“The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora” by Pablo Cartaya is about a young boy named Arturo whose family and friends are very dear to him. His family and friends drive him to do things he would not have done. His actions ultimately saves his family’s restaurant and helps . Arturo Zamora has incentives that drives him to do things he would not have done before.

     One of Arturo’s motivations were his Abuelo’s letters. The letters were a big source of motivation for Arturo. Before Arturo read Abuelo’s letters, he did not have the courage to ask Carmen, his crush, out. After Arturo read Abuelo’s letters though, he was ready to test his courage in more than one way (Cartaya 131). This led to Arturo telling Carmen how he felt about her on page 132.

     Arturo’s second source of motivation was his Abuela, what a coincidence. Abuela was a strong influence on the whole Zamora family, especially Arturo. Abuela’s absence was so strong, it literally broke the Zamora family (Cartaya 168). This absence caused Arturo to speak against his mom’s decision to give up fighting for the restaurant. The thought that Abuela was watching him (Cartaya 219) also influenced Arturo to speak in front of the whole neighborhood.

     Arturo’s third and final motivation was Carmen. Carmen is Arturo’s crush and she heavily motivated him at the end of the story. Carmen told Arturo that she believed in him, and then she kissed him. This kiss caused something crazy to come over him (Cartaya 219). “Maybe it was Carmen saying she believed in me… and, well, that stupendous kiss… I didn’t know, but I decided I’d speak in front of the whole neighborhood.” (Cartaya 219) This quote shows that Carmen motivated Arturo to speak in front of the neighborhood, something that he was too nervous to do before.

     In other words, Abuelo, Abuela, and Carmen tremendously motivated Arturo in doing things he would have never done before. Abuelo’s letters to Arturo motivated Arturo to ask Carmen out, Abuela’s death gave Arturo a reason to never stop fighting for the restaurant, and Carmen motivated him to speak in front of the neighborhood. The novel, in general, focused on how Arturo is motivated by his family or friends to achieve his goals.