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Del Mar Fair
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. Still at the fair, the boys are at a pitching booth. Raul pays two dollars for three pitches. Uno cheers Raul on as he prepares for his own turn. The booth was Uno’s idea—he wants to show his friends how fast he can pitch. The fair worker says the speed gun is the same as the ones used in major league games. Raul’s fastest pitch is 56 mph. 2. The boys take bets that Chico can pitch faster than Raul. Chico’s first two pitches are 56 mph, so he’s tied with Raul. The boys make a commotion that draws in more spectators. Uno blows on his hands to get ready for his own turn. On his third and last pitch, Chico clocks 58 mph, and everybody cheers. The boys exchange bills.
Even though Chico, Raul, and Uno are in competition, they all support each other, as they are good friends. Uno is confident that he’s the best pitcher, and, considering his negative reaction to Danny’s hitting at the beginning of the story, Uno seems to base his image and self-worth on his baseball skills. It’s important to him that others view him as a talented player. Uno and his friends seem to have money on their minds all the time, which their betting here exemplifies.
Themes
3. It’s finally Uno’s turn, and everyone places bets on him. Uno notices a group of white soccer players stop to watch among the accumulating crowd of spectators. He loves when white people watch him, as he considers athletics the only thing that white people don’t dominate. Uno’s first two pitches are 64 and 66 mph, and Uno can tell that the crowd is impressed. His confidence builds, and his last pitch clocks in at 69. One of the white girls compliments him.
Uno’s view that white people dominate everything except athletics mirrors Senior’s suspicion that white aristocrats try to control people of color. Uno’s desire to be the best baseball player among his friends now seems to be at least partially rooted in race—it’s important to him to be good at baseball because he believes that sports are the only area he can excel in as a person of color.
Themes
4. Sofia and the other girls approach the booth—pulling Danny along— as Lolo is up to pitch. Lolo pitches 54 and 55 mph and gets angry as everyone laughs. He claims that the game is rigged, and comes at the fair worker, threatening to bring a gun to the fair. The others hold the belligerent Lolo back, and the worker kicks him out of the game. A white person in the crowd insults Lolo, which riles him up even more. Since Lolo only made two throws, the boys must decide who’s going to pitch his last ball.
Everyone in the group has been drinking, and Lolo probably reacts so aggressively because he is drunk. At many other points in the novel, alcohol spurs various characters to act with unwarranted aggression or violence. Like Uno, Lolo is hypersensitive to white people’s opinions, suggesting that he harbors resentment rooted in race.
Themes
5. Chico suggests that Danny pitch, and even though Sofia says he’s too drunk, everyone agrees to let Danny throw the last ball. Uno feels guilty upon seeing Danny’s injured face. Raul bets that Danny will throw faster than 50mph. Chico says he’ll throw slower, and Uno agrees. No one takes Raul’s side until Liberty emerges and bets five dollars that Danny will break 50 mph.
Uno’s guilt about punching Danny shows that Uno knows the attack was out of line—he did it impulsively, without considering the consequences. Liberty supporting Danny suggests that the connection he feels to her may be mutual.
Themes
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6. Danny unsteadily walks up to pitch. He casually throws the ball, and the radar reads 85 mph. Everyone is shocked into silence. Uno pays two dollars for another three pitches for Danny. Uno observes Danny’s clothes and thin physique and wonders how he can pitch so fast. Danny throws another ball at 86 miles per hour, a perfect curveball at 72 miles per hour, and the last ball at 92 miles per hour. Everyone cheers wildly, and the fair worker says Danny is the fastest pitcher he’s seen in six years. Uno just watches, shocked.
Danny pitches faster than anyone else, though he appears to be the drunkest one in the group. The skill that Danny reveals here begs the question of why he didn’t make Leucadia prep’s baseball team.
Themes
