"The Pecan Sheller" by Lupe Ruiz-Flores, Chapters 19–30

Sandy (United States of America)
Thirteen-year-old Petra wanted to finish school and become a writer, but her family's financial woes in late 1930s San Antonio, Texas forced her to drop out and succumb to demoralizing factory work at below poverty-level wages. Her future seemed bleak until she and her coworkers organized and went on strike for better wages and work conditions.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Chapters 1–3, Chapters 4–8, Chapters 9–13, Chapters 14–18, Chapters 19–30
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. gaunt
    very thin, especially from disease or hunger or cold
    El Dompero trudged in with another sack of pecans, dumping it on Petra’s table.
    “Is it true what I hear?” he asked the ladies at the table. “Our wages are getting cut?” He ran his fingers through his hair, and Petra noticed how gaunt he looked.
  2. indignation
    a feeling of righteous anger
    “Enough.” Petra stood up, hands on hips, indignation on her face. “We need to let Don Ignacio know we won’t stand for any pay cuts.”
  3. union
    an employee organization that bargains with an employer
    “Power of the people.” Consuelo lifted her closed fist. “It’s when workers, like us, organize to protect our rights and interests.”
    This was the first time Petra had ever heard of a union. Power, protection...she liked the sound of those words.
  4. picket
    take part in a strike or protest
    “She used to work in the cigar factory. A few years ago she was part of a strike there—she and the other workers asked for better wages and walked off the job in protest when the bosses said no. They picketed in front of the factory, got harassed by the police, even got arrested. She is one of us.”
  5. brazier
    large metal container in which coal or charcoal is burned
    Groups of people huddled around the braziers for warmth. The wind penetrated Petra’s thin coat. She held her hands over the nearest fire.
  6. transfixed
    having your attention fixated as though witchcraft
    She’s so young, and yet people twice and three times her age listen to her, Petra thought, looking around at the hundreds of pecan shellers who stood transfixed.
  7. jostle
    come into rough contact with while moving
    Petra tried to move away from the police. Someone jostled her, and she tripped and fell to the ground. She covered her head as people jumped over her.
  8. scoff
    laugh at with contempt and derision
    Amá scoffed. “If I couldn’t get another factory job, you certainly won’t. Not after this. You’ll be blacklisted as a troublemaker. I hope you’ll be proud of yourself if we end up on the street because of you.”
  9. skimp
    limit in quality or quantity
    Without Petra’s wages, the only money coming in was from Amá’s washing and ironing, which balanced out to pennies a day. They skimped on food. Bought fewer mesquite logs for the fire.
  10. disheveled
    in disarray; extremely disorderly
    “Lie down,” a disheveled Doña Ramoncita said softly. “Try to rest. Don’t worry.”
  11. threadbare
    thin and tattered with age
    As Petra burrowed under a threadbare quilt and pretended to get comfortable, Doña Ramoncita sat in the kitchen, reading her worn-out Bible by the light of the oil lamp.
  12. sprig
    a small branch or stem, usually with leaves or flowers
    Outside, Doña Ramoncita, wrapped in her shawl, studied the tiny plants struggling to grow in coffee cans on the porch. They looked pretty dead to Petra.
    “I see little green sprigs,” Doña Ramoncita said, delighted. “I’ll water them in the morning.”
  13. naive
    marked by or showing unaffected simplicity
    “When the soldiers rode into our small town, we all ran and hid, except Elvira. She’d had enough of the killings, she told us. At sixteen, she was still very naïve. She thought she could talk the soldiers out of destroying our homes. We warned her. Her mother begged her not to antagonize them.”
  14. vehemently
    in a forceful manner
    Petra wanted to return to the picket line while Amá vehemently opposed it.
  15. bleak
    offering little or no hope
    And yet Amá’s expression was bleak when she counted the money from the week’s washing and ironing. “Three dollars. That’s all we made. I don’t know what to do anymore.”
Created on Wed Mar 18 20:45:01 EDT 2026 (updated Sun Mar 22 13:57:48 EDT 2026)

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