Pocho: Analysis of Major Characters
"Pocho: Analysis of Major Characters" delves into the complex lives of characters in the novel "Pocho," focusing on their struggles with identity, cultural dislocation, and personal growth. Central to the narrative is Richard Rubio, a sensitive young man of Mexican heritage aspiring to be a writer, who navigates the challenges of growing up in a migrant family. His father, Juan Manuel Rubio, a once ruthless soldier of the Mexican Revolution, grapples with his past while trying to adapt to life as a migrant worker in the U.S., ultimately prioritizing his ties to Mexico over his family. Consuelo, Richard's mother, embodies traditional values but begins to assert her independence in response to her circumstances, reflecting the evolving role of women in a changing society.
The narrative also introduces other characters, such as Richard's peers—Ricky Malatesta, who reveals conventionality beneath his fearless facade, and Zelda, a tough girl who shifts from a dominant role to becoming a romantic interest for Richard. Educational influences come from João Pedro Manõel Alves, a teacher whose own failings impact Richard's worldview, and Marla Jamison, who inspires Richard's literary pursuits. Together, these characters illustrate the intricate interplay between personal aspirations and cultural heritage, set against the backdrop of post-revolutionary Mexico and the American experience.
Pocho: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: José Antonio Villarreal
First published: 1959
Genre: Novel
Locale: Santa Clara, California
Plot: Bildungsroman
Time: 1923–1942
Richard Rubio (RREW-bee-oh), a young man of Mexican heritage who, while growing up in the farmlands of California, aspires to be a writer. The only son of a disillusioned soldier of the Mexican Revolution who is in exile as a nomadic day laborer, he is indulged by his doting mother, eight sisters, and proud father. He is ridiculed by playmates as a “dirty Mexican” and forced by his father to accept a challenge to fight in defense of his male dignity and national pride. Richard is not a typical boy; his is a sensitive, observant, contemplative, and questioning mind that finds escape from shame, and shelter from violence and crudity, in books. When his father abandons his family for a young Mexican woman, Richard becomes the head of the household. He chooses, in self-defense, to throw off this responsibility. Only by enlisting in the Navy and heading into the unknown of World War II can he escape his mother's clutches and the captivity of her insular world. Pocho stands as eloquent testimony to Rich-ard's successful escape, on the wings of language, from the poverty, lack of education, cultural oppression, and social injustices that pervade the world into which he was born.
Juan Manuel Rubio (hwahn mahn-WEHL), a fiercely passionate patriot in the Mexican Revolution who settles into family life as a migrant worker in the United States during the Depression. In his role as a soldier at the beginning of the novel, Juan is a cold, ruthless killer whose only real sentiment is dedicated to his worship of Pancho Villa and the cause of the Mexican Revolution. After the assassination of Villa, Juan escapes criminal prosecution by flight across the Rio Grande. Settled with his family in Santa Clara, California, he seems a different man, hardworking, loyal, and generous. The one aspect of his personality that remains unaltered is his fierce attachment to his native land and his intention to return. So powerful is this intention that he cannot bear seeing his family assimilate American culture, and he abandons them.
Consuelo Rubio (kohn-SWEH-loh), Juan's submissive wife and Richard's doting mother. Consuelo experiences twelve pregnancies by the age of thirty-four; she is very much a product of male-dominated Mexican tradition. In her years in America, however, she absorbs new attitudes. She finds that she does not have to acquiesce to physical abuse, and she learns that she can enjoy sexuality, not just suffer it. Although Consuelo is far from “liberated” by her discoveries, she does become more possessive of her husband and more assertive of her own needs. Refusing to get a divorce from her husband when he abandons her is consistent with her religious tenets, but it is also an act of defiance and independence.
João Pedro Manõel Alves, a forty-year-old Portuguese aristocrat. Known familiarly as Joe Pete Manõel, this older man is a teacher and fellow poet to the child Richard. Through him, Richard learns much of other places, other social classes, and other lifestyles. To the town's horror, however, it seems that Joe Peter Manõel has abused a twelve-year-old girl, Genevieve Frietas. Her pregnancy and Joe Pete Manõel's commitment to an asylum leave Richard shocked and disillusioned.
Richard (Ricky) Malatesta (mah-lah-TEHS-tah), a school-mate of Richard who appears fearless and destined for great social success. Richard claims him as his best friend. Ricky is revealed as shallow, materialistic, and generally conventional as he matures, and he and Richard grow apart.
Zelda, the tough female leader of the neighborhood gang of boys. At puberty, the aggressive, battling tomboy becomes the sexual property of the males she has terrorized. Richard claims her as his steady girlfriend and commits her to sharing her sexual favors exclusively with him.
Mary Madison, a Protestant schoolgirl. Three years younger than Richard, she befriends him and shares his enthusiasm for writing. Although her family is moving away, she declares that she intends to marry him.
Marla Jamison, the daughter of the owner of a pear farm. Admired for her courage in the face of defiant laborers, the older Marla becomes a mentor for Richard, encouraging his interest in reading by sharing her interests and her library with him.