111 pages • 3 hours read
Matt de la PeñaMexican WhiteBoy
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2008A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Themes
Violence and Its Consequences
Violence and its consequences drive the plot of Mexican WhiteBoy. It is used to exact justice by characters who either don’t want to wait for it or feel it will be not be properly served. Danny’s father is in jail for assault, which is why he has left Danny. The impact on Danny of his father’s abandonment defines the conflict. Danny’s father is one of several male characters who resort to violence as a way to maintain power over others. When their power, usually in the form of pride or status, is threatened or called into question, the perpetrator of the violence behaves like a desperate animal defending itself against a predator. He reacts immediately and with no thought. The acts vary in intensity, though the reason behind the displays of force is uniform across the board.
These characters have something else in common: they have limited currency or status in the world outside of their homogeneous group, and so they shun and are threatened by those from other backgrounds. Society does not tolerate violence as a form of problem-solving, hence, Danny’s father is in jail. It is also why the “carney” who runs the pitching booth at the fair laughs at Lolo when Lolo threatens him with violence. Whatever gives Lolo authority in National City does not work at the Del Mar Fair.
Violence and intimidation are seen as successful when used within the group, however. Uno’s beating up of Danny sends a strong message, not only to Danny but to anyone watching, that he, Uno, is still number one. Uncle Ray also has success using intimidation inside the group when he threatens Uno for beating up Danny. Outside of the group, though, Uno and Ray’s tactics are not effective. Uno is sent to jail for beating up a frat boy downtown and does so because the presence of the frat boy alone is threatening to Uno. Privileged whites make Uno feel poor and powerless. Additionally, Uncle Ray’s disproportionately-violent response to the homeless man who runs into his Broncois rooted in his need to be respected as well. This grotesque display of rage acts as one point of climax in the novel.
False Hope versus Real Hope
Truth is consistently elusive in Mexican WhiteBoy, and untruths, in the form of omissions, take its place. Not having necessary and accurate information leaves the characters ill-equipped and unable to make decisions based on facts. Several characters believe and act on information that has no basis in reality; as a consequence, they suffer, either by having no hope or a hope based on falsehoods. Damage is done because people are not truthful about important matters. Progress cannot be made if people are making decisions and forming opinions around falsehoods. Danny’s belief that his father is in Mexico gives him hope that he will find his father if he goes there; however, if Danny were to go to Mexico, he would not find his father. His belief that his father purposely chooses not to see him makes him feel unworthy, a pain that compounds over time. Once Danny learns the truth, he is able to have real hope. Danny knows it is up to him whether or not he’d like a relationship with his dad. He arrives at thinking he might not need his dad, but he might want to know him; this realization gives him true hope that he is going to be okay either way. Truth, omissions, lies, hope and false hope are discussed in the context of poverty. He teaches Uno and Danny the truths he has arrived at through his studies and his faith. He has true faith in God, and he believes in hard work and in himself. These ‘truths’ have enabled Senior to transform and have not only given him hope for his own future, but for his Uno’s future as well.
Physical Manifestations of Emotional Pain
Violence is not only used by one character against another as an expression of fear or loss, but also by one character against their own person. Danny dislikes himself and is extremely uncomfortable with who he is, and he takes these feelings out on himself by inflicting physical pain. His digging behavior is akin to the mode of self-abuse known as cutting, and it occurs throughout the novel. Danny has an extremely low opinion of himself due to his mistaken beliefs about his father’s feelings for him. Each time something happens to remind Danny of his situation, or when he feels discomfort of any sort, he transfers his inner pain to outer by cutting his own skin with his fingernails and, when he becomes very distraught, with tweezers. He has become so numb from the intense emotional pain, that feeling a physical manifestation of it actually reaffirms he is alive. He inflicts physical pain until he learns the truth about his father and comes to the realization that he could possibly be okay on his own. With the inner pain alleviated, so, too, is his need to inflict physical pain.
The Limiting Nature of Homogeneous Groups
The teenage characters in Mexican WhiteBoy are unable to see opportunity in the way others can, and this is, in part, due to the homogeneous nature of the neighborhood in which they live. This at-risk group of young people must overcome numerous obstacles to live productive, safe and healthy lives. They are challenged by poverty, institutionalized racism, violence and underfunded schools, but perhaps the biggest challenge they face is having no ability to see the opportunities that exist beyond the confines of their group.
The teenagers and adults alike are held to this group by poverty and family dynamics, but also by choice: having a group of likeminded peers is comforting and enjoyable. The young people lack role models; furthermore, they have nowhere to connect with, or even see, someone they respect doing or being something they might aspire to become. This homogeneity perpetuates behaviors, both good and bad. For instance, the loyalty they have and the care they show for one another are commendable in any community. However, there are other norms within the group that limit opportunity. For instance, Sofia, Uno and the others attend school and speak English, but inside their group of friends, they speak in a way that signals belonging to the group. To someone on the outside, and to society at large, their incorrect use of language portrays them as under-intelligent. What an outsider thinks about them or their language is likely of little importance, because everyone they care about is part of the homogenous group.
In addition to their variations of the English language, there are other behaviors that are not only limiting, but dangerous, too, including the frequent use of, and exposure to violence; being under the influence of and reliance on drugs, tobacco and alcohol; acting in ways that are gratuitously unlawful; and living with the effects of early promiscuity, such sexually-transmitted disease and teen pregnancy. With the exceptions of the Rodriguezes, Senior, and later, Wendy, the young people in the novel have no interaction with anyone who encourages higher education or who teaches them how to constructively tackle the obstacles before them. It is difficult to get new information into, or form new ideas within, a closed system or environment. Whether it be a region, a religion, a political group, or, as is the case in Mexican WhiteBoy, a homogenously-comprised socioeconomic group, education, mentors, and access to unseen opportunities are essential if people are to realize their innate potential.
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