Final Project Assignment

Hum 205

Daniel Bouros

Perhaps, there is more meaning than the gravity into why leaves fall off the tree above the

roots. The natural aspect of trees to fertilize the ground and nourish future generations made

possible to see them nowadays. There is no doubt that humans follow the same patterns throughout

their lives which scientist will claim is evolution. Generation after generation we shape history as

well as our future in this world. Indeed, they all are different but each of them brought something

that makes us the best. The first medication, first fly on the moon, the very first computer are things

that shaped each generation. It is hard to explain why humans see themselves through the next

generations and how comes that most of the discoveries were made by people that did not even

have the time to enjoy them. But, despite these things we still build this bridge throughout the

generations even though we cannot see the shore.

I AM NOT YOUT PERFECT MEXICAN DAUGHTER by Erika L. Sanchez is a perfect

example of an interaction between two generations that not only grew up in different times but

also were affect by two different cultures. Since the author, herself is a daughter of immigrant

parents she has the authority to discuss this subject so comprehensive, which eventually made her

the finalist of the National Book Award for Young People's Literature in 2017. Erika emphasizes

the major cultural and ideologic despairs between the main character a fifteen years old girl named

Julia and most of her family members, therefore, making this book an exceptional work about the

cultural conflict in immigrant families “ I don’t see the point in going through all this trouble when

we can buy them at the store. What king of woman are you going to be if you can’t even make a

tortilla?” (33). Also, throughout the entire book, the readers have a great perception of things that

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are accepted, rejected or adopted by each character. What is more important is that the author

offers a broad view of the conflicts between two cultures which shape each character’s identity by

such things as family, region, language, believes and education.

The freedom of choice makes people different. This is the story of a fifteen years old girl

named Julia Reyes which is the daughter of an immigrant family from Mexico. Since Julia was

born and raised in Chicago her identity is created based on American culture “You don’t

understand tia. She thinks I’m wild and crazy, but… I want to be independent. I want to be my

own person, with my own life” which goes against most of the cultural values perceived by her

family (273). While she is characterized by her mother as a difficult child “That’s how I’ve been

described my whole life- terca, necia, cabezona-all the synonyms for” stubborn” and “difficult”

most of the readers can feel the vibe of freedom and ambitious in Julia's identity (272). These are

definitely strong, adapted characteristics which make Julia so different but unfortunately rejected

by her mother. She looks like a bird that wants to explore the world to open new borders and

achieve success. But what can a bird do if you keep it in a cage? She definitely identifies this world

much different than her family and shoveling through the books make her vision even more

complex. Julia would never be the stay-at-home-mom and neither the perfect Mexican daughter.

She enjoys the freedom of reading the books that she likes “I love the smell of old bookstores –

paper, knowledge, and probably mildew” and pursuing a career that would eventually make her

happy (169). Her persistence and ambition “I want to go to college. I want to see the world “are

exceptional strong characteristics that were accepted years ago and adopted by the new generation

(89). However, leaving in a family which values came from a different society may affect your

identity and there is no way that Julia would not be influenced by them to a certain degree.

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Therefore, although she is not enjoying the diversity of Mexican holidays, she savors the food and

appreciates the Mexican literature.

On the other hand, we have Julia’s mother which identity best exemplify the values of

Mexican culture. Care, love, and compassion are some of the strongest, adapted characteristics

nourished in her mother's personality” We just want you to be careful and protect yourself” (332).

Indeed, her mother was much more influenced by her native culture and therefore she has hard

times when it came to understanding her daughter personality. Furthermore, the lack of education

diminishes her perception of diversity and freedom which eventually leave her with a single choice

of establishing a family “Ama doesn’t have any friends and sees no point to having any. She says

all a woman needs is her family” (56). She is also characterized as a hard worker which represent

a significant strong characteristic of her personality but because of her background, she ends up

working for pennies. Readers may perceive her as a helicopter parent that establish the control on

each of daughter actions “ For example, she is always, always opening the door without asking or

knocking, and when I tell her I need privacy, she laughs” but digging deeper into the narratives

the audience understand that this is actually a protective mechanism that “Ama" establish to protect

her daughters from everything she suffered throughout her life (216).

Another character that is the opposite of Julia's identity was her "perfect" sister named

Olga. Olga's identity was definitely influenced by her family and therefore, she is the perfect copy

of her mother and mostly fits the same identity “I know Ama loves me and always has, but Olga

has always been her favorite” (21). She was the “Perfect Mexican Daughter” which adapted the

most appreciated characters such as care for the family and devotement to her parents “Olga was

the perfected daughter-cooked, cleaned, and never stayed out late” (20). However, she had a lack

of enthusiasm in her life which made her apathetic toward her personal development “Olga loved

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her job, even though she was only a receptionist. What could be so fulfilling about filing and

answering phones?” (21). Her identity never asserts such strong characteristics as ambition and

perseverance and even thaw reader finds out about her "secret" life later in the book it still does

not highlight such a strong identity as Julia. She devotes her life to something that had no future

and overlooks the possibility of getting the education that could help achieve personal success.

Despite the predominance of the mother and sister in Julia’s life the author introduces to

the readers another important character that shapes Julia’s identity. The girl named Lorena who is

Julia’s best friend and her only escape into freedom has a big role in her life ”Ama doesn’t like

Loren because she thinks she’s wild and slutty, which isn’t true, but she has been my friend since

I was eight and is more loyal than anyone I’ve ever known” (10). Lorena’s character is described

as ambitious, independent and confident “Lorena insists we go sledding because, according to her,

winter is boring as fuck, and she’s going to lose her mind if she’s sequestered in her apartment any

longer” (184). Strong characteristics that lie inside Lorena’s personality gave the readers a

suggestion about the similarities that two girls share. Her personality underlines the liberal ideas

of our society which are followed by the readers throughout the book.

Identity formation is an intricate process that is affected by different social institutions.

As readers follow Julia’s and over multiple characters life in the book, I AM NOT YOUR

PERFECT MEXICAN DAUGHTER they would understand that identity is influenced by family,

cultural values, society, level of education, etc. Therefore, characters that were exposed to multiple

and diverse constructive factors would end up with different experiences witch lead to a

distinguishable identity.