Pocho by Jose Antonio Villarreal

994 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: A short history of Latin American literature

Pocho by Jose Antonio Villarreal

Many people would say that to be born a Mexican is to be born a Catholic. This perpetuating stereotype has forced many Mexican families to raise their children as if no other religions options even existed. In the book Pocho by Jose Antonio Villarreal a young boy by the name of Richard Rubio finds himself being raised Catholic by a traditional Mexican family. Richard, struggling to find his place in the world, has his parents religious beliefs pressed down on him forcing him to conform to a religion he does not agree with. Throughout the course of the novel the Catholic religious beliefs imposed on Richard affected his personality in many ways. By the end of the book it is clear that not allowing others to find their own spiritual calling can have drastic effects on their ability to recognize who they are. Many of the spiritual problems Richard faces in book are common to a number of Mexican children. Through the use of my personal experiences in being in a situation similar to that of Richard's, I intend to support my claim that forced beliefs may have damaging effects on a person.

As soon as the main character Richard is introduced into the story line we learn his beliefs about god before we even learn his name. Perhaps Villarreal, even this early, is tiring to show readers that in the Mexican American culture religion, specifically Catholicism, plays an extremely large role. Richard carries his Virgin Mary picture home which he received as a reward for being the first in his age group to learn the catechism protecting it in his handkerchief. The Catholic Church has often rewarded people for their achievements when pertaining to studying their religion in hope that they will encourage them to remain catholic. When I attended catechism I was always rewarded for having perfect attendance. This idea that you will be rewarded for an achievement or attendance may be a way for the church to make sure you are there every Sunday and behaving well. Richard claims that the picture had little value to him but it was a symbol of recognition. Surely he would go home and present it to his mother knowing that it being from the church would mean a lot to her. Many times I would do the same thing with my tokens of recognition, posting them proudly on the refrigerator, not because it was worth anything, but because of the praise I would received for it.

Show More
Related

  • The Day It Happened by Rosario Morales

    1290 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Domestic violence, or intimate partner violence, is defined as a pattern of assaultive and coercive behaviors, including physical, sexual, and psychological attacks as well as economic coercion that adults or adolescents use against their intimate partners” (Peeks-Asa). When it comes to domestic violence many people don’t want to get involved, but if just one person took a stand maybe others would follow and potentially save a life, like the neighbors did in The Day It Happened by Rosario Morales. Domestic violence can happen to anyone at any time, there is no typical victim or perpetrator. The fact that there is no one specific group that domestic violence occurs in more than another, only makes it more difficult to get an accurate representation of just who is being affected by this crime. “Domestic violence and abuse does not discriminate” (Smith and Segal). Domestic violence can have specific victims such as a spouse or domestic partner, a child, or an elder. Domestic violence can affect men as well as women. Some types of domestic violence are physical, verbal or nonverbal, sexual, stalking or cyberstalking, economic or financial, and spiritual.

    Read More

  • Broken Spears by Miguel Leon-Portilla

    1495 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Broken Spears is a book written by Miguel Leon-Portilla that gives accounts of the fall of the Aztec Empire to the Spanish in the early 16th century. The book is much different from others written about the defeat of the empire because it was written from the vantage point of the Aztecs rather then the Spanish. Portilla describes in-depth many different reasons why the Spanish were successful in the defeat of such a strong Empire.

    Read More

  • Hotel Sorrento By Hannie Rayson

    530 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hannie Rayson’s play ‘Hotel Sorrento’ explores the changing nature of Australian cultural identity. Rayson successfully perpetuates and challenges common Australian stereotypes in order to establish how the Australian National Identity has changed over time. She presents these stereotypes through the characters expectations of gender roles, attitudes towards Australian culture and the theme of ownership.

