Cultural Relativism and Themes in Under the Mesquite
Cultural relativism means to try to understand another’s culture instead of judging it. The opposite of cultural relativism would be ethnocentrism, which, I believe, is practiced more often in society. When one does not understand another’s culture, the first thing they will do is judge and make assumptions without even trying to accept it. How come people do not attempt at understanding other’s beliefs? I believe that if one does not want to take the time to learn about different cultures and their reasons behind different practices, they will create their own ideas. When one creates their own ideas without facts, that is when judging and misunderstanding occurs. Although not judging and trying to understand is a difficult thing to do, it is possible if one puts in the time to read and learn. The book Under the Mesquite by Guadalupe Garcia McCall, allows its audience to take an adventure through a different culture, their beliefs, and the theme of overcoming obstacles.
Overcoming obstacles is incredibly difficult for people when life has thrown you nothing but curve balls. No matter what one’s culture is, obstacles are found in everyone’s lives. Although “life is unfair” is a common saying that I am sure everyone has heard at least once, it is not a lie. There is not one human on this Earth who has the perfect life with no complications. In the book, even Abuelita Hortencia says, “Sometimes it’s best to take things down and start all over again. It’s the way of the world, Lupita. No use fighting it” (Garcia McCall 924). Overcoming obstacles is something that everyone has to do at some point in their life. Whether it is a short obstacle course, a long obstacle course, an easy, or a more difficult one, everyone goes through it. Of course, there is a wide range of obstacles that one goes through depending on the culture. However, I believe that because everyone has to deal with their own obstacles it has a great connection to cultural relativism. Obstacles can be understood by anyone, no matter the culture.
While reading Under the Mesquite, I found myself comparing my life to Lupita’s a whole lot. There were many different occurrences in her life that I found extremely relatable to my own life. For example, she is the oldest sibling which meant she was more mature and had to deal with a lot more responsibility. In my family, I am also the oldest sibling and with that position comes a lot of responsibility. As the oldest in the family, my younger siblings look up to me. While her mother was in the hospital in Galveston and even after she had passed away, Lupita had to take care of her younger siblings as if they were her own children. My parents have always been incredibly hardworking like Lupita’s parents. Due to my parents’ jobs, I always had to take care of my siblings by picking them up from school, taking them to their extracurricular activities, feeding them, and getting them all ready for bed. As the oldest, I did resent having to take care of my brother and sisters, but I knew that it was what I had to do. In the book, Lupita tells her mother in an argument, “I’m tired of playing mama. You do it. They’re your kids!” (Garcia McCall 242). I laughed as I read this sentence while Lupita was complaining to her mother. Those were the exact words I would use when my mother did not let me go out with friends because she needed me to watch my siblings. Another similarity that I found in our lives is the fact that we both had two different homes. In the book, Lupita says, “Mami said we were the luckiest children because we had two homes” (Garcia McCall 223). Although I was born in the United States of America, my parents lived in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico before I was born. Both my parents were American citizen and when they decided to move to the United States in order to give me a better life and education, they could not get rid of their beloved home in Mexico. This house meant the world to them and they wanted to share this house with their future family. Thankfully for me, my parents decided to keep the house in Mexico while starting their life in the United States. Since our home in Monterrey was always there for us to go visit, my parents liked to take my siblings and I almost every other weekend to experience the Mexican culture, visit our grandparents, and eat some good food. Lastly, the one similarity that I found incredibly important in the both of us was the need to be the first one in the family to go to college and finish. Although both my parents have good, stable careers, neither of them attended college. My parents got the positions they work at because of their hard work and determination to give their children a life that was better than theirs. My parents worked so hard in order to send all of their children to good schools and join any extracurricular activity that we wanted. There is nothing I want more than to finish at the university and be the first generation to graduate. I know how proud I will make my parents when I finally graduate with my bachelor’s degree.
Under the Mesquite by Guadalupe Garcia McCall is about an immigrant family that moves from Mexico to a small city in Texas called, Eagle Pass. Throughout the whole book, the readers will discover what it was living as a Mexican American and all the different obstacles that Lupita and her family had to overcome. In an interview, Guadalupe Garcia McCall says, “I think a lot of writers write what they know, and I’m no different” (Lee & Low Books). I believe Guadalupe Garcia McCall was able to create a character like Lupita that represented herself because of the many obstacles she was able to overcome. She survived moving into the United States, judgement from her friends in high school, her mother’s death, and moving away for college. I believe she just needed to write her story in order to inform her audience with similar obstacles that success is possible. She was able to tell such a detailed, personal story to the whole world because she knew her message was important and had to be heard. From the whole book, the theme that stood out to me the most was how she overcame all of her obstacles. Although it might have been hard to relive her mother’s death, I believe she also saw this as another obstacle that she had to get through. In an interview, Guadalupe Garcia McCall says, “Under the Mesquite is the book of my heart, the semi-autographical book we all carry inside us, the one you have to get out of your system or die if you are a writer” (Ellington 2018).
The book Under the Mesquite is filled with words in Spanish, traditions, and different beliefs that Lupita’s family say and do. For example, the book talks about La Llorona’s legend, La Muerte, and the Virgin Mary. After reading the book, one will be able to understand or have the need to go learn about the culture that is being shown by the author. This is also where cultural relativism has an impact on the audience. Guadalupe Garcia McCall spoke about all of the obstacles she had to overcome throughout the story. After learning about these obstacles from Under the Mesquite, seeing her happiness, success, and awards just proves that anyone can overcome the many obstacles that life sets out for you. In her personal website, Guadalupe Garcia McCall says, “When I write, I think about how important and valuable life and all of its experiences are, so I try to write stories that give meaning to those experiences” (Garcia McCall). For me, when the author says “experiences” it feels as though she is talking about the hardships she went through.
Works Cited
Ellington, Kay. “5.27.2018.” Guadalupe Garcia McCall 031818, Lone Star Literary Life, www.lonestarliterary.com/guadalupe-garcia-mccall-031818.html
Garcia McCall, Guadalupe. Under the Mesquite. New York: Lee & Low Books Inc., 2011. Print.
Garcia McCall, Guadalupe. “The World Belongs to the Dreamers.” Guadalupe Garcia McCall, guadalupegarciamccall.com/.
“Under the Mesquite Interview .” Interviews – Under the Mesquite | Lee & Low Books, Lee & Low Books , www.leeandlow.com/books/under-the-mesquite/interviews.