As a work of creative nonfiction, the story of the Yuma 14/Wellton 26 does not fit as well into the theme of identity as a struggle between cultural/familial values and choosing one’s own path in life as the other books we have read this semester. Rather than metaphorically finding their own paths in life, these men are quite literally and physically moving themselves away from their families and their cultures. For the interactive map from the presentation, click here. In The Guardians, Gabo must forge his own identity separate from his family's. Tía Regina is not religious, going as far as to scorn it, but her sobrino Gabo is. Regina says, of Gabo, that her “biggest fear is he’s gonna become a priest. Wait ‘til Rafa hears about it. He’ll be so disappointed” (7).
In Gabo’s search to defining himself and finding an identity leads to his experimentation with a gang. At the barbeque birthday party that Miguel throws for him, Gabo invites his friend Jesse. But he also ends up inviting the whole Palomino gang. When El Toro gets up to leave, Jesse and Tiny Tears go with him; and then Gabo follows too. Regina says that he “didn’t thank us for the party, say good-bye, or even look at nobody. He just hurried off and got in Jesse’s car with the others. It wasn’t like my nephew not to mind his manners” (80).
After Gabo leaves with the Palomino gang and has a run-in with the police, he goes to Padre Juan Bosco’s house rather than home to his aunt Regina’s. She says that he is “a boy trying to figure things out” (97). The Padre assures Regina that when Gabo is ready, “he’ll go home on his own” (99). This is a very interesting statement, especially given my thesis for these Latino novels. This would in turn suggest that once young individuals take the time trying to figure out who they are and what their identity is, they ultimately end up back in their homes, as the Padre puts it—in their family and cultural origins.
On the other hand, The Devil’s Highway contains a literal path away from the cultural and familial expectations in the Latino characters’ lives. Each of them are leaving for different specific reasons, but all of them are leaving to better their lives and the lives of their families. Enrique Landeros García went on the journey to get enough money to “pay for a more straightforward chance at a future” for his children to go to school (52). Reyno Bartolo Hernandez “went to Don Moi for money to pay for [his adopted daughter’s] care (53). All of these men, along with the others not mentioned here, are choosing to temporarily abandon their families and cultures to assure a better life for their families. They have chosen that a future for their children is more valuable than their own lives—death is a well-known consequence of the path on the devil’s highway. As adults, their identities are tied to the lives of their children more than they are tied to the men themselves. Perhaps once Gabo reaches adulthood, he will find that his identity is intrinsically tied to his family.
I like your point about how characters in both books cross physical borders as well as metaphorical ones. I tend to think of borders as distinct – a national border, a psychological border, a cultural border – rather than intertwined. But as you note, they are linked; any immigrant has to leave someplace physically, but he or she also has to leave family and community to cross into something new. Such borders can be of many natures and intensities. Moving from Ohio to Indiana for college was difficult for me, but it wasn’t nearly as big a change as any of the immigrants in The Devil’s Highway or The Guardians went through.
ReplyDeleteInteresting angle on The Guardian's. Because I'm focused on matriarchs for my topic, I had not throughly analyzed the character of Gabo. I think you make an interesting point, quoting Padre Juan Bosco, "he'll go home on his own."
ReplyDeleteWhile you are focused on the search for identity in these latino books, it almost feels as if––when it comes to the very human search self––there's really no limiting it to a specific group. How many parallels can we draw between Gabo's questions, decisions, and mistakes and those we've made along the way?
I really appreciate your very humanizing look at such a difficult, dehumanizing situation.
I find your point about coming of age being partially about finding our way back to our family and culture to be really good. I would be interested in hearing more about how or why this process works. Why do people feel compelled to leave the nest in the first place, and how do they find their way back?
ReplyDeleteI also wonder how the border might complicate this issue. Many Latinos in the United States have managed to remain both separate from their families and country of heritage, but still culturally distinct.
I wonder how and why this happens? At what point does someone cease to be an Italian American or Irish American, and simply becomes an "American?" It seems like there must be a time when a generation leaves and never comes home.
The way in which the Yuma 14/Wellton26 left their homes to support their families reminds me of slave narratives in which parents sometimes leave their children in order for the greater good of ultimately purchasing their freedom. In these instances, a commitment to family causes people to leave their families with the ultimate goal of benefiting them. The problem in both cases is that those who leave in order to benefit the families are also gambling with their own lives. This is a hard thing for those of us who have not been in such a situation to understand. It's interesting that the governor of Veracruz welcomes home the bodies of the men who did not survive as "heroes." This hero's welcome suggests that the men did something that is honored in Mexico--serving their families at all costs. Of course, then the government is somewhat disingenuous in not allowing the bereaved families anywhere near the TV cameras, but substitutes an attractive young actress instead. Both The Guardians and The Devils' Highway show how the Border situation serves to physically divide families, sometimes causing fatalities that severely cripple them.
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