Cantú’s Mother Character Analysis in The Line Becomes a River

Cantú’s mother is the daughter of a Mexican migrant who came to the United States as a child and had no relationship with Cantú’s mother until she was an adult. Her mother was a Midwesterner with German and Irish roots, who raised her to feel ashamed of her Mexican heritage. Cantú’s mother’s struggle with this shame led her to work hard to help Cantú embrace his heritage, for instance by giving him her own Mexican surname instead of his father’s name. Cantú’s parents separated when he was very young, and his mother raised him alone, resulting in a very close relationship. She loves nature deeply and worked as a park ranger during much of Cantú’s youth. Because of her love of nature, she has an empathetic approach to life and works to value, and to help Cantú to value, the worth and beauty of life in all its forms. She tries to dissuade her son from working for Border Patrol, knowing that the experience could crush a young idealist like him, and she is a voice of concern and humanity during his time with the agency. Their relationship suffers while he works with Border Patrol—knowing how much she disapproves of his work, Cantú doesn’t feel he can talk to his mother about his difficulties. Even so, Cantú spends holidays with her and calls her periodically throughout his time as an agent. After he leaves the agency, their relationship improves again, and his mother is a source of wisdom and support for Cantú as he navigates his guilt over his time in Border Patrol while helping his friend José with his immigration problems.

Cantú’s Mother Quotes in The Line Becomes a River

The The Line Becomes a River quotes below are all either spoken by Cantú’s Mother or refer to Cantú’s Mother. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

Trauma and Emotional Detachment Theme Icon

).

Dragonflies migrate as birds do, she told me, beating their papery wings for days on end across rolling plains, across long mountain chains, across the open sea.

Related Characters: Francisco Cantú (speaker), Cantú’s Mother

Page Number and Citation: 5

Explanation and Analysis:

You must understand you are stepping into a system, an institution with little regard for people.

Related Characters: Cantú’s Mother (speaker), Francisco Cantú

Page Number and Citation: 25

Explanation and Analysis:

All these years, I told her, it’s like I’ve been circling beneath a giant, my gaze fixed upon its foot resting at the ground. But now, I said, it’s like I’m starting to crane my head upward, like I’m finally seeing the thing that crushes.

Related Characters: Francisco Cantú (speaker), Cantú’s Mother, José

Page Number and Citation: 222

Explanation and Analysis:

For his family and for you, José is unique. Sure there might be thousands or millions of people in his position, but it’s because of him that their situation is no longer abstract to you. You are no longer severed from what it means to send someone back across the border. You know what’s keeping him away, what keeps him from his family. It’s something close to you, something that’s become a part of you.

Related Characters: Cantú’s Mother (speaker), Francisco Cantú, José

Page Number and Citation: 229

Explanation and Analysis:

The part of you that is capable of violence, she said, maybe you wish to be rid of it, to wash yourself of it, but it’s not that easy. […] You weren’t just observing a reality, you were participating in it. You can’t exist within a system for that long without being implicated, without absorbing its poison.

Related Characters: Cantú’s Mother (speaker), Francisco Cantú

Page Number and Citation: 231

Explanation and Analysis:

Cantú’s Mother Quotes in The Line Becomes a River

The The Line Becomes a River quotes below are all either spoken by Cantú’s Mother or refer to Cantú’s Mother. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

).

Dragonflies migrate as birds do, she told me, beating their papery wings for days on end across rolling plains, across long mountain chains, across the open sea.

Related Characters: Francisco Cantú (speaker), Cantú’s Mother

Page Number and Citation: 5

Explanation and Analysis:

You must understand you are stepping into a system, an institution with little regard for people.

Related Characters: Cantú’s Mother (speaker), Francisco Cantú

Page Number and Citation: 25

Explanation and Analysis:

All these years, I told her, it’s like I’ve been circling beneath a giant, my gaze fixed upon its foot resting at the ground. But now, I said, it’s like I’m starting to crane my head upward, like I’m finally seeing the thing that crushes.

Related Characters: Francisco Cantú (speaker), Cantú’s Mother, José

Page Number and Citation: 222

Explanation and Analysis:

For his family and for you, José is unique. Sure there might be thousands or millions of people in his position, but it’s because of him that their situation is no longer abstract to you. You are no longer severed from what it means to send someone back across the border. You know what’s keeping him away, what keeps him from his family. It’s something close to you, something that’s become a part of you.

Related Characters: Cantú’s Mother (speaker), Francisco Cantú, José

Page Number and Citation: 229

Explanation and Analysis:

The part of you that is capable of violence, she said, maybe you wish to be rid of it, to wash yourself of it, but it’s not that easy. […] You weren’t just observing a reality, you were participating in it. You can’t exist within a system for that long without being implicated, without absorbing its poison.

Related Characters: Cantú’s Mother (speaker), Francisco Cantú

Page Number and Citation: 231

Explanation and Analysis: