The novel I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sánchez portrays a stark contrast between the personality of the protagonist, Julia, and the cultural expectations imposed upon her as a Mexican-American woman. I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter is a semi-autobiographical novel, drawing from author Erika L. Sánchez's own experiences growing up as a Mexican-American woman in Chicago. The novel tackles a variety of complex themes, including mental illness, family dynamics, and the immigrant experience in America. In the beginning of the story Julia’s sister Olga gets in a accedent with a truck and is run over. Julia’s mom thought of Olga as a perfect daughter and after Olga’s passing, Julias mom is constantly comparing Julia to Olga in every aspect of life. In I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter, …show more content…
She is outspoken, curious, and often challenges the gender roles and cultural norms that her family adheres to. Julia's mother, for example, expects her to be the perfect Mexican daughter who is obedient, respectful, and subservient to men. However, Julia is not content with this role and constantly seeks ways to break free from it. She is also fiercely independent, which often puts her at odds with her family who expect her to prioritize family obligations over her own desires. Julia's personality is shaped by the conflict between her cultural heritage and the American culture she is exposed to. On one hand, she is proud of her Mexican roots and is frustrated by the way her family and community are treated in America. She is constantly reminded of the prejudice and discrimination that Mexican-Americans face, and this fuels her desire to challenge the stereotypes and expectations that are placed on her. On the other hand, she is also excited by the opportunities that America offers and is eager to explore the world beyond her family and
She explains how she didnt act like the other students, and did not speak like them, leading her to feel left out. She tries to “become” American, but she is still a little different because of her background. She can't ever fully get rid of her “immigrant origins” because they are a part of her history and life. Yolonda also describes her sisters' same conflicts with their identity as immigrants in the US, all four of them struggling to become American while also holding onto their roots. This further communicates Alvarez’s message and how immigrants often have a hard time “becoming american” and getting accustomed to the culture here.
Olga was the perfect daughter who did not go to college, followed all rules, and put family above anything. While Julia is her complete opposite; troubled, outspoken, and independent, with many dreams of attending college and becoming a writer. Throughout the book, Julia struggles with accepting the role of being a perfect Mexican daughter, handling adolescence and her parents’ high expectations; after all her sister was the one who was the perfect one. However soon she discovers not everything is as black and white as it once seemed and starts to discover the truth behind being the perfect Mexican-American daughter. I am not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika Sanchez is accurate with its truthful portrayal of the immigrant experience for Mexicans and the unfortunate history they have held when it comes to deportation, it provides a fair understanding of what the Mexican culture truly is and the values they uphold, while also providing a useful depiction of what it means to deal with mental health moreover giving more insight of the life of a teenage girl who is coping with grief and
Being a child of immigrant parents is not easy. You are constantly living in the fear that one day you’ll wake up and you parents won’t be there with you anymore. Specially now that we have a new president, things are getting more challenging. But don’t get me wrong, I live a happy life. I am proud to call myself a Latina.
One of the toughest adjustments, having been born to Mexican parents, is migrating to an unknown country where traditions and languages differ from one 's own. Though many pursue an education and strive for a better life, the purpose behind an immigrant, like myself, differs from the typical American. Immigrants strive for a life that was once impossible, going to school is not only to attain an education, but to better prove that we can also become successful regardless of our traditions and skin color. I lived in a country for over fifteen years, fearing deportation, not only losing a home, but potentially saying goodbye to a bright future. Although many feel empathy for Mexican-Americans, it is undeniably difficult to truly comprehend the immense trauma children and even adults undergo upon experiencing racism and prejudice.
For a nine-year-old who wants nothing more than to make her mother proud this was exciting. In the beginning, we can see her excitement and desire, “in the beginning I was just as excited as my mother, maybe even more so.” (Tan). However, as we follow the story we see her excitement quickly fade to sorrow and anger. The high expectations immigrant families place on their children is still a very relevant social issue and can be witnessed throughout the United States.
Being Hispanic has taught me a whole world of things. It has taught me that the world is not what you expect it to be. Going to a public school and being th minority is completely different than going to a see my cousins where every thing is different. The way we talk, the food we eat. Its all different.
