Becoming Naomi Leon

“There was my ‘Regular and Everyday Worries’ list, which included 1) Gram was going to die because she was old, 2) Owen would never be right, 3) I will forget something if I don’t make a list, 4) I will lose my lists, and 5) Abominations. I made lists of splendid words, types of rocks, books I read, and unusual names.”

In this passage, Naomi lists the mundane and not-so-mundane things that cause her to worry. She also reveals that her family is important to her and that lists are comforting. Naomi’s habit of making lists reflects her attempts to gain control over the parts of her life she feels she cannot contain.

“I looked at Owen. His eyes grew big and his mouth dropped open. He slid off the bench, opened the drawer, took out a roll of tape, and studied it. Then he stuffed the whole thing in his pocket.”

Owen doesn’t worry as openly as Naomi does but demonstrates his distress by grabbing a roll of tape as their routine deviates for the first time. Upon their mother’s return, Gram changes her routine, foreshadowing the larger changes to come. As she goes with Fabiola to notify Bernardo of Skyla’s return, the children know the situation is serious, but aren’t sure how or why it is so.

“A body would think that since I was half Mexican I could speak the language, too, but I couldn’t. I understood a little just from being around Bernardo and Fabiola all these years, but whenever I tried to copy them, the words felt like marbles moving around in my mouth.”

Naomi feels disconnected from her Mexican heritage because she doesn’t speak Spanish. Language and speaking are sub-themes in Naomi’s journey to becoming Naomi León. Learning to use her voice and learning Spanish is a part of her living up to her name and embracing her cultural identity.

“‘León. That means lion. You’re Naomi the Lion.’ She wasn’t making fun, just saying it matter-of-fact.”

At school, Naomi meets another Mexican girl named Blanca Paloma. Blanca inspires Naomi to connect with her Mexican heritage and gives her some background information about the meaning of her name. She also gives Naomi the nickname “Naomi the lion,” which references both the title and the journey that Naomi undertakes in the novel. Blanca is there for Naomi as she navigates the challenges prompted by her mother’s return.

“Was Skyla sick? And my father…he wanted us? At first, hearing about him was like a pinch, reminding me of someone else who hadn’t come to get me. But the part about him wanting us, that was like a found piece of candy when you didn’t even know you were craving something sweet. Why hadn’t Gram told us?”

After Skyla skips the parent-teacher conferences and abandons her children in front of the school, Naomi overhears teachers talking about her mother and father. She learns for the first time that her father wanted her and that her mother wouldn’t allow him to see his children. Her likening the discovery to finding a sweet piece of candy demonstrates the metaphorical language Naomi and Gram often use.

“I headed for the cupboard to get the tablecloth. Maybe if I looked hard enough I could find all eight cloth napkins that matched. I wanted us to all sit down and have dinner like those families in Gram’s lady magazines. The ones in the photos, passing the food with smiles on their faces and oozing politeness.”

Naomi often daydreams about a picture-perfect family as part of her yearning for love and connection with her parents. This passage demonstrates the impact of simple, familial images and how they feed into her imagination and yearning. Naomi’s daydreams contrast with her realities throughout the novel to explore the true meaning of family.

“An uncomfortable silence like a thick fog sneaked its way around the turkey platter, circled the mashed potatoes, and rose up in a cloud above the lime gelatin salad. It was the kind of quiet when you hoped somebody would say any little thing.”

This passage is another example of metaphors and similes that are employed throughout the text to describe how Naomi feels. In this scene, Clive and Skyla reveal that they plan to move to Las Vegas and take Naomi with them. The fog’s sneaking actions are like that of a snake, enhancing a feeling of discomfort and fear of the unknown that Naomi feels in the moment as she waits to see what will happen next.

“‘But you must get money from the state,’ said Clive. ‘That’s got to be a bundle for two kids right? And what’s the story on the little old lady outside? Is she your dependent, too?’ He was kind of half smirking at Gram.”

Clive’s implication that Gram profits off of raising Naomi and Owen reveal his own motives to do the same as he and Skyla plot to take Naomi away to Las Vegas. His assumption is a violation of Gram’s privacy and dignity that has not taken place prior to his appearance. His remarks illustrate the ignorance of those outside of Naomi’s family unit and shows the lengths to which Skyla and Clive intend to capitalize on Naomi.

