JosT Antonio Villareal, in his novel Pocho, examines the subject of assimilation as it applies to the experiences of Richard Rubio and his parents and sisters. The Rubios are Mexicans attempting to start a new life in the United States, and the novel chronicles the difficulties they face. Because the story focuses on Richard, it is as much a coming-of-age story as one about assimilation. In fact, assimilation involves a coming-of-age for adults as well as children, for the need to adapt to the new culture, while holding onto as much of the old culture as possible, results in a "new" individual as much as coming-of-age does. The author presents the subject of assimilation realistically, without romantic illusions about the degree to which the Mexican characters maintain their own culture in the midst of American culture.
The Rubios are a family whose lives are shaped by the seasons and the crops. Not only do they work hard for little money or security, they also must face life as strangers in a strange land, especially in the winter months when most Mexicans leave the area of Santa Clara. In the summer, their connection with Mexicans and Mexican culture is easier to maintain because of the return of other families to pick crops (42).
Richard is of the younger generation which is losing contact with Mexican culture, slowly but surely. He hears his father and the other men tell stories of Mexico, but "the tales of that strange country . . . seemed to him a land so distant, and the stories also seemed of long, long ago" (43).
Still, the Rubio family and others keep their connection to the Mexican culture and its traditions through fiestas and songs and dances: "A small piece of Mexico was contained within the fences of the lot on which Juan Rubio kept his family" (43). Still, by the end of the book, when Richard goes off to war, the author leaves little doubt that Richard has been thoroughly assimilated. He may always mainta...