Under The Mesquite

In Part 1, McCall highlights the depth of the connection that identifies Lupita’s family. Lupita is a careful observer of her family’s habits and personalities and can sense danger instantly once her mother begins acting slightly abnormal. Lupita’s observations are very much tied with her own identity as the eldest child of eight. McCall emphasizes this role several times in the first five chapters, symbolized by the umbilical cord Mami holds on to as a keepsake of her first love, her first child. Lupita is therefore honored as the oldest child and feels a keen sense of responsibility for her family. When she confronts Mami with the truth of Mami’s illness, Lupita uses her status to convince Mami that she deserves to know. In rearticulating Lupita’s role as the firstborn, McCall distinctively implies the importance of the family dynamic. This is a close-knit family, one that relies on one another and looks out for each other.

McCall compares the importance of the family dynamic as equal to the sacredness of the Catholic Church and faith the family practices. When Lupita feels helpless at the thought of her mother dying from cancer, she seeks solace in the Church and even tries to commit herself to becoming a nun, in service to God as she is to her mother. When Mami refuses to allow Lupita to enter a convent, McCall demonstrates the power of the love that exists in Lupita’s family. Because Mami doesn’t allow Lupita to commit to a life of service over education and career, McCall shows how focused on family Mami is—even over her faith.

The love and care Lupita’s parents put into their family is further demonstrated through the symbol of their garden. In figurative and literal terms, Lupita’s parents move to Texas to continue to plant: They have four more children and literally create a beautiful garden. The thorny and stubborn mesquite that sprouts disturbs Mami, as it is a symbol of a thorn in an otherwise beautiful and happy family, much like her cancer.

The family finds further connection through their Mexican identity. McCall sprinkles her prose with random phrases in Spanish, italicized to show the value of the family’s cultural and linguistic heritage. By reminding the reader of the family’s status as immigrants, McCall emphasizes the strength of the family unit. McCall implicitly reminds the reader that this is a family who has weathered moving to a new country together, learning a new language and culture together, and forming new family and community. The strength of this family is in their reliance on one another, which is embodied in Lupita’s sense of responsibility for her mother and her younger siblings.