“Skyla pressed her lips together tight. She leaned toward the doctors and said, ‘This kid’s a Blem. He’s crooked and he can’t talk right, and you’re telling me nothing can be done to make him right. Well, that’s no bargain in my book!’”

Skyla’s embarrassment, disdain, and disregard for Owen spill over in this passage. Her calling Owen a “Blem” compares him to a local shoe sale where the seller discounts flawed shoes. Skyla doesn’t care or believe that Owen is healthy, intelligent, and full of life. She’s angry that he can’t be “fixed.” Her words in this passage reflect her ableist views and encapsulate her reasons for rejecting Owen.

“‘We are on the lam,’ Gram said, ‘and for good reason. Yesterday I met a nice young lady lawyer who had plenty to tell me. I got temporary guardianship of you and Owen. See this folder?’ Gram held up a thick envelope. ‘I’ve got your birth certificates and my notarized papers right here.’”

Gram shows how serious she is about keeping their family unit together, as she physically relocates the unit after securing the necessary paperwork to begin fighting Skyla’s intentions. Becoming legally bound as a family reveals that one good outcome from Skyla’s arrival is a more tightly knit family for the Outlaws.

“A hundred birds sat on a telephone line, and in one instant they released and lifted with stubborn determination, trailing across the sky toward somewhere [...] Turning to a clean page, I wrote a hundred times, We will find him. We will find him. We will find him….”

Naomi begins to take on Gram’s philosophy about self-prophecy and the power of positive thinking after the group struggles to locate the children’s father. This image of her writing a mantra reveals her determination to find her father and keep her life with Gram and Owen intact.

“When everything was positioned, Gram put her hands on her hips and said, ‘Naomi, I believe I feel like a clean, fluffed sheet on bed-making day. Yes…I think that’s how I feel.”

As Gram and Naomi set up their temporary home in Oaxaca City, Gram thinks positively after she situates some furniture. However, Naomi detects hesitation in Gram’s voice. This moment represents a turning point where Naomi takes on positive thinking, and Gram becomes the worrier in their family as they continue their journey in Oaxaca.

“A gentle breeze tickled my face with warm air. I looked around at the walls that sheltered me and took a deep breath, but it was not the worrisome kind. It was the relief kind. I swept my knife across the soap and tiny shavings darted and swirled in the air. As I watched the white pirouettes, my own laughter startled me.”

Feeling at home in Oaxaca, Naomi breathes a sigh of relief and feels peace for the first time in a long time. Arriving in Oaxaca marks a major turning point in her character development. As the trip unfolds, Naomi worries less, acts more boldly, and becomes truer to herself than ever before. Feeling relaxed allows her to lean into the power of positive thinking and strengthens her resolve to find her father.

“I expected a grocery store or a supermarket, but this was different from any I had ever seen. Inside, stalls and tables crowded the cement-floor room. It was a party of colors and smells: flowers, tortillas, packages of fireworks, piñatas, fruit, raw meat, herbs and vegetables, ground spices in big canning jars. An entire table of different types of chilies towered as high as my shoulders.”

Naomi and her family visit Mercado de la Merced. This descriptive passage demonstrates how starkly Oaxaca contrasts with their lives in Lemon Tree, California. The sights and sounds of Oaxaca fill Naomi with a sense of wonder, and the intricate details reveal Naomi’s appreciation of beauty and her wonder at discovering a lost part of her heritage. The passages also reveal Naomi’s sense of awe and enchantment with Oaxaca City.

“The next morning, standing in front of the narrow mirror in Gram’s bedroom, I admired the Mexican girl looking back at me. I wore a new white peasant blouse with puffed sleeves that Gram had bought at el mercado. I touched the gathered neckline and blue and yellow embroidery down the center front. Gram always said that the clothes made the person [...] I was beginning to think Gram was right because after completing my outfit with a pair of slide-in sandals called huaraches, I knew I fit in with all the other brown girls in the barrio.”

Standing in the mirror admiring her reflection reveals that being in Oaxaca and connecting with her heritage makes Naomi feel confident and comfortable with herself. Naomi fits in in Oaxaca and develops a sense of belonging via her clothes, her family, the food, the holiday celebrations, and participating in La Noche de los Rábanos. Each moment contributes to her sense of belonging and becoming.

