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Danny Lands in National City
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. At the stickball game, Uno, the Black boy Danny spotted, is up to bat. He steps up to the makeshift home base—a trash can lid—as the pitcher, Chico, stands at the piece of curb they use as a pitching mound. Uno hits the tennis ball, and Big Raul and Lolo fight to catch it. Raul is a chubby amateur rapper, and Lolo is skinny and covered in tattoos done by his brother. The boys joke around and diss each other in English and Spanish.
The third-person narration switches here from Danny’s to Uno’s perspective—it continues to flip between the two throughout the novel. The improvised baseball field illustrates the stickball players’ limited resources. As the characters chat and the narrative introduces their nicknames, it becomes clear that these kids belong to a tight-knit community. Everyone seems to be fluent in both English and Spanish.
Themes
2. Every Saturday during the summer, Mr. and Mrs. Rodriguez host a “home run derby.” Players each put two dollars in a hat to participate, and whoever hits the most tennis balls over the Rodriguezes’ house during the day goes home with all the money. People from around the neighborhood come to watch the derby, and it functions as a social hub. Uno thinks he can win a lot of money from the derby this summer because he’s ahead of most of the other kids in strength and size. Uno’s dad is Black and Uno’s mom is Mexican.
Uno is half Black and half Mexican, but earlier Danny assumes that Uno is Black (and not Mexican). This suggests that Uno’s physical appearance is very different from the others in National City—and that it affects how people view him. Since the home run derby is a central part of National City’s social life, it seems like it could be an opportunity for Danny to make money, though it may pose a challenge for Danny that Uno is determined to perform well at this summer’s derbies.
Themes
3. At the derby, Uno is well in the lead. He hits another homerun, and his stepbrother Manny cheers for him. Manny is “slow in the head,” as a social worker puts it, and he and Uno are as close as blood-related siblings. Uno does a dance at home plate to entertain Manny, and all the spectators laugh. Uno tells Chico that the derby isn’t just about winning, but it's also about putting on a show. Uno sees Sofia approaching with a “light skinned Mexican skater-looking kid,” and the idea that he might be her boyfriend annoys him.
Manny is intellectually disabled. A social worker using the term “slow in the head” suggests that the culture of National City is glib in its attitude toward differently abled people. Uno’s care for Manny speaks to Uno’s strong family values. The kid Uno sees with Sofia is Danny. It’s ironic that Uno assumes that Danny is fully Mexican, because Danny assumes that Uno is fully Black. Neither of them considers that the other could be mixed race. Uno doesn’t yet know that Danny is Sofia’s cousin, and his upset reaction to seeing them together suggests that Uno may be jealous.
Themes
