Antonio Culture

This scene in the novel causes Antonio to feel like an outsider and not someone that belongs with the other kids, solely because of how different he is. This clash of culture causes Antonio to become emotionally scarred which changes him. One change is that he learns a valuable lesson that he should not run away from his problems because not only could it shame his family name and make them all distraught, but it isn't not the right action to do. The culture and environment that come with the American school system clash with Antonio’s culture from home and youth, causing a major change in him. This change however does not negatively affect him, in fact it is probably the reason he becomes the way he is later in the story. It helps him grow

One of the biggest ones, and perhaps is the main reason as to why he is so alienated from the rest of his class, is that he speaks exclusively Spanish and does not know any English. A language barrier is one of the biggest ways to make someone an outcast, and in this case the outcast is Antonio. His inability to speak English handicaps him in an American school where practically everyone mainly speaks English. The school environment of primarily English speakers requires a person to integrate into it if they want to be successful. The idea of learning English directly clashes with Antonio’s culture at home, which is very Mexican oriented. The quote, “‘...they only learn to speak like Indians. Gosh, okay, what kind of words are those?’” (54) In the quote, Antonio’s father argues that an education does nothing and calls English speaking like Indians. This shows that