From the start of the piece the tone of the author sets the attitude that Estrella exhibits. She finds the toolbox and she compares it to her schooling by saying they were, “as confusing and foreign as the alphabet she …show more content…
Perfecto is a man that “had a history unspoken, memories that only surfaced in nightmares. No one remembered knowing him before his arrival,” , yet he still continues to live his life to his fullest ability and is appreciated by, “everyone (using) his name to describe a job well done” (46-50). Watching the people around her significantly added to the development of Estrella and her understanding of life. She thinks more about how people work when she deals with her teacher who, “...asked how come her mama never gave her a bath” she comes to realize the hard work that her mom is going through in her own confusing journey of motherhood and recognizes, “that the wet towel wiped on her resistant face each morning, the vigorous brushing and tight braids her mother neaty weaved were not enough for Mrs. Horn” (32-37). After her encounter and long thought about the teacher and her circumstances Estrella has a major moment of development when she, “realized words could become as excruciating as rusted nails piercing the heels of her bare feet” (38-40). After Perfecto starts to describe to her the use and names of the tools Estrella finds that the knowledge she needs might come from hurtful sources but will overall give her a feeling of empowerment. Her education becomes important again when Estrella, “felt the coolness of iron and power of function, weighed the