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Christmas Gift
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Circuit, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Change and Instability
Immigrants, Discrimination, and Injustice
Childhood vs. Adulthood
Family and Community
Summary
Analysis
Francisco’s family keeps a pet parrot named El Perico, and Francisco says that the parrot will meet “a tragic ending.” One of Papá’s friends smuggled the bird into California from Mexico. It wanders around freely in the garage that the family is living in while they work harvesting grapes in a vineyard. The whole family loves El Perico, and they make sure to keep the garage door closed so that the bird won’t fly away.
Francisco and his family always have room in their hearts for more creatures to love. Even though they have very little, they happily share whatever they have. And, like them, El Perico is from Mexico, which probably reminds them of home.
Themes
Francisco teaches El Perico to say periquito bonito, which means “beautiful little parrot.” It enjoys perching on Francisco’s finger and snuggling against him. El Perico is also very fond of a cat, Catarina, that belongs to Chico and Pilar, an undocumented couple that lives next door. The cat and the parrot even eat from the same plate.
Despite the constant moving and harsh conditions that Francisco and his family live through, they have still managed to form a warm community with their neighbors and pets. This once again emphasizes how loving relationships can help people feel grounded and content, even amid trying circumstances.
Themes
If Chico and Pilar come to visit without Catarina, El Perico becomes agitated and shrieks loudly. Papá finds this very annoying, especially when he’s tired after a long day of work. Recently, Papá has been very stressed, because he isn’t sure where the family will go once the grape season is over. One evening, Chico and Pilar come over without Catarina, and Papá flies into a rage when El Perico begins to shriek. He strikes the bird with a broom.
While the rest of the family enjoys El Perico’s every action, Papá does not. As the family’s chief breadwinner, Papá is very anxious about how he will keep the family fed and sheltered. He endures this constant stress since all their jobs are temporary, and he must always be on the lookout for their next source of income. As a result of his worries, Papá is becoming increasingly short-tempered and is bothered by the bird’s noise.
Themes
El Perico’s colorful feathers scatter everywhere, and the bird falls to the floor. Roberto, Francisco, and Mamá begin to cry, and Papá yells at them to stop. Francisco notices blood dribbling out of the bird’s beak and he is devastated. He runs out of the garage and heads to a storage shed nearby. The whole time, Francisco feels like the commotion coming from the tent is chasing him, and he wants get away from it—or to simply die.
Papá ends up killing the bird, which he probably didn’t intend to do. Still, he is too irritated with the chaos caused by the bird to care very much that he killed it, or that his family is heartbroken by the bird’s death. In this way, Papá’s sorrows seem to make him immune to others’ suffering. Francisco, especially, is heartbroken by the bird’s death. Papá’s cruel action seems to worsen the chaos and insecurity that the family deals with every day, and Francisco wants to escape from their difficulties.
Themes
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When Francisco reaches the storage shed, he shuts the door behind him, and it’s immediately dark and quiet. He prays for El Perico, and he also prays for his father. The next day, Roberto, Francisco, and Trampita dig a grave for El Perico and bury him. Francisco visits the grave every day, until the family moves back to Corcoran two weeks later to pick cotton.
While Papá is so preoccupied by his worries that he doesn’t have room in his heart for anyone else’s sorrows, Francisco is generous by comparison. Even though he is devastated by El Perico’s death, he also seems to understand his Papá’s troubles and includes him in his prayers, which shows how much he loves his father. Soon, Francisco moves on from mourning El Perico as the family moves once again.
Themes