“On makeshift shelves of boards and bricks, a brigade of wood carvings appeared before us, painted in every bright color and decorated with fancy black lines and tiny dots: mermaids, tigers, roosters, Nativity scenes, serpents, birds of prey, dancing rabbits, cats, bugs, and lions.”

When Naomi learns that her father also carves little animals out of wood, she fills with pride, joy, and understanding. The animalitos, or as they are called in Zapotec, alebrijes, serve as a symbol for belonging and family throughout the text.

“Graciela turned me around to face her. She carefully situated a beaded headband in my hair. ‘No Naomi. You see, I am looking for my own life right here, with Rubén.’”

Graciela serves as a mother figure to Naomi while they are together in Oaxaca. Graciela responds to Naomi’s idea that a mother raising children on her own might want to leave her children, which is the only mother-child experience Naomi knows. Graciela lovingly and firmly corrects Naomi’s image of motherhood and provides an example that allows Naomi to see a healthy mother-child relationship.

“On the last day of carving, Beni brought in a radish that looked like a giant bulb. ‘What will you do with that?’ I asked. ‘It is for the crown. The lion. We want you to carve it…to thank you for your idea.’”

Naomi’s participation in La Noche de los Rábanos symbolically and literally represents her inheriting the family’s carving legacy. Bernardo, his brother-in-law, and cousin use Naomi’s idea to enter the contest, and she helps them carve animals for the final display. Offering Naomi the opportunity to carve the lion honors her skill. The lion also represents the León family legacy continuing in Naomi’s hands.

“León. Thinking about the name reminded me of the tiny thread of hope to which I clung. If my father came to the festival, would he see the radish tree full of animals and remember what he’d carved for us all those years ago? Would it make him happy? Would he like to know that his daughter was a carver, too?”

Naomi’s hopes and questions about her father differ from her hopes and questions about her mother. Naomi was desperate for her mother’s approval and changed who she was in trying to earn it. In this passage about her father, Naomi focuses on hopes that he might be happy with his children for who they are.

“Santiago looked at the lion, but sadness overtook his face. He shook his head back and forth. ‘It is the first year that a León did not carve in the contest.’ Fabiola smiled. ‘But you are wrong. A León did carve in the contest. Naomi, she did this.’”

When Santiago learns that Naomi is a gifted carver who carries on the family tradition at La Noche de los Rábanos for the 101st year in a row, he is overjoyed. This chapter’s title, “A Pride of Lions,” is a play on words that refers to both the León family reunion and the pride Santiago feels in seeing his child’s gift for the family tradition. In this moment, a reunion and relationship between Naomi and her father is fully realized as he learns his talent has been passed to her.

“‘Our Lady of Solitude is loved by sailors and fishermen,’ he said. ‘She protects us at sea: when our boats are rocking in a storm, when it is foggy and we can’t see the way, when we need to get home and our motor fails us. Then we ask for her assistance. She is part of Oaxaca. And since you have her name and have been here to see the wonder of this city, Oaxaca is part of you.’”

During a visit to the basilica that honors the patron saint of Oaxaca, Santiago gives the children more context for their middle name, Soledad. His explanation provides a metaphor for the children’s name and life stories. They lost contact with their father during a storm and traveled to Oaxaca to reunite with him. Like sailors calling out for Our Lady of Solitude to return home, the spirit of Oaxaca called the children home to their father.

“Gram loves us and takes care of us. She’s been both our parents all rolled into one, until we met our father. Lemon Tree is my home. That’s where I belong. I don’t want to go to Las Vegas to live with Skyla. Skyla said she would hurt Gram. She said something bad might happen to Gram if I didn’t go with her to Las Vegas.”

At the custody hearing, Naomi has an opportunity to tell the truth about Skyla, the way she’s treated the children since her return, and much more. Naomi feels surprised when she starts to speak and finds herself unable to stop until she’s told the entire story. It took courage, and her courage helps the judge make a ruling in Gram’s favor. This moment represents Naomi finding her voice and culminates her transformation into Naomi the lion.

“She looked at me funny. ‘You know something, Naomi? Your voice is louder.’”

Blanca, who gave Naomi her nickname, acknowledges that Naomi has come full circle and blossomed into “Naomi the lion.” Throughout the novel, Naomi’s quiet voice and her paralyzing fear keep her from speaking up. By the time she returns from Mexico, Naomi remains reserved but unafraid to speak up for herself, both literally and figuratively.