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The Crossing | Plot Summary

This Study Guide consists of approximately 12 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of The Crossing.
This section contains 335 words
(approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page)
Purchase our The Crossing Short Guide

The Crossing Summary & Study Guide Description

The Crossing Summary & Study Guide includes comprehensive information and analysis to help you understand the book. This study guide contains the following sections:

This detailed literature summary also contains Related Titles on The Crossing by Gary Paulsen.

The Crossing Overview

Preview of The Crossing Summary:

The Crossing, like many of Paulsen's novels for young adults, pairs a teenage protagonist with an older adult.

The chance meeting of Manny Bustos and Sergeant Robert S. Locke in the border town of Juarez, Mexico, changes both lives in ways dramatic and not immediately predictable.

Manny Bustos—smallish, underfed —survives on the streets of Juarez. His existence is meager, a constant struggle in a world where brute strength leads frequently to brutality. Bigger boys and men prey on Manny, filling his already dire days with fear. Despite the adversity, Manny dreams of a better life in the United States. He will cross the border; soon his every action aims at reaching this goal.

Sergeant Robert S. Locke is a veteran of the Vietnam War. Stationed in El Paso, Texas, he crosses the border freely, and often, to drink in places where there is "noise...
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This section contains 335 words
(approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page)
Purchase our The Crossing Short Guide
Copyrights
The Crossing from Beacham's Encyclopedia of Popular Fiction and Beacham's Guide to Literature for Young Adults. ©2005-2006 Thomson Gale, a part of the Thomson Corporation. All rights reserved.
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