57 pages • 1 hour read
Ingrid Rojas ContrerasFruit of the Drunken Tree
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2018A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
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BetaChapters 8-10Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 8 Summary: “Galán! Galán! Galán!”
Chula and Cassandra begin the final quarter of the school year, and Chula senses impending misfortune. Without Papá’s knowledge or permission, Mamá takes the girls to Soacha to see liberal presidential candidate Luis Carlos Galán give a speech at a campaign rally. When they arrive, they join a chaotic parade of supporters, and Chula is quickly swept away from her mother and lost in the crowd. A man lifts her up, she spots Mamá and Cassandra, and she climbs over people’s heads until she is reunited with them. When Galán walks onstage, gunshots fire, and someone screams that the candidate has been killed.
In the ensuing scramble, Chula is knocked to the ground, and her hand is crushed under someone’s boot. Mamá drags her up and carries her and Cassandra to their car. She speeds away recklessly. They hear on the car radio that “Galán is in a hospital fighting for his life” (72). Mamá, who never cries, weeps at the wheel. When they reach home, Petrona is there, although she is not supposed to be. Petrona tends to Chula’s broken hand and the severe bruises on her legs. Petrona insists that Mamá is too upset to drive to the hospital, so they call a taxi to take Chula to the emergency room. In the hospital, Mamá tells Chula that Galán is dead.
Chapter 9 Summary: “Pañuelitos Blancos”
The girls hear on the news that Pablo Escobar had ordered Galán’s assassination. On tape, one of Escobar’s men makes a threat: “Every time one of us is extradited, ten judges die” (75). The girls talk and fantasize obsessively about Escobar, who is mythological in their imaginations. Mamá and Cassandra go to Galán’s funeral, but Chula is not allowed to join them. Cassandra tells Chula it’s “because [she is] traumatized” (77), and Chula forcefully rejects this label. Petrona cares for Chula while Mamá and Cassandra are gone.
While they are alone at home, Gorrión arrives, telling Chula he is there to fix the carpet. Chula is mistrustful as Gorrión surveys the house. Chula’s skepticism deepens when she sees him touch Petrona sensually. When he leaves, Petrona says she will tell Mamá about “the carpet guy” (81) and that Chula should not mention him. When Mamá returns, she forbids the girls from leaving the neighborhood, citing increased danger. She tells them that Papá is returning from work for a vacation, and the family will go spend the holidays with their grandmother. The girls are confused because they are supposed to be in school.
Petrona [6] Summary
Petrona is upset with Gorrión for his behavior at the home of the Santiagos, but her attraction to him causes her anger to dissipate. Gorrión showers her with affection, and he tries to convince her that her poverty is unjust compared to the privileged life of the Santiagos. She falls deeply in love, and they try to hide their relationship from Mami. As gossip spreads through the Hills, Mami discovers their relationship. She becomes livid and banishes Petrona from home.
Chapter 10 Summary: “Safe Routes”
The family follows designated driving routes to leave Bogotá and visit Abuela María, Mamá’s mother. Chula wonders why Petrona was in their house when they returned from Soacha. Chula reflects on how she developed nobler-sounding versions of the story of her injury at the rally to tell classmates and teachers. Before she and Cassandra left school, the principal awarded them a diploma for their “[b]ravery” (88). The family drives for two days, avoiding known guerrilla territories. Papá assures the girls that he can protect them from harm because he once “killed a boa constrictor with [his] bare hands” (90). Mamá counters that a hiking guide, not Papá, killed the snake. Chula tries to be helpful on the drive by looking out for roadblocks, but there are none.
Chapters 8-10 Analysis
In these chapters, Chula experiences violence for the first time. Her traumatic experience at the political rally, during which she witnesses Galán’s assassination and sustains painful injuries, prompts a crucial shift in her own outlook and that of her parents. Chula assumes the role of the victim as she is described as “traumatized” (77) and her parents furtively discuss her state and her treatment.
As Chula learns more about the world around her, Petrona furthers her relationship with Gorrión. The malevolence of his influence becomes more obvious, most notably during his suspicious visit to the Santiagos’ home under the false pretense of surveying the carpet. Although Petrona tries to resist involvement in any illicit activity, her attachment to Gorrión makes her complicit; her feelings for him intensify as his behavior grows more threatening, foreshadowing Petrona’s deeper involvement in his corrupt way of life. Petrona has no other attachment figure when Mami sends Petrona away from her home in racism-fueled rage over her love affair with Gorrión. Petrona’s only choice at this point is to rely on Gorrión, which makes her vulnerable.
For the Santiagos, the violence of the rally in Soacha and its aftermath galvanize Mamá and Papá, and they decide to take the family away from Bogotá to visit Abuela in El Salado; this sojourn will occupy the next major section of the novel. The traumatic experience at the rally also deepens Chula’s sense of responsibility to help protect her family. This urge is evident in her attempt to serve as self-appointed lookout during the drive to El Salado. The fruitlessness of this effort foreshadows her feeling of helplessness as Petrona’s protector later in the novel.
