Mexican White Boy Seminar ReflectionSEMINAR PRE-WRITE
What masks do Danny and Uno have to wear? The masks that Danny and Uno wear are very different but similar at the same time. Danny wears a mask that seemingly hides his thoughts and emotions. In the first section at the bottom of page 2 Sophia talks about how Danny rarely speaks; “Danny ain’t no big talker, all right. He’s mad smart, gets nothing but A’s at the best private school in San Diego, but don’t get your chones in a bunch if you can’t never pull him into a convo.” Because Danny is a mostly white kid in a Mexican neighborhood he seems to put on a mask that makes him invisible. Danny’s mask is full of suppressed emotion that he later in the book releases. It seems that a lot of Danny’s harsher emotions are spurred by his parents. Uno definitely seems to be socialized by the man box, as shown on page 109 with the story about Uno getting hit by the ball and his dad yelling at him. Even as a young child he had to put on a tough guy mask and conform to the man box standard of boys not crying. Uno for most of the book plays a tough guy act to be excepted in their rough, tough community. Use the concepts of socialization to explain “Mexican Whiteboy”. In MWB socialization is a large role. In the Leucadia community the boys are socialized to act tough. In the book it says Uno went to juvie, but as the book goes on Uno shows that he is actually a sensitive guy. Also, the girls seem to be socialized to act as more of objects than people. The girls are treated with a lack of respect. As shown on page 207 the people in the community are used to death and violence because they have witnessed it often. What new insights did you gain about race and economic class? MWB really shows the perspectives of different races. Danny grew up in a different setting than the others. He has nice clothes, proper education, and a different life. Because he grew up differently when he moves he witnesses a different side of everything. Danny even though he is intelligent he want to be able to speak spanish, be less smart, and fit in more with his family. It seems that Uno was socialized quite differently than Danny. Uno was socialized in a less wealthy area. He grew up making the most of what he could, with less money, less education, and seemingly more exposure. In the chapter Del Mar Fair everyone is drinking and treating alcohol like a normal thing, while Danny has never drank and alcohol is a more of a foreign concept. This division is due to socialization. Danny’s friends were socialized around alcohol thinking it was a normal less frowned upon thing, while Danny was socialized with it being frowned upon. Economic class is also something talked about often in the book. The division between the classes is shown in this book. When Senior is talking to Uno about Oxnard he talks about why he is setting the price high. Senior asks if Uno will be a wisher or a worker, I feel this could be to give Uno more of chance than others have had. (PAGE 99) SEMINAR REFLECTION Reaction: One comment I very much agreed with was the idea of how Senior played such a big role in the way Uno was socialized. I agreed with this statement because while reading the book I felt that Senior was someone who Uno looked up to and wanted to be like and it seemed that now as Uno is older Senior is trying to socialize him differently to not make the mistakes that he did. I feel that Senior is trying to make up for his mistakes by having Uno go down a positive path. Connections: A connection I have with this seminar and book is with the recent socialization project that I did. We learned about socialization and identity. We used our personal experiences of socialization as our inspiration. I feel that this book showed insight to the aspects of socialization through race and economic class that I personally have never experienced. Self- Evaluation: I feel that I did well comprehending, listening, and sharing personal opinion in this seminar. I am someone who observes for best comprehension. I listened and considered what others were saying before I shared my thoughts on what we were discussing. Even if I was not the most vocal in the seminar I feel that I was full engaged and what I said enhanced the seminar. Most Beautiful Line: I feel that the most beautiful line in Mexican Whiteboy was; “The two of them sit in silence and stare at the pale colors slowly fingering their way into the dark sky, around the recycling plant.” (Peña 247) This line shows change and forgiveness. During the book Danny and Uno have both changed the way they act and their relationship. The book began with them at odds, disliking each other, and fighting. Through the book they bonded, forming this beautiful friendship shown in this line. This line stands out for me the most because it shows a beautiful friendship of forgiveness in an area that does not posses much beauty. |