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Mexican WhiteBoy
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 has ignored Danny’s mom’s calls since he arrived in National City, but he finally answers the phone a couple days after the dinner at his grandma’s house. His mom says that Randy asked how Danny is doing and that he’s going to send him money. She cheerfully reports that San Francisco is beautiful and cultured, and that it’s better than San Diego in that every race is integrated (in San Diego, there’s a lot of segregation). When his mom hangs up, Danny is disgusted. He sees his mom’s actions as an affront to Javier and resigns never to live with her again.
Danny’s anger toward Wendy is disproportionate. Though it is still not clear why Javier left his family, the blame Danny puts on Wendy is unfounded. It is true, though, that Wendy moving to San Francisco further disrupts her teenage children’s lives at a time when they are already fragile. It’s possible that Danny feels hurt and abandoned by his mom—or by both his parents—even if he cannot process his emotions as such.
Themes
