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The tree represents a throwback to Mona's childhood and her innocence.

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Mona has experienced a lot in her life, period. She lost her relationship with her father, joined a gang, lived through multiple years of an abusive relationship, and lost so many of her friends lives. Throughout all of this, she still showed grit and perseverance and followed through with her dream of becoming a police officer. In the end of the novel, Mona shares what she learned, she learned that "...most important, I have learned that you can never give up. There were so many points in my life where I could have surrendered and let myself sink down." Though she went through so much, she showed grit and perseverance by not letting any of it get to her.

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A man verbally abusing a woman, the woman is likely stressed and under a lot of pressure.

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Over her time spent with Frank, Frank abused Mona almost daily. It started off simple, Frank would call her names and do hand motions until one day he actually hit her. Mona endured years of abuse with him until one day she learned something, Frank had been under the influence of heroin the whole time, and Mona hates people who take heroin. Frank told her that "...I been doing it since we met, little by little. The whole time, five years." This was devastating news to Mona, she had always been used to the other drugs that he was so open about that she never noticed that Frank was shooting himself up with heroin. This quote relates to the theme of 'Domestic Violence' because Frank's habits of abuse and harm towards Mona were more than likely influenced by the power of drugs.
Another strong example of 'Domestic Violence' is when Frank first hit Mona. That night, Frank was booted off of PCP and marijuana; when Mona was yelling at him, he struck her in the face. She "...never saw the backhand coming. The slap caught me right under the chin and I flew backward..." Mona was oblivious to this behavior before it happened, though it was obvious to the reader. This quote is a strong example because it clearly and vividly describes the event that led to Frank hitting Mona.

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A group of hispanic gang members throwing up signs.

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During her time in her gang live, Mona realized the danger that gangs really hold; it was part of the reason she left in the first place. Mona experienced so many deaths, including the deaths of people that she knew, and this had an impact on her that influenced her to go back into the police department. One night, at a New Years party with her vatos, one of them was shot right behind her; the bullet would've hit her if she didn't duck down soon enough. She thought to herself at the time "He had taken the shot full in the chest ... Oso was the shadowy form I had seen out of the corner of my eye during the attack, the person who groaned and fell." This event had long-term trauma on Mona because her life literally flashed before her eyes. Themes of gang violence are shown in this quote because it gives the reader a glimpse of how quickly a life can be taken in the streets.

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A man staring into a mirror, reflecting on himself.

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Throughout Two Badges, Mona struggles with a constant battle against herself and the choices she makes. From a young age, Mona always wanted to be a police officer but would stomp on that path when she made the wrong choices. Mona had grown fascination to gangs and one day she realized, "Bloodied and bruised, I was now one of them." In that quote, Mona had just been jumped into a gang, this was a huge step away from her life goal and an even bigger step in the battle with herself. Mona had always wanted to be a cop but she was struggling with that when she joined a gang, which is a major setback.

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Pills, a common form of drug that can be easily ingested and abused.

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Mona's encounters with drug abuse are shown many times in the book, Two Badges. Mona has learned that drugs have negative impacts on people's physical and mental health, and when under the influence of drugs you can be a harm to other people. During her time with Frank, Mona experienced drug abuse when "Frank would roll up a joint and dip it in the bottle." Frank's drug addiction had harmful effects on Mona and her kids because Frank would go into a rampage and try to hurt them.