The Line of the Sun Summary
Judith Ortiz Cofer

Everything you need to understand or teach The Line of the Sun by Judith Ortiz Cofer.

  • The Line of the Sun Summary & Study Guide

The Line of the Sun Summary

The Line of the Sun is the fictionalized epic tale of Marisol and her Puerto Rican heritage. Set in the 1940s and 1950s in the small Puerto Rican village of Salud, the first half of the novel centers on the life of Marisol's maternal uncle, Guzman, his parents, and his siblings. It also details the life of Marisol's father, Rafael, and includes shorter vignettes that profile the lives of many other Salud residents. The second half of the novel begins shortly after Marisol is born, when she and her mother have moved to Paterson, New Jersey, and continues throughout the 1960s and early 1970s. Marisol comes both to appreciate her Puerto Rican background and to learn to live in the Caucasian-dominated culture of the mainland.

(read more from the Short Guide)

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