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Spaghetti with Meatballs
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. Ever since Uno punched Danny, Danny hasn’t left Sofia and his uncle Tommy’s apartment. He had 15 stitches in the hospital, and he lied to the police and his family about what happened. Now, his own behavior reminds him of Danny’s mom when she gets depressed and doesn’t leave her bed for days. Danny blames his mom for Danny’s dad leaving and for whitewashing him. He barely talks to her anymore, but he still gets worried when she’s depressed. Now he’s the one who’s depressed, and he stays inside for days doing nothing but cutting his arm with his fingernail.
Since Danny is so worried about fitting in with the other teenagers in National City, it’s plausible that he lied about his head injury because he knew that incriminating Uno would hurt his social status. Again, Danny seems to think that Javier left his family to get away from white people. This may be why Danny blames his mom for Javier leaving—because she is white. Danny self-harms as a coping mechanism for a variety of negative emotions—earlier for social anxiety and now for feelings of depression.
Themes
2. Danny reminisces about feeling like an outsider at his private school in Leucadia. He didn’t make the school baseball team because he was pitching outside the strike zone during tryouts. Coach Sullivan told Danny to try again next year, so he spent the season watching the team practice. He paid special attention to the team’s MVP, Kyle Sorenson, so that he could learn from him.
Not making the school’s baseball team adds to the isolation Danny already feels in Leucadia due to his race. Danny is diligent when it comes to baseball; considering how badly Danny wants to make Javier proud, it’s likely that impressing Javier motivates Danny’s hard work at the sport.
Themes
3. One night before Danny comes to National City, his mom (Wendy) has a dinner party to introduce Danny and his sister Julia to her new boyfriend, Randy. Randy wears a suit to the dinner and holds a bottle of champagne. Danny is annoyed to learn that Randy is white and thinks it’s “disrespectful” of his mom to date a white man. He remembers Danny’s dad attacking a white man at the beach who was hitting on Wendy. Javier was arrested at the scene while Wendy cried and apologized, but Danny wonders whether she really did feel sorry.
It becomes clear here that Danny’s animosity toward his mom is misplaced—he thinks it’s wrong for Wendy to date a white man even though Wendy is white and Danny himself is half white. Judging from Danny’s memory of what happened at the beach, his parents had an unhealthy relationship. Though Javier was in the wrong in this memory, Danny does not seem to recognize this; instead, he seems to believe that Wendy was in the wrong.
Themes
4. Back in the present, Sofia checks on Danny in his cot. He thinks about how out of place he feels with his Mexican family, even though he’s grateful for them. He doesn’t understand half of what goes on at family gatherings since he doesn’t speak Spanish, and the family treats him differently because he gets good grades at a private school and wears expensive clothes. They serve him first at meals, which makes Danny feel uncomfortable. He gets the feeling they are somewhat ashamed of being Mexican, and he wishes he wasn’t from a nice neighborhood so he could fit in with them.
The fact that Danny is sleeping on a cot rather than a bed is another detail pointing to the Lopezes’ relatively low socioeconomic status. It’s ironic that both Danny and his extended family each feels inferior to the other. The cultural differences between Danny and the other Lopezes prevent them from bonding as equals.
Themes
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5. Danny applies ointment to his injuries in the bathroom, passing his uncle Tommy as he leaves. Tommy goes into the bathroom and immediately comes back out, screaming, “What the hell died in your ass?” at Danny. Danny is shocked and confused, but Cecelia and Sofia laugh as Tommy keeps yelling that they need to give Danny different food because the bathroom smells so bad. Finally understanding the joke, Danny heads back to his cot.
Danny’s reaction to Tommy’s joke shows that Danny is still adjusting to his family’s culture and sense of humor. Danny’s startled response may also suggest that he associates adults raising their voices with anger and violence. Based on Danny’s memory of his dad angrily attacking a stranger at the beach, it’s possible that Javier is angry and violent in other settings, too. Randy wearing a suit to Danny’s house and bringing champagne indicates that he has a lot of money.
Themes
6. In a flashback to the dinner party where Danny and Julia met Randy, Danny’s mom taps her wine glass so that Randy can make an announcement. Randy says that—though he’s known Wendy for only seven and a half months— he wants Wendy, Danny, and Julia to come live with him in San Francisco. He boasts about how nice his house and the city are. Randy and Wendy are giddy with excitement, but Danny and Julia are horrified. Wendy says the kids have the choice of going to National City with Javier’s family for the summer instead. Danny chooses National City, and Julia chooses San Francisco.
San Francisco has one of the highest costs of living in the U.S., so Randy bragging about his house there confirms that he is quite wealthy. Randy and Wendy both seem to try to cater to Danny and Julia’s wants and needs—they think going to San Francisco is a great opportunity—but they are out of touch with the kids’ true emotions. Danny blames Wendy for breaking up the family, so he wants nothing to do with her or Randy.
Themes
