Continue reading. Pocho by Jose Antonio Villarreal Many people would say that to be born a Mexican is to be born a Catholic. This perpetuating stereotype has forced many Mexican families to raise their children as if no other religions options even existed. In the book Pocho by Jose Antonio Villarreal a young boy by the name of Richard Rubio finds himself being raised Catholic by a traditional Mexican family. Richard, struggling to find his place in the world, has his parents religious beliefs pressed down on him forcing him to conform to a religion he does not agree with. Throughout the course of the novel the Catholic religious beliefs imposed on Richard affected his personality in many ways. By the end of the book it is clear that not allowing others to find their own spiritual calling can have drastic effects on their ability to recognize who they are.
Many of the spiritual problems Richard faces in book are common to a number of Mexican children. Through the use of my personal experiences in being in a situation similar to that of Richard's, I intend to support my claim that forced beliefs may have damaging effects on a person. As soon as the main character Richard is introduced into the story line we learn his beliefs about god before we even learn his name.
Perhaps Villarreal, even this early, is tiring to show readers that in the Mexican American culture religion, specifically Catholicism, plays an extremely large role. Richard carries his Virgin Mary picture home which he received as a reward for being the first in his age group to learn the catechism protecting it in his handkerchief. The Catholic Church has often rewarded people for their achievements when pertaining to studying their religion in hope that they will encourage them to remain catholic.
Pocho By Jose Antonio Villarreal Ebook Readers
When I attended catechism I was always rewarded for having perfect attendance. This idea that you will be rewarded for an achievement or attendance may be a way for the church to make sure you are there every Sunday and behaving well. Richard claims that the picture had little value to him but it was a symbol of recognition. Surely he would go home and present it to his mother knowing that it being from the church would mean a lot to her. Many times I would do the same thing with my tokens of recognition, posting them proudly on the refrigerator, not because it was worth anything, but because of the praise I would received for it.
The Church also would condition you to simply accept what you were told and never to be skeptical or question God. Richard at first accepts what he is told about God, but when he begins to question he would end up confused about what he believed. Many religious subjects raise questions to which a Catholic will make his best attempt to answer while keeping true to their faith. This faith that has been forced on to people since childhood hinders their true thoughts about many personal subjects because they are only allowed to answer within their religious bounds. When Richard makes his first attempt to become more educated and break free from these bounds his mother accuses him of blasphemy. He tells his mother how he loves to read and learn because he escapes their poor life style and questions why he should not do so. She answers simply that 'God says so' ending the argument leaving Richard answerless in his pursuit of truth.
When this oversimplified answer of 'because God says so' comes into use with the Catholic religion they leave many people dumbfounded. They claim that God says so but never actually give a reason to why he says so. When they do respond it is usually with something along the lines of 'because if you don't you'll go to hell.' This response is no more than a threat and does not answer any question ever purposed. All it usually does is scare young children into a conditioned state of fear which may cause serious psychological side effects later in life. When the clarification of a legitimate question actually does arise Richard is simply told that there are some things to which he must not discuss with a priest.
However if you are not allowed to go to a priest, a spiritual guidance counselor, when you have religious questions just who do they expect you to go to? The Church tells Richard that these things that he questions he must simply 'just believe.'
Whether or not it is possible that the church simply does not want to answer his questions for the sake of logic is beyond me. Logic itself has been something that, throughout my religious experience, the Catholic faith has been extremely uncomfortable with. Logic with such things as free will has always been brought in to questions. One thing that I specifically remember being told by priests when I was young was that if I wanted to make God laugh, tell him my plans. This idea of destiny seriously affects Richard when his father claims that Richard can not fight destiny because no matter how much he might resist God's will shall be done. It may be that because of this specific statement from his father that Richards only opportunity to escape the continuous circle was crushed, forcing him to fall in to place.
The forcing of any specific religion on to a person not just Catholicism onto Mexicans can have damaging affects to that person's future. In Richards's case he denounces his belief in God himself due to the pressures of one Christian sect forced on him so early in life. If Richard were to have walked an unconstrained spiritual path maybe he his beliefs would have turned out different. Sadly, due to the religious practices imposed on many of us by our parents as to what is the only religion to follow, we shall never know.
Villarreal illuminates here the world of 'pochos,' Americans whose parents come to the United States from Mexico. Set in Depression-era California, the novel focuses on Richard, a young pocho who experiences the intense conflict between loyalty to the traditions of his family's past and attraction to new ideas. Richard's struggle to achieve adulthood as a young man influenced by two worlds reveals both the uniqueness of the Mexican-American experiences and its common ties with the struggles of all Americans - whatever their past.