The statement she quoted from her mother shows a deeper meaning than just that of “sounding like a Mexican”, this actually shows the internalised oppression her mother holds. This implies that the same forces which act upon our author have also acted upon her mother, forcing her to conform to their standards otherwise she would be rejected by society. The internalised part comes from racism seen by Latin Americans through the early 1900’s (before the 1900’s, and even today as well), her mother was most likely forced by authority figures (teachers, general adults, her own parents). Her mother was taught that the world she knew as her heritage was “wrong” so her self-image was skewed as a result which forced her to project this self hatred onto her daughter (which in-turn, would cause a domino-effect until their entire future bloodline would be culturally ignorant as their heritage was erased by
Las Vegas is where I was born and raised. That doesn’t mean that I just gave up on my Mexican culture. Like many others, I have a culture that is both American and Mexican. My culture has shaped my values, perceptions, and behaviors. The culture of my family, community, and society has made who I am as a person in numerous ways.
I’m Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter is a novel by Erika Sanchez. The main conflict is that Julia’s sister Olga has recently passed away, so Julia struggles with her mental health, depression and grieving, and the stress of schooling additionally with her home life and close relationships. Julia is very dismissive because of the close and messy relationships she has around her life. Julia is very self conscious because of the way her mother talks to her. Ama tries to set an expectation on Julia saying, “ You have to be pretty for your family.
She was a second-generation Mexican American, therefore typical Mexican traditions were not implemented in her life as strongly as others. Instead, she enjoyed a more Americanized, city lifestyle, not surprising considering she grew up in New York City. This inevitably transferred onto my siblings and myself, only to a greater extent.
Reyna Grande’s book “The Distance Between Us'' is an autobiography about Grande’s life before and after coming to the United States. It details the toxic relationship Grande had with her parents, from leaving her in Mexico with her siblings to fend for themselves at a young age under the roof of their grandmother, who constantly neglected and abused them to moving to America with their father. Here in this new country, Grande was initially overwhelmed with the country’s beauty and the opportunities that it provided, and just when we thought the story would take a turn, Grande is faced with the abuse of her father and finds it difficult to assimilate into this new country. With the support system of her siblings, and the desire to make her father
The immigrants entering the United States throughout its history have always had a profound effect on American culture. However, the identity of immigrant groups has been fundamentally challenged and shaped as they attempt to integrate into U.S. society. The influx of Mexicans into the United States has become a controversial political issue that necessitates a comprehensive understanding of their cultural themes and sense of identity. The film Mi Familia (or My Family) covers the journey and experiences of one Mexican-American (or “Chicano”) family from Mexico as they start a new life in the United States. Throughout the course of the film, the same essential conflicts and themes that epitomize Chicano identity in other works of literature
She studies their background and circumstances, explaining how “whether living in a labor camp, a boxcar settlement, mining town, or urban barrio, Mexican women nurtured families, worked for wages, built fictive kin networks, and participated in formal and informal community associations” (p. 5). These are the ways, Ruiz found, that helped Mexican American women make them part of the American society. She also talks about the attempts made by groups like Protestants that tried to civilize or Americanize the immigrant women but were unsuccessful due to the religious and community groups as well as labor unions that were formed to give them
I’m the first generation of my family to be Mexican -American, but I have been introduced to the Mexican culture since I was born. I appreciate the difficulties my parents have faced to make me the person that I am today even though I wasn’t born in Mexico my parents have taught me the language and the culture which I’m so proud of being part of. For others being Hispanic is actually being born in any Latin American countries which is not true at all. Being Hispanic is much more than my cultural background it actually describes how much I appreciate my culture and how I get to experience things other people don’t. I fit into the Hispanic community through the experiencing the culture first hand ,participating in traditions and planning to include my culture in my future.
Mexican Culture: Customs and Traditions The Mexican culture is very diverse which has undergone many transformations over several decades and the culture varies widely throughout Mexico and the United States. I will be more focused on the other side of the border and express my findings about the Mexican culture in Mexico. According to woldatlas an online database, the majority of Mexicans live in cities like Mexico City with a population of 12 million Mexicans.