59 pages 1 hour read

Elizabeth Borton De Treviño

I, Juan de Pareja

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1965

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Essay Topics

1.

Discuss the significance of clothing in the novel. How does de Treviño use clothing to advance characterization and setting? How does clothing speak to the novel’s broader questions regarding race and prejudice?

2.

How does Juan and Diego’s relationship evolve over time? How does art encourage them toward understanding? Is their relationship morally ambiguous?

3.

Analyze the novel’s shifting narrative tenses. When does Juan break from his memories to speak in the present tense, addressing the reader as he writes? How might those changes in tense forward the novel’s themes?