The White Girl Poem Figurative Language

In these two pieces, it is obvious that the topic of American identity is not strong with these children. In fact, they almost seem to feel forced, with no real decision made on their part. As can be seen in the first piece, the poem, the little girl says "if it makes you feel better," instead of something more pointed to her own personal preference. In the second, the two young boys seem brainwashed about their grandmothers home country as "barbaric." It seems that the common theme in these two pieces is the dysfunction in the children's knowledge on what their identity really means.

To further evaluate these two pieces on the basis of their common theme, we must first look further into the word choice used. The brothers are left out with gum because they speak English, while their older brother isn't because he can speak Spanish. The little girl in the poem is "friends" with a bully, and feels that she should act the same way because she doesn't know any other way. The little girl shows that she is far different than her friend Denise, as she says "a white girl," and says, "I sit behind her because of our names, O'Conner, Ozawa." It is
It is clear that their "otherness" compared to their family and friends confuses them, as the Spanish boys call their grandmothers country "barbaric, with barbaric people," and when they say that they're 'mericans, their grandmother "prays harder." Could it be that they are a literally device, comparing how "true Americans" feel about them? That their "otherness" is only desirable on their own terms? It is possible, given such clues in the writing. In the poem, the little girl is going "where tomatoes won't grow" but she tells her old friend that when the first tomato ripens, she'll miss her. Is that the piece saying their culture won't blossom in America, and that no one really appreciates where they're coming from, or that they won't miss them if they left?