with her as a chaperone when Papa interrupts them.

Mama and Papa send Lucia upstairs to check on Frankie, though Lucia hides at the top of the stairs to listen to their conversation. Lucia watches as her father pries up a floor tile and hides the family’s savings under the floor. He explains that in addition to government limitations on how much money they can have, private citizens are no longer allowed to own shares in stocks. He is worried that the government will take his hard-earned savings. He explains that Castro’s oppressive rule is becoming more extreme and that “the revolution is all about control” (66). Lucia begins to suspect that the revolution is not represented honestly in the headlines and that things might not be what they seem.

Chapter 6 Summary: “Castro Holds Life Cheap —The Charleston Gazette, May 25, 1961”

Chapter 6 starts off with Lucia being woken up by her mother, who asks her to pick up medicine for Frankie because he has a fever. Lucia is excited to get out of the house and rushes to get dressed “before Mama had a chance to change her mind” (68). Mama gives Lucia a bit of extra money to buy herself some nail polish. Mama also tells Lucia that she can attend the dance. Lucia is elated by the prospect of getting dressed up and dancing with Manuel. At the pharmacy, Lucia collects the medicine her mother requested and then chooses a polish that will match the dress she plans to wear to the dance.

On the way home, Lucia runs into an acquaintance from school, Laura Milian. Ivette told Lucia that Laura’s father was arrested for opposing the revolution, and Lucia is a bit uncomfortable speaking with her, though she thinks Laura is cool and wants to be her friend. Laura asks if Lucia wants to get together, and Lucia says maybe they can visit one afternoon. As they wrap up their quick chat, Laura warns Lucia not to go home via Central Avenue because “there were a ton of soldiers, and that many of them can’t be good” (75). Because she is daydreaming about the dance, Lucia forgets Laura’s warning and finds herself walking home on Central Avenue. She cuts through the park and, to her horror, discovers Doc Machado, the local pharmacist, hanging from a tree in the park, dead. Lucia drops her package, and the nail polish splatters on the ground. Lucia runs to her father’s workplace, but she decides not to go in, sensing that it might not be the smart thing to do since there are soldiers in the bank. Lucia then runs all the way home without stopping.

Chapter 7 Summary: “Three Invaders Face Castro Firing Squad —The Salina Journal, May 25, 1961”

Lucia returns home and rushes to her parents’ room. She is in shock from what she has seen and has a hard time telling her mother what happened. Finally, she calms down enough to tell her mother everything. Mama calls Papa home from work. Papa returns home and explains that Doc Machado merely wanted to organize a group of people who wished to discuss all the changes occurring from the revolution. Doc wanted to peacefully question some of the practices and protest some of the freedoms being taken away, “but that was too much for them” (83). Papa warns that they must be more careful now, and that they all must do their part to appear as though they are participating in the revolution. Papa tells Lucia that she must attend the dance, even though she is no longer excited about going. Papa recounts his encounter with soldiers earlier in the day. He tells his family that an army captain had come by the bank to question him about his family’s lack of participation and “insinuated that if [he] couldn’t teach [his] children how to be good revolutionaries, then maybe the government should take on that responsibility” (86). Lucia agrees to attend the dance.

Chapter 8 Summary: “Polls Indicate That Castro Will Soon Go Too Far —The Progress, May 26, 1961”

The morning after Lucia discovers Doc Machado’s body in the park, her mother wakes her up to discuss what Lucia will wear to the dance the following evening. Lucia is not enthusiastic until her mother suggests that she borrow her pink heels, and Lucia “smiled at the thought of Manuel seeing [her] in her best dress and pink heels” (87). Mama surprises Lucia by telling her that Ivette and her mother are coming over for lunch. Lucia is excited to see Ivette. The two girls discuss fashion choices and Manuel, but they share some awkward moments when discussing their parents’ opposing political views. Lucia does not feel comfortable telling Ivette about finding Doc Machado dead, so she keeps it secret. Ivette’s dad is receiving some perks from his government job, but Ivette is hiding something from Lucia too. Lucia wants to avoid discussing the revolution, so she shifts the conversation back to the dance. Ivette insists that Lucia ask her mother to borrow jewelry, but Lucia does not want to reveal that Papa hid Mama’s jewelry in the floorboards. Ivette is insistent, so Lucia reluctantly tells her. Ivette feels that Papa is going against Castro’s instructions, and “an uncomfortable silence fills the room” (95). To alleviate the tension, they resume discussing nail polish and boys. Lucia is distracted when she overhears her father arguing with her uncle Antonio. The argument sounds intense. Lucia apologizes to Ivette, and Lucia’s excitement is replaced with more fear and uncertainty.

Chapters 5-8 Analysis

As Lucia begins to question her understanding of the revolution, themes about loss of innocence, coming of age, and politics’ effect on relationships come to the fore. In the beginning, Lucia wishes her parents would not treat her like a child. As the story progresses, Lucia’s childhood begins to slip away. She is horrified by the sight of Doc Machado’s dead body and is scared that something like that could happen to Papa.

She now understands that she might have misconceptions about the revolution and that her family must be careful to avoid persecution. The main conflict develops alongside Lucia’s character. The death of Doc Machado is one of the pivotal moments in the story. It is an inciting event that contributes to Lucia’s parents’ eventual decision to send her and Frankie to the United States. It’s also a key junction in Lucia’s maturation. Her innocence is apparent at the start of Chapter 5, when she fantasizes about her dress and dancing with Manuel. By Chapter 8, Lucia’s innocence is fractured: “A giant lump formed in [her] throat at the thought of Papa doing something against the government” (79). As she comes into direct contact with the government’s cruelty, Lucia realizes that Papa might also end up dead. As she runs home seeking comfort in her mother’s arms, she is teetering between wanting to be more grown up and still being a child.

As reality forces Lucia to mature, it also threatens her friendship with Ivette. They have been close since childhood, though they find themselves keeping secrets from one another and experiencing uncomfortable silences. Lucia begins to censor herself in front of Ivette to protect her family, aware that they are at risk. Lucia demonstrates more maturity here than in prior chapters when she consistently redirects their conversation back to a neutral topic—the dance—and when she decides to attend the dance to maintain the façade she and her family must wear.

Many significant symbols and motifs also emerge in these chapters. Throughout the novel Lucia’s hair represents her independence from her mother. Lucia longs to cut her hair short because that is the fashion in the American magazines. Lucia’s mother does not allow her to cut her hair, making Lucia feel controlled and frustrated. Mama’s jewelry also receives focus in these chapters. When Papa hides the jewelry beneath the floor, it represents the family’s desire for things to stay the same and their hope to maintain some part of their individualism and independence. Finally, the pink nail polish symbolizes Lucia’s immaturity and preoccupation with adolescent rites of passage like dancing with a boy at a school dance. When the bottle shatters, her illusions about what things are important shatter too.