Analysis Of Into The Beautiful North By Luis Alberto Urrea

National identity is the sense of belonging to society. Introducing Benedict Anderson, he is a political scientist who explored nationalism. One of his great definitions that describe national identity would be, “an imagined political community – and imagined as both inherently limited and sovereign…It is imagined because the members of even the smallest nation will never know most of their fellow-members, meet them, or even hear of them, yet in the minds of each lives the image of their communion” (Benedict). To describe this quote, it is that national identity is a community of citizens that have a common culture and ethnicity. In the novel, Into the Beautiful North, by Luis Alberto Urrea, it is about a group of adolescent girls who travel

According to Sanchez, Delida, “the virtuous/chaste pillar describes how a Latina is expected to main-tain her virginity until marriage” (2). Delida is saying that national identity is about teenage girls in Mexico that should not have sex with anyone strictly till marriage. However, in the novel, Into the Beautiful North, Yolo violates this strict rule, “Nayeli looked in at them. She watched him atop Yolo. She could smell them. His bottom was pale blue in the window light. Yolo’s thighs were dark, like shadows. Her feet crossed over Matt’s back” (257). The strict rule that a teenage girl should not have sex till marriage was broken in the novel by Yolo. In addition, teenage girls are expected to show respect and obedience to their elders according to Delida, Sanchez, “the subordinate to others pillar reflects the belief that Latinas should show obedience and respect” (2). Delida refers that national identity is based on that Mexican girls have to obey their elders and show

According to Kim, Peter Seung Yoo, friends highly influence values and and beliefs, “During these formative years, friends not only shape adolescents’ values and beliefs but also influence them on a wide range of developmental domains, including social identity and competence” (2). Kim, Peter Seung Yoo says that friends have a huge impact during the early adolescent stages of a teenager’s life. Friends are a part of a person’s life for a large part of their life, especially in the early stages of life, formatting their social identity and competence. In addition, in the novel, Into the Beautiful North, Nayeli and Tacho have been friends for a long time and have created an inseparable bond with each other, “As the bandidos prowled the town and its outskirts, Tacho and Nayeli went about their day” (15). It is not stated that Nayeli and Tacho have been together for a long time, but it is hinted upon based on when Nayeli and Tacho help each other when the bandidos come to their