Character Analysis
Esperanza doesn't say much about her little brothers, Carlos and Keeky, except that they follow the supreme law against fraternizing with children of the opposite sex when they're outside the house. The boys like to act tough – they're patrol boys at school, and like to stand outside in the cold and rain because they think it makes them tougher. These manifestations of their budding masculinity are cute and all, but we wonder if the gender roles that they're learning to imitate contribute to the problems of sexism and violence that we see later in the novel.