La Linea

Although his friends’ gifts, their money, and Mamá’s letters are taken from him, the one possession from his life in Mexico that Miguel retains is Abuelita’s Virgen de Guadalupe medallion. During Miguel’s journey north, the medal represents familial love and protection, but its significance expands by the end of the novel.

Miguel does not value the medallion for its religious significance the way Abuelita did. Abuelita never removed the medallion because she believed in the Virgin’s powers of protection. Giving Miguel her treasured possession is an act of great love and sacrifice. Abuelita hopes to transfer the Virgin’s protection from herself to Miguel and perhaps also to strengthen Miguel’s faith.

Miguel notices some of Abuelita’s gray hairs were tangled in the chain when she gave it to him, “as if part of her refused to be separated from La Virgencita” (61). Miguel values the medallion because it symbolizes Abuelita’s maternal love and protection.

At the beginning of his journey, Miguel thinks the medallion seems lightweight, but it grows heavier as his and Elena’s trip continues. This change in perception reflects Miguel’s growing changes from over-confident boy to experienced young man who begins to feel the weight of life’s responsibilities.

As an adult, Miguel had promised Elena to send the medallion back to Mexico where Elena would bury it with Abuelita to “reunite” her with la Virgen. Miguel breaks this promise, planning to keep the medallion “until I can cross la línea and come back again freely” (124). The medallion becomes a symbol of separation. Abuelita will remain separated from la virgen, and Miguel will remain in the US separated from part of his family again.

Mamá’s letters represent Elena’s only connection to her mother. Elena was even younger than Miguel when Mamá went north, and the loss of a mother at that age has a significant impact on a young child. Mamá’s newsy, upbeat letters are Elena’s lifeline to the mother she probably only has vague memories of. Miguel describes the effect of Mamá’s letters on Elena as “enough to give hope; not enough to make a difference” (5). Mamá’s letters describe a life Elena has no part in but desperately wants. To Elena, the letters are an extension of Mamá and are a driving force in Elena’s determination to go north.

Elena sacrifices her “precious letters” after Colmillo robs them because she has begun her actual journey to Mamá. She gives up the treasured past and acts for her future. Although Miguel recognizes their importance to Elena, the letters do not mean as much to him until they are one of the only tangible ties left to their home and their parents: “The letters seemed important to me now. They were the only things we had left” (57). While losing the letters makes Miguel feel disconnected, Elena is saddened but able to release them. This act reveals Elena’s practical side and her determination to join their family. Miguel’s attempt to weaponize the letters to hurt Elena and turn her against Papá and Mamá fails. Elena does not feel the same level of anger toward their parents and readily forgives Mamá.