Back to: Kerala Board Class 10th English Guide and Notes
Table of Contents
Marta & Her Goal
The story is based in a small town in the American state of Texas. The protagonist is a 14-year-old girl named Marta. She is a spirited young woman and a brilliant student. She has been a class topper all her life.
Her only goal is to attain the scholarship jacket that the school awards to the best performing student for 8 years of consecutive brilliance. Marta expects to be given the honor as she enters her 8th grade, just like her sister Rosie did in the past.
In all honesty, Marta has had a tough life. She lives with her grandparents as her father cannot afford to feed her with his meager income. His grandfather runs a farm and tries hard to educate her. She is also not very beautiful or athletic. So, academic honor was the only thing that she found alluring.
Something Goes Wrong
However, her world turns upside down when he hears a couple of teachers arguing in the locker room. They were talking about the jacket and how it should go to her classmate Joan who stood second to Marta. Joan’s father was an influential man and she was Caucasian, unlike Marta who was from Mexico.
Soon, Marta’s nightmare is realized when she was called to the Principal’s office. The Principal informs her about a change in school policy. From that year, the jacket was going to be paid for 15 dollars to be exact.
Marta is Heartbroken
The girl is heartbroken but summons enough courage to defer the matter up until a conversation with her grandfather. When she returns home and informs her grandfather about what had happened, he declines any sort of payment.
He believes that a scholarship jacket is something you earn through merit so why should the meritorious pay anything for it. The next day, Marta relays her decision to decline the jacket as she has no money to pay for it.
She offers it to the next student in line, Joan. But after hearing her words and the anguish in them, the Principal’s heart melts. He decides to award it to his most deserving and meritorious student, Marta herself. She comes back to the farm later that evening and shares the glad tidings with her grandparents.
