Rodriguez 1

Francisca Rodriguez

Lisa Orta

English 123

12/5/17

The Light at the End of Echo Park

In the novel The Madonnas of Echo Park by Brando Skyhorse, most characters learn that

the struggle of finding their identity and where they belong can have a big toll in ones life. In

the last chapter of the book La Luz y la Tiera, we fallow Aurora in her journey of finding

where she belongs. While reading this novel I looked at archetypal criticism and in The 12

Common Archetypes by Carl Golden, he defines archetype as, an original pattern of which all

other similar persons, objects or concepts are derived, copied, molded, or emulated (Golden 1).

The archetype I considered for Aurora is The Explorer because of her continuity of exploring

Echo Park and finding what makes it her home. I have decided to use the element of fiction point

of view to explore my theme. The chapter La Luz y la Tiera is written in first person point of

view and in Types of Point of View by Jason Buscemi it states, This narrator is usually the

protagonist of the story, and this point of view allows the reader access to the characters inner

thoughts and reactions to the events occurring (Buscemi 2). I was able to come to the

conclusion that one of the themes that can be taken from this chapter is, no matter where a

person is from, the true feeling of home comes from being surrounded by people who are

supportive.

The chapter La Luz y La Tierra is written in Auroras point of view. I gave Aurora the

archetype The Explorer from because Golden describes that their core desire is, the freedom to
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find out who you are through exploring the world (Golden 3). Aurora struggles to find where

she belongs but when exploring Echo Park she finds that she was home all along. Aurora knows

shes found her place when she sees her idol Morrissey mouths the words you belong. Like

The Explorer, Auroras fear was getting trapped and conformity. Aurora says, How many times

have I left Echo Park only to end up back here? What was I searching for? My hope? My

faith?(Skyhorse 174). Using the archetypal analysis The Explorer helped me understand why

Aurora feels out of place in Echo Park and influences my connection to her as to why she feels

the need to find where she belongs.

While this chapter is narrated in Auroras point of view, all the other chapters in the book

are written in the point of views of other characters who are also in this chapter. As the reader, I

felt this made a big impact on my understanding of the story because I was able to see how each

character made their connection to Aurora without her even knowing. All of Auroras history

lingers in Echo Park out of her awareness. Because this chapter with Auroras point of view was

the last in the novel, the reader is able to see how each piece of the puzzle falls into place and

how each character impacts Auroras life. For example, Aurora says, A blast of air from a

passing bus, carrying one man sitting in the back, lifts the star off my hand (174). Based on

previous chapters, we know that this is Efren and Freddy and this is the bus she and her mom

would take when she was younger. Another example is when Aurora runs into the construction

site where he father works. She says, A trabajador around my fathers age wanders around in a

circle carrying a large yellow mallet (190). Its easy to make the connection that the trabajador

actually is Auroras father Hector because in chapter one Bienvenidos, that mallet was used as

a murder weapon and he is about to turn himself into the police. And of course, she runs into her

grandmother when entering her house to deliver a chair. Stuffed onto a maze of conjoined
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rolling chrome coat racks are overcoats and cutaways, box coats and mackinaws, maxi coats and

morning coats, shrugs, basques, and frocks, along with a panoply of wraps, tunics, ulsters,

toppers, manteaus, and stoles (180). Aurora does not know that the woman she had just met was

her grandmother Beatriz, but its possible for the reader to make that connection because Beatriz

narrated the chapter Our Lady of the Lost Angels. In that chapter, Beatriz purchases several

coats because she is trying to find one that keeps her warm. One of the reasons that Aurora keeps

coming back is because she connects with the people of Echo Park on a deeper level.

This chapter is also filled with contextual symbols. In the beginning, Felicia talks to

Aurora about faith and to think of is as if it had a color. Aurora says, I couldnt see what she

was talking about, so I guess my faith has no color. Its see through like glass (156). Aurora

finally finds her faith after her encounter with Morrissey. She describes him with many colors;

salt sprinkled black hair, glittering blue shirt, and glistening metallic silver Porsche. This is the

color of my faith (194). Felicias dog Black Jack has many symbols. Aurora might see him as

her guide through her journey. When Aurora was young Lorenzo Pointed to Sirius, the Dog

Star, and tells her, Remember this star, its the brightest in the sky. So even when youre in the

dark you can find your way home. Just follow the dog (170). She followed the dog literally and

metaphorically and the dog, Black Jack, led her to discover the truth about where home truly

was. To Felicia, hes a loyal companion. She forces Aurora to find him and says, Hell lead you

to me, trust him (168) and in a way, he did. At the end of the chapter, Aurora invites her to play

fetch with them, hoping shell choose her over Vince and she does.

Its ironic how in the beginning of the chapter Aurora says, Ive calculated and thought

about ways to improve my chances of an accidental encounter, but I place no faith in an actual

meeting (156), considering everyone she meets is because of accidental encounters. Basically,
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the whole book is about accidental encounters! Also, when she said that she was thinking about

her idol Morrissey who was the one to help her discover she belonged. Each person she

encountered has formed her into who she is in one way or another and that is why she feels at

peace when she finally finds herself. Aurora grows more and more as she travels through Echo

Park. At first, Aurora saisd, And for a moment I saw them-- a beautiful but ragtag band of

mixed children, struggling to find an identity between Mexican and American. I was trying to

find a way to do it, and not feeling very successful. If their mother couldn't find a way to do it,

what hope was there for them (179). Aurora mentions her mother because it was difficult for

her to find her identity as well and it didnt give her much hope for herself. The novel ends with

Aurora saying, This is the land we dream of, the land that belongs to us again (199). Other

characters said that this land has been stolen, maybe because they havent found their true

identity yet. The land belongs to those who find their place in it. This chapter La Luz y la

Tierra translates to The Light and The Land. The light can signify the guide when one is lost

because Aurora was told to follow the light home. This signifies that there is a connection

between light and land. Since Aurora was told follow the bright lights from the stars to find her

home, she finally found her home in the land that was once seen as stolen.

As Aurora explored Echo Park she realized that she found where she belongs because

Echo Park is where her family is. I relate to this personally because, while I was born here in the

U.S., I still visit my parents hometown in a village in Mexico and I consider it to be a big part of

who I am. I consider both places my home because although I was born here, I have family that I

love very much and who are very supportive over in Mexico. From reading The Madonnas of

Echo Park I learned that I identify my home because that is where I connect with my family and

I dont have to be from there to call it my home. I used the archetype the explorer for Aurora
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because it helped me understand her values, meanings, and personality. I saw traits in The

Explorer that I also saw in Aurora, for example, her drive for wanting to experience new things

and her interest in living outside of status quo. In her, I saw the urge to experience a better life as

she went out not even knowing what was missing. She found that the light was guiding her to

her home Echo Park all along.

Works Cited

Skyhorse, Brando. The Madonnas of Echo Park: a Novel. Free Press, 2011.

Golden, Carl. The 12 Common Archetypes. Soul Craft,

www.soulcraft.co/essays/the_12_common_archetypes.html.

Buscemi, Jason. Literary Terms, Techniques, and Elements. Point of View,

http://www.literarydevices.com/point-of-view/.