LEVEL 4 - Deportation Act

DEPORTATION AT BREAKFAST
by Larry Fondation
MEET THE AUTHOR
Larry Fondation is the author of Angry Nights and Fish, Soap and Bonds, and of Common Criminals, Unintended Consequences and Martyrs and
Holymen, all three are collections of short stories. His fiction focuses on the Los Angeles underbelly. His three most recent books feature
collaborations with London-based artist Kate Ruth.
Fondation has lived in LA since the 1980s, and has worked for nearly 20 years as an organizer in South Los Angeles, Compton and East LA. His first
three books are being published in France by Fayard. The first, Angry Nights (FC2 National Fiction Competition Winner, 1994), translated as Sur Les
Nerfs (“On the Edge”), appeared in French in January 2012. It was nominated for the 2013 Prix SNCF du Polar. The second, Criminels
Ordinaires (Fayard), was published in February 2013. Fondation is a recipient of a Christopher Isherwood Fellowship in Fiction Writing.
PRE-READING
What comes to your mind?
Brainstorm the two words
DEPORTATION BREAKFAST
DISCUSSION:
What are reasons for deportation?
WHILE READING
VOCABULARY.
Place these words (nouns, verbs and adjectives) from the story in the correct category:
Eggs family-run clean employee pants buttered authorities sign bread greasy strong hot
homey elderly accent old-fashioned look coffee bubbled counterpotatoes accent
MENU PLACE PEOPLE
Can you think about more words from the story? Add them to the columns and compare your work with your partners
Look at the picture and label it. Use as many words from the text as you can
AFTER READING
DISCUSSION
Watch the video, read the story again and spot the differences
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cA9cVhXIhV8&t=1s
Answer the following questions

1. How does the author use setting to introduce the story? What do you notice about the author’s description of the restaurant?
2. Why would the author take the time to describe the kinds of toast written on the menu board? What is the author’s point to writing this way?
3. What are the characteristics used to describe Javier?
4. What tone does the author use in the scene when the authorities come into the restaurant? Who, can you imply, are the authorities?
5. Why do you think the narrator uses the word “deportation” instead of “arrest”?
5. While the narrator looks for help, he notices the other customers. What does he notice about them? Why is this observation important to the
story?
6. The narrator sits and stares at his eggs while they burn and thinks about Javier. Why would the narrator be thinking about Javier?
7. What is the conflict of the story?
8. When the two women come to the counter to pay for their meal, they seem surprised that the narrator doesn’t remember their order. What
purpose does this interaction have to the conflict in the story?
9. Look again at the title of this story. Why do you think the author chose this title?
10. Will you do the same as the narrator in this situation?
Follow the link and do the quiz
https://quizizz.com/admin/quiz/58ff86413635b511003f9efc/deportation-at-breakfast
Complete the summary using and, because, so and but
The narrator goes in a restaurant …………… for a dollar he can get a meal. He likes the atmosphere. He is alone …………… he sits at the
counter. The chef is busy cooking. The narrator orders an omelet ……………he is hungry. He knows the chef’s name is Javier ……………he
has the name on his shirt. It is early ……………there aren’t many people in the diner. The narrator is reading the newspaper ……………waiting
for his omelette when, suddenly, the authorities come into the restaurant ……………grab Javier. He says nothing. They ……………take him to
their car.
The other customers are talking ……………they don’t notice what happens. There is no employee ……………the narrator jumps over the
counter and cooks his omelette. An old woman comes to pay him for her order. The woman is a little surprised he doesn’t know how much to
charge He wants to return to his stool ……………some new customers arrive. They think he is the chef ……………he gives them what they
want to eat and drink. Everyone thinks he is the diner’s owner ……………he doesn’t say anything. He doesn´t understand why Javier doesn`t
have any waitresses ……………by 8:30 the restaurant is full of customers. They are so many hungry people ……………he can`t leave this
place alone. The next day he takes a sign for help wanted

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DEPORTATION AT BREAKFAST

MEET THE AUTHOR

Answer the following questions

Complete the summary using and, because, so and but

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