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The Green Lollipop
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Mexican WhiteBoy, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Race and Identity
Fate vs. Opportunity
Violence, Power, and Coping Mechanisms
Coming of Age
Family, Friendship, and Culture
Summary
Analysis
1. Danny takes a phone call from Danny's mom. She boasts about San Francisco and how well everyone is doing. But suddenly, she starts crying. She explains that there is no real problem but that she’s not happy. She’s alone in Randy’s huge house all the time with nothing to do, and though she thinks most women would be thrilled with the arrangement, she hates it. She wants to move back to Leucadia with Danny and Julia. Danny is concerned for her, and Wendy explains that she always used to think a new man could make her happy, but she’s realized that no one can.
Just as many of the characters have or used to have unhealthy coping mechanisms, Wendy uses romance to cope with hardship. After moving to San Francisco for Randy fails to make her happier, she realizes that nobody but herself can give her the personal fulfillment she desires. Instead, she must turn inward and focus on what really matters to her: her family. This mirrors the realization Danny is slowly coming to—that a strong sense of self-worth empowers him more than the approval of others.
Themes
Wendy says that Javier is the only man she’s ever been in love with. When Danny asks why they’re not together, she doesn’t answer. He cuts deep into his arm as he presses his mom for answers. She doesn’t tell him, simply repeating that Danny’s dad “is a good man.” Wendy tells Danny that struggling to know who you are doesn’t stop in adulthood. She wants to be with Danny and Julia because she realized that they’re all she needs. After hanging up the phone, Danny asks Sofia what happened between his parents. She says that Javier hit Wendy; she thinks Danny has a right to the information.
Wendy might not want to tell Danny that Javier is abusive in order to protect Danny, or she might not want Danny to look down on Javier, since Wendy seems to still believe that Javier “is a good man.” In reality, keeping this information from Danny does him more harm than good. Sofia seems to believe that since abuse and violence run in families, Danny should know what his family history entails.
Themes
