Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna

Dobbs uses both Petra’s narration and her active choices to demonstrate how deeply she values her family and prioritizes their safety and protection. Throughout the story, Petra loves them in both word and deed. Every person Petra mentions in her narration in the first two pages of the text—Pablo, Mamá, Papá, and Amelia—is a member of her family—establishing early on that Petra’s family is her highest concern. Amid the chaos of the Mexican Revolution, Petra becomes a guardian to her young siblings: “protecting Amelia and Luisito [has] been [her] main concern since Mamá’s passing” (24). The fact that Petra is still mourning the loss of both her parents—her mother to a difficult birth and her father to the Federal Army—emphasizes their importance in her life. Though her mother has been dead for a year at the outset of the novel, Petra still struggles to talk or even think about her, as “[her] heart [is] still too raw” (14). The acute grief she feels from the loss of her parents makes her even more determined to keep the rest of her family close and safe.

Petra’s commitment to keeping an important promise to her Papá, vowing to “take care of Amelia, Luisito, and…Abuelita” as her father is being dragged off by the Federales, is further evidence that family is deeply important in her life, and that love is shown through active care and protection. Throughout her journey toward freedom and safety from the Federales, Petra regularly thinks about the promise she has made to Papá. She never wavers from her resolve to keep it, even in moments when it seems nearly impossible. When she is offered an opportunity to travel to America with Adeline and her mother, Petra declines the offer, saying: “I made a promise to my papa, and I mean to keep it” (56). The fact that Petra turns down this opportunity for a life where she will receive an education—her most cherished dream—makes it clear that any other goal in her life is nullified if it comes at the expense of her family. She believes “[her] dream [is] meaningless if [she doesn’t] stick to [her] promise” (56).

Despite living a humble life in a small village, Petra has big dreams. Among them is her dream to learn to read and write and potentially become a teacher. When a woman arrives in her village to “teach all the kids to read and write,” Petra views it as “the happiest day of [her] life” revealing her deep desire to pursue literacy and education (17). Though the revolution—which begins only days after the teacher’s arrival in the village—puts an end to Petra’s studies for a time, her "dream of learning to read live[s] on” (17). That she does not allow the upheaval of the war to diminish her resolve indicates its value in her life despite the fact that many around her dismiss these goals as unrealistic or inappropriate. Petra is so adamant about her educational goals that she ignores the advice of those who challenge them, focusing instead on thoughts of her Papá who always encouraged her dreams. For example, when Abuelita dismisses Petra’s desire to learn to read and write as meaningless “barefoot dreams,” Petra cannot help but feel upset (52). Accustomed to her Abuelita’s philosophy of simply being “content with what you have” instead of reaching for more, Petra is still “bothered” and “angered” by it, and immediately “steer[s her] thoughts to Papá. He saw things differently and even urged us to be different” (52). Petra’s father’s support and encouragement regarding her education allow her to hold both her family’s well-being and her desire for a more expansive life at the same time.

Petra’s commitment to dreaming big and imagining a better future for herself is ultimately what allows Petra to successfully lead her family to freedom and safety from the Federales. Being open to the possibility that things will work out for them, and constantly referring back to and relying on her dreams for comfort and hope effectively carries Petra through all of her major hardships. Though at her darkest moments, Petra admits to feeling hopeless and as if her dreams are drawing “further away each day,” she never allows them to die out completely (36). Though the hardships of trying to keep her family safe throughout the war grow increasingly taxing as the story goes on, Petra never loses sight of her dream of building a better life for them, and that dream becomes her North Star, guiding her forward. Near the novel’s end, when Petra is desperately searching for food to feed her family as they wait for the United States border to open, she makes a promise to herself that “[she will] go to school one day, no matter what” (143). From the beginning of the story, Dobbs emphasizes that Petra views her promises as sacred, and so, this promise made to herself at such a devastating moment in her life—one in which she has no food, home, or money to get her family across the border—gives Petra’s vow a poignant narrative significance, demonstrating the tenacity and determination of her character. When she successfully makes it across the border with her family, Petra’s hope feels validated, as it is clear that the courage to dream big ultimately buoys and empowers her to push forward.