    Read More

  • The Christo Aparecido

    1559 Words  | 4 Pages

    The study of religion is often a rigorous process because the central tenets of the subject: image, ritual, and myth are often copious in their complexity. For example, consider the multiple meanings that are inherent in the image of a crucifix. Some Christians might view it as an image of suffering, whilst others would reject that notion and instead perceive it to be one of love. These differences may seem inconsequential at first, but they can overtime shape the beliefs of an individual and by extension a community. To understand this dynamic better one only has to analyze the Christo Aparecido (Christ Appeared), an authentic Mexican crucifix with a fascinating history from the colonial era to the present. This history is made known by the text, Biography of a Mexican Crucifix: Lived Religion and Local Faith from the Conquest to the Present by Jennifer Hughes, from which I contend that over the life of the Christo Aparecido there continues to be an understanding among devotees that this crucifix is sacred because it displays animus while being a vestige for the sacred to occupy. To support my position I will attempt to relate the moments where the Christo Aparecido is said to show signs of life, in particular his stay in Mexico City during the colonial era and his role in more modern times with rival groups clashing over its efficacy in the village of Totolapan.

    Read More

  • Lieutenant Nun by Doña Catalina de Erauso

    1093 Words  | 3 Pages

    “From Lieutenant Nun,” a memoir written by doña Catalina de Erauso, tells an intriguing story of a young Spanish female and her advantageous journey through Spain and the New World. Her family intends for her to become a nun but, that is not the life she seeks for herself. Therefore, she breaks away from the convent in hopes of finding somewhere to make her fortune by passing as a male. Catalina’s story is noteworthy because it gives readers another perspective of exploration focusing on self-discovery during the seventeenth century emphasizing how passing as a male is the only thing that secured her ability to explore. In the memoir, Catalina repeatedly reminisces about clothing and, whether she consciously or unconsciously does so, she allows the reader to see that this is an important aspect of her exploration. Throughout Catalina’s journey, clothing plays an increasingly important role not only in her travels but, also her personal life because it symbolized ones status, role, gender and privileges.

    Read More

  • Being There by Jerzy Kosinski

    778 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the short story “Being There”, by Jerzy Kosinski, there are multiple examples of satire that are displayed throughout both the book and the movie. A few of them are: media, death, politics, and racism. The satire of the media was very similar in the book and the movie. Media played a big role in society and still does to this day.

    Read More

  • Social Work Case Analysis: The Sanchez Family

    736 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Sanchez Family is a large family that emigrated to the United States of America from Mexico. The family is deeply rooted in the Catholic faith and retains their Mexican culture. The family members that this case analysis will focus on are Hector Sanchez and his daughter, Gloria Sanchez. This analysis will provide a review of the family members and how each lens and theory is related to the family member and their presenting concerns.

    Read More

  • Upside Down by Eduardo Galeano

    1700 Words  | 4 Pages

    The novel Upside Down, by Eduardo Galeano depicts the injustices and unfairness of several branches of the global society. The differences between the colonized and the colonizer as Galeano writes is always growing and so is the gap between rich and poor. The author challenges western and eurocentric minds as to why on average, countries in the northern hemisphere have a higher standard of living than countries in the southern hemisphere. At first as a reader I thought the writer was whining about the unfairness of the world, but it is the social opiates such as the false idea of capitalism and choice that keeps us in check in this so called democracy. The author forces the reader to open their hearts to a concept that today's capitalist, power hungry society has almost forgotten

    Read More

  • Gabriel Garcia Marquez's A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings: Religious Symbolism

    1626 Words  | 4 Pages

    Religion has had a profound effect on human culture; unfortunately, the trouble with it is faith, which creates skepticism in many individuals. In order to accommodate the issue of faith, religions have regulations, values, and ceremonies, making religion a belief system, hence creating clarity to support faith. Catholicism has become a belief system that feeds its follower with answers; however, these answers are only assumptions. There are no factual answers, and as a result, religious leaders have created an expectation in which religion is supposed to fit; nonetheless, its accuracy is unknown. In Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s short story “A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings,” the values of religion are the center of criticism. A man with enormous wings, the protagonist of the story, is never strictly classified as man or angel. He is a rejected by society because he goes against the society’s expectation of what a true angel should be, an expectation taught to them by religion. The ambiguity of the old man with enormous wings tests the true faith of the followers of Catholicism, symbolizing an archetypical Christ figure. Both the priest and society’s foul response to him demonstrates the society’s understanding of religion to be superficial. As a result, the story argues, followers of religion must not rely on the assumptions their religion has created but believe instead, with faith.

    Read More

  • Gringo by Sophie Treadwell

    1924 Words  | 4 Pages

    As a journalist in 1920 for the New York Herald Tribune, Sophie Treadwell was assigned to go to Mexico to follow the situation after the Mexican Revolution. (Mexican Revolution 1910-1917) She covered many important aspects of the Mexican Revolution during this time, including relations between the U.S. and Mexico. She was even permitted an interview with Pancho Villa in August 1921 at his headquarters. This interview and other events that she experienced in Mexico are presumably what led her to write the play Gringo. In Gringo Treadwell tries to depict the stereotypical and prejudicial attitudes that Mexicans and Americans have about each other. There is a demonstration of how Mexican women are looked at in the Mexican culture and how they see themselves. The play also corresponds to similar events that occurred during the Mexican Revolution.

    Read More

  • Fiesta, 1980 by Junot Diaz

    1016 Words  | 3 Pages

    Within the works of “Fiesta, 1980” it takes us in the lives of a Latin American family. We are described a traditional style Latino family were there is a dominate father figure, a submissive mother, and obedient children more or less. There are two boys the eldest Rafa and the youngest Yunior and their younger sister Madai. During the transgression of the story it is conveyed through the eyes of Yunior. And like any typical family it has its own story to tell.

    Read More

  • Pouliuli by Albert Wendt

    1317 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Pouliuli, a novel written by Albert Wendt, Faleasa Osovae awakens to find the life he’s been living all along is a mere façade. Pouliuli invites readers into the Samoan community of Malaelua, which is turned topsy-turvy when Faleasa misleads his aiga and community by acting maniacal. Albert Wendt ties a famous Malaelua saga about a mythological hero named Pili to Faleasa Osovae’s life. In the myth as well as in Faleasa’s story, they both had the same goal, which was to live the rest of their life “free”. To accomplish this goal, they both had to accomplish three tasks. Pilis’ tasks were to eat a mountain of fish which the giant’s had caught that day, to race the giants down a river, and make himself disappear. Faleasas’ tasks were to destroy Filemoni, Make Moaula the new leader, and remove Sau and Vaelupa as council leader. Of course they couldn’t have done these tasks alone so both of them enlisted help from friends. Pili enlisted the help of Tausamitele, Lelemalosi, and Pouliuli. Faleasa enlisted the help of his long time friend Laaumatua and his son Moaula. Finally to get the freedom they so wished for they had to complete one last task. In Pili’s case it was to divide his kingdom among his children while Faleasa had to remove Malaga as congress of the village. In the end, they both end up with nothing. Both ending up in the darkness of Pouliuli.

    Read More

  • You Foolish Men By Sor Juana Ines De La Cruz

    744 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Who is more to blame though either should do wrong? She who sins for pay or he who pays to sin?” Throughout “You Foolish Men” by Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz the central question lies around who is to really blame for the suppression of women. De la Cruz attempts throughout her poem to portray men as ludicrous for their a double standard of women. However, De la Cruz blames human nature more than men for the suppression of women.

    Read More

  • Snow, Yolanda by Julia Alvarez

    1194 Words  | 3 Pages

    Culture molds the character of writers and gives a variety of different perspective on certain life experiences. In Julia Alvarez’s short story Snow, Yolanda, an immigrant student, moved to New York. While attending a Catholic school in New York, bomb drills were performed. The teacher would explain why these drills were important. Yolanda later found out that her first experience of watching snow was not the best experience one could possibly have.

    Read More

  • Life is a Dream by Calderon

    1163 Words  | 3 Pages

    A person's ability to develop is due to two factors, maturation and learning. Although maturation, or the biological development of genes, is important, it is the learning - the process through which we develop through our experiences, which make us who we are (Shaffer, 8). In pre-modern times, a child was not treated like they are today. The child was dressed like and worked along side adults, in hope that they would become them, yet more modern times the child's need to play and be treated differently than adults has become recognized. Along with these notions of pre-modern children and their developmental skills came the ideas of original sin and innate purity. These philosophical ideas about children were the views that children were either born "good" or "bad" and that these were the basis for what would come of their life.

    Read More

More about Pocho by Jose Antonio Villarreal

Open Document