Introduction: Jimmy McClean’s Stories Stories
Jimmy McClean’s stories in “In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse” by Joseph Marshall III and of Julia in “I am not Your Mexican Daughter” by Erika Sanchez both present teenage characters whose nature refuses to merge in the melting pot of the multiculturalism of the United States. However, when both of them revert to their past and use transformation methods of adaptation, they not only come out of their confusion and depression, but they also become important members of their adopted culture. The transformation methods both of the protagonists use to merge in the new cultural setting come from their indigeneity and a revisit to their indigenous culture. In the case of Jimmy, it comes through his journey with his Grandpa to the Lakota community and prairie while in the case of Julia Reyes, it comes from her visit to her grandma and aunts in Los Ojos in Mexico. In fact, both protagonists not only use their confusion but also their cultural shock and revisit their indigenous culture to reshape their cultural identity and merge into the new culture.
Anxiety and Depression in Jimmy McClean’s Stories Stories
Whereas confusion, anxiety, and depression in the strange culture is concerned, Julia Reyes faces it on account of overprotective parents at home and open and liberal culture at school and in the city of Chicago. Therefore, whenever she wants to merge in the liberal cultural settings, she finds one or the other impediments in the shape of her mother Ama at home when she sees that she is not culturally connecting to her familial traditions while her elder sister Olga has won all praise at home on account of her being “perfect Mexican daughter” and labeled as “Saint Olga” (Sanchez 9). She clearly states “Ama and I haven’t had that kind of relationship since I was little” (9). Therefore, whenever she intends to cross limits, she faces obstacles and has to face accountability at home whether it is about befriending others at school or in the neighborhood. Therefore, she is fully aware that she cannot become Olga and a perfect daughter belonging to her Mexican mother. She rather wants to make a career in other fields instead of conforming to the traditions of becoming a domestic woman. Another chagrin that she feels the most and that leads to her depression is that Olga has won the approval of the family even in her death, but Julia could not follow her even after trying to do her best. This anxiety and confusion of not mixing up in either culture leads her to try to commit suicide. Jimmy McClean, the protagonist of, In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse, faces the same thing though he has been brought up by a Lakota mother and Indian-American father. His anxiety about his roots and his different culture leads him to depression when he hears his mother saying that his problem is that “you three Lakota parts are all hidden inside. Your one white part is on the outside” (Marshall III 11). That is why instead of fighting with brothers and sisters he finds refuge in the trees and by the “Smoking Earth River” where the roots of his Indian culture are lying buried. In fact, he faces alienation and depression when other boys at school make fun of his racial identification. Being only 11 years old, he has blue eyes but light brown hair, and at home, his mother has already pointed out to him his Lakota background. Therefore, he has double consciousness that he belongs to that community as well as the white community which has led to his alienation and anxiety. All this is because of the cultural shock that the protagonists feel when merging into the other culture.
Cultural Shock in Jimmy McClean’s Stories Stories
The cultural shock comes when a person faces another culture outside of the boundaries of his home. A home is always a protected family place where the traditions of the family, or mainly the indigenous cultural traditions, have an upper hand. Mostly, women preserve these family traditions. Ama plays an important role to instill in Olga that she is a “perfect Mexican girl” (Sanchez 9), and the same into Julia that she is not perfect as she does not conform to the family traditions. However, when Julia goes out of home and comes to know her Mexican background as strange and misfit in the school setting, she often takes a period off to cry out in the washroom. She tries to merge into that culture but again at home, she faces her overprotective mother who questions her. Even when her mother becomes a bit lenient, she “tells me I am better not act volada, which means “flirtations” Julia declares (Sanchez 78). What she means is that her mother does not let her mix up with boys, or make a boyfriend, though, she sometimes becomes lenient. However, when she goes out, she finds it entirely opposite. Her secret dating with Conner and then fear that her mother would find it out is part of the same cultural shock. The same goes with Jimmy McClean. Although he is taught at home by his mother that he is Lakota as well as white, he tells his favorite Grandpa that he is not accepted at school. He tells him “They say I’m not Lakota” (Marshall III 130). This shocks him that he is told at home that he is Lakota and out of home that he is not that. When his Grandpa Nyles asks him to follow him to the creek and up to the river, he is puzzled to go to the roots as the white cultural setting has already caused a shock. Both the protagonists try to merge in the dominant culture after revisiting their own culture to reshape their cultural identity.
Cultural Identity in Jimmy McClean’s Stories Stories
Reshaping of cultural identity lies, perhaps, in revisiting the original culture. Both the protagonists go on these expeditions alone, or with some of their relatives. Julia Reyes first does not accept her mother’s desire that she should visit her village back in Mexico to meet her grandma and aunts. However, after getting up from her failed suicide attempt, she goes to Los Ojos, her native village, and reconnects with her family members. It is her she learns about the secrets of her parents and what sacrifices they have rendered to bring her up in the best environment in Chicago. Therefore, this visit to her own culture proves beneficial for her to reconnect her present to the past and shows her how to better her fate in America. That is why when she comes to know about his father that he has been a painter, she asks and responds saying “Julia, sometimes in life you don’t get to do what you want to do” (Sanchez 226). It is here she learns that Apa has sacrificed his future for her daughters. In the same way, Jimmy comes to know about his culture when he revisits the Lakota region with his Grandpa Nyles. Grandpa narrates to him the old Indian history when animals used to be their mainstay and they used to understand each other. After hearing the narrative of Crazy Horse, he comes to know his real cultural past and feels proud of it. In other words, he does not feel shame for his being biracial but invents his identity that he has double features of both races.
Conclusion: Jimmy McClean’s Stories Stories
Cutting the argument of cultural identity short, it is fair to state that both the protagonists, Julia as well as Jimmy, first feel chagrin and depression at their being different. They do not find their true identity as they are different at home and different at school. Both people tell them that they are different from others. However, what they come to feel is that they are shocked that they are treated differently at both the places that are supposed to teach them about their cultural identity. However, when they find time to revisit their true cultural past and feel that they are different, they find their identity. It becomes very easy for them to reshape their identities and merge into the new culture with ease. Therefore, their transformative method is to revisit the culture of their past and make it feel present to reshape their identity.
Works Cited: Conclusion: Jimmy McClean’s Stories Stories
- Marshall III, Joseph. In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse. New York: Amulet Books, 2015.
- Sanchez, Erika L. I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2017.
Relevant Questions: Jimmy McClean’s Stories Stories
- How do the protagonists in Jimmy McClean’s Stories Stories “In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse” and “I am not Your Mexican Daughter” deal with their cultural identity crisis?
- What role does the cultural shock play in shaping the cultural identity of the protagonists in Jimmy McClean’s Stories Stories?
- How do the protagonists use their indigenous culture to adapt and merge into the new cultural milieu Jimmy McClean’s Stories Stories?
