Essay Example on Authenticity in I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Ericka Sanchez

Just like in other varieties of literature work, authenticity is used by throughout the novel "I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter" by Ericka Sanchez. Authenticity is a degree to which people's actions go hand in hand with their beliefs and their desires concerning a particular event. Throughout the novel, the author has used several characters, including Julia, as the main character to bring out the concept of authenticity. Authenticity has been employed throughout the novel to show racial, ethnic identities, gender, sexuality, family relations, secrecy, shame, independence, individual self-actualization, socio-economic class, language use, religion and pursuit of education. The author brings out the terms of the material world and their relative external forces, including parental and peer effects.

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The novel brings out Julia as a hopeless girl whose values and interests are not respected and appreciated at all. The author shows hopelessness in Julia's life where she complains, "I don't understand why everyone just complains about who I am. What am I supposed to do? Say I am sorry I am such a bad daughter? I am sorry I hate the life that I have to live?" Julia feels there is nothing she can do because the family and everyone else does not understand her, and they want to give her a life she doesn't like. At first, Julia feels hopeless at the burial of her sister, who seems to be the only hope of the family. She feels desperate and jealous of the fact that her sister is treated with love and respect. It reaches to the extent of observing lingering smirk on her face in the casket.

The smile in her sister's face means her sister is still the most treasured and the hope of the family, even in her death. Julia is also determined to have a good moment with her friends Lorena and Juanga, and as a result, she endangers her life in by sneaking out to meet them only to avoid being left out as a result of her mother's strict rules. Julia's feeling of stagnation and hopelessness results in her rebellion. She feels hopeless about her drive to know more about her sister's secrets, which, in most cases, is hindered. When she is about to pass the bad news about her sister's demise to Jazmyn, she discovers some secrets concerning the love life of her late sister, but she is unable to get the full information. She says, "The sky is still dark, but it's beginning to brighten. There are beautiful, faint streaks of orange over the lake. It looks like it's been cracked open. I think of Jazmyn's face when I told her about Olga. Everywhere I go, my sister's ghost is hovering."

Many secrets are surrounding Julia's life. When Julia Reyes and the entire family attend Olga's funeral, Julia is shocked by the lingering smirk, which represents a contrast to Olga's modest lifestyle. The author brings out the family secrecy as a direct and open commentary on the life of Olga that Julia does not match and never will. The determination of Julia to know the truth and to display her sister's secrets would make her feel relieved. it proves that there is a pain in Julia's life. "You know, Julia, you're always causing trouble, creating problems for your family. Now that she's dead, all of a sudden, you want to know everything about her? You hardly even spoke to her. Why didn't you ask her anything when she was alive? Maybe you wouldn't have to be here asking me questions about her love life." After the death of her sister, Julia is trying all ways possible to understand more about Olga.

The fact that Julia's parents and her aunt are annoyed by her inquiry into sister's secrecy shows that there are things they are hiding from her. Julia's mother blames her for her sister's death when she calls her a troublesome girl who keeps her own, causing family problems. The author says Julia is always starving even though Apa is employed in a Candy factory. Julia is forbidden from eating junk food in Reye's house, and as a result, she decides to eat it secretly. Julia is genuine because she appreciates her desire for junk food and goes for it no matter the restrictions. Julia discovers the secret behind her aunt's voice when she says, "Ama just shakes her head. "You know, Julia, maybe if you knew how to behave yourself, to keep your mouth shut, your sister would still be alive. Have you ever thought about that?" She finally says it. She says what her big, sad eyes were telling me all along. 'Julia finally opens up concerning her secrets when she says, "But how do we live with these secrets locked within us? How do we tie our shoes, brush our hair, and go to sleep, pretending everything is fine? How do we laugh and feel happiness despite the hurried things growing inside? How can we do that day after day?"

"Be careful. Please. The border... 'The fucking border.' I feel a wildness spreading through me. It's nothing but a giant wound, a big gash between the two countries. Why does it have to be like that? I don't understand. It's just some random, stupid line. How can anyone tell people where they can and can't go?" Julia feels tired of the desire of her parents to dictate her life. She wants to make her own decisions concerning her values and life interests. Julia further says, "In some ways, I think that part of what I am trying to accomplish, whether Ama understands it or not, is to live for her Apa and Olga. It's not that I am living life for them, exactly, but I have so many choices they've never had. And I feel like I can do so much with what I've been given.

What a waste their journey would be if I just settled for a dull, mediocre life". Julia feels that she should decide her course of life because she has many choices, and she doesn't need restrictions anymore. The author shows the need for independence in decision making. The author's choice of words is wholly dependent on the views and the perceptions of different characters. The author develops a foreign language through which she shares her ideas concerning the need for appreciation of different personalities and their and their related values.

The author brings out Julia's community as an illiterate. It is evident by the fact that only Freddy, out of the town as a whole, has made it to college. Julia does not accept Freddy's offer to help her with the college requirements. The passion of Julia for education is evident where she says, "I love the smell of old book stores- papers, knowledge and probably mildew." Her quest for learning is apparent where she decides to sit on a sofa and begins to read "The Catcher in the Rye" for almost half an hour at the boring family party.

Despite her efforts to venture into books, the family does not seem to care and support; instead. They are disappointed with her. It is evidenced at the party where men call her over to intimidate her concerning the book, her poor Spanish, and her quince. Julia's quest to discover her sister's secrets proves that she is inquisitive and loves knowledge. She gets herself into trouble with Ama, who reminds her that her troublesome at school led to the demise of her sister. Throughout the novel, Julia has shown the quest to venture deep into reading. The author brings out the community's perspective of racial and ethnicity as out of control

Julia's family relationships are challenging. This is evident where she receives harsh answers from her parents, such as, "Sometimes in life, you don't get to do what you want to do. Sometimes you have to deal with what's given to you, shut up and keep working. That's it." Julia feels jealous concerning her sister both in life and in death because Olga seemed to be the sole focus of her mother. The lingering smirk in Olga's face in her death shows that she's irreplaceable and never will.

The author addresses the unfair family relationship that exists in Reye's home. In most cases, Julia is always angry because she feels her mother does not value and respect her freedom, friendship, and the things she treasures most. This is evident when she lies to her mother after school about the extra time she needs to work on her project, but instead, she's planning to visit Lorena to do 'internet snooping.' Besides, Julia appears to love the world of books rather than attending her family party, which she describes as boisterous and nosy. She says she is surrounded by creepy men and fails to accept Freddy's offer to assist her in achieving college requirements.

References

GARRISON, J. (1996). A Deweyean theory of democratic listening. Educational Theory, 46(4), 429-451.

LARSON, M. S. (1977). The rise of professionalism: a sociological analysis. Berkeley: University of California Press.

MURRAY, C. (2006). The Conceptualization of Diversity and Equality in Early Childhood Care and Education. Unpublished MSc thesis, University College Dublin, Dublin.