Identity In Richard Rubio's 'Pocho'
Identity in Pocho
A prominent theme in Pocho, by Jose Antonio Villarreal, is personal identity, or the understanding of oneself. The story takes place mostly in California, which was at the time a mixing pot of various cultures. At the time, racism was also prevalent, as well as hatred towards differing religions, and everyone stereotyped everyone else. The Rubio family in particular had a hard time with understanding their personal identities, as they dealt with the conflict caused by Juan’s beloved Mexican culture clashing with the new American culture that was being introduced to his family. Being Mexicans in America, the Rubio’s were also the target of racism and hatred because of their religion. Richard Rubio spends his life sorting …show more content…
Growing children/teenagers always have identity problems, but Richard’s were compounded by the clash of cultures and the tension they caused. He also lived in a judgmental community, where nearly everyone was prejudice against everyone else (slurs were thrown at every race and religion mentioned). Richard, being born in America, took quickly to the American culture (page 129: “Although he was a product of two cultures, he was an American and felt a deep love for his home town and its surroundings."). However, his father of course pushed the Mexican culture on him at every turn, and took it as an offense when Richard acted American (page 130: “Is this the American learning you are receiving? To defy your father?"). Richard learned to speak both Spanish and English, but his parents both made no attempt to learn English (page 73: “I’ve been trying to teach my father and mother to talk English, but I don’t think they really want to learn.”). On page 133, Richard defends the American culture by saying: “’But this is America, Father,’ said Richard. ‘If we live in this country, we must live like Americans.’”. However, Richard is still interested in Mexican culture (on page 97, Richard says: “’Do you think, Papa,’ he said, ‘that when we go to Mexico I could have a horse?’”, which shows his interest in learning what his father learned in Mexico, in this case about
A prominent theme in Pocho, by Jose Antonio Villarreal, is personal identity, or the understanding of oneself. The story takes place mostly in California, which was at the time a mixing pot of various cultures. At the time, racism was also prevalent, as well as hatred towards differing religions, and everyone stereotyped everyone else. The Rubio family in particular had a hard time with understanding their personal identities, as they dealt with the conflict caused by Juan’s beloved Mexican culture clashing with the new American culture that was being introduced to his family. Being Mexicans in America, the Rubio’s were also the target of racism and hatred because of their religion. Richard Rubio spends his life sorting …show more content…
Growing children/teenagers always have identity problems, but Richard’s were compounded by the clash of cultures and the tension they caused. He also lived in a judgmental community, where nearly everyone was prejudice against everyone else (slurs were thrown at every race and religion mentioned). Richard, being born in America, took quickly to the American culture (page 129: “Although he was a product of two cultures, he was an American and felt a deep love for his home town and its surroundings."). However, his father of course pushed the Mexican culture on him at every turn, and took it as an offense when Richard acted American (page 130: “Is this the American learning you are receiving? To defy your father?"). Richard learned to speak both Spanish and English, but his parents both made no attempt to learn English (page 73: “I’ve been trying to teach my father and mother to talk English, but I don’t think they really want to learn.”). On page 133, Richard defends the American culture by saying: “’But this is America, Father,’ said Richard. ‘If we live in this country, we must live like Americans.’”. However, Richard is still interested in Mexican culture (on page 97, Richard says: “’Do you think, Papa,’ he said, ‘that when we go to Mexico I could have a horse?’”, which shows his interest in learning what his father learned in Mexico, in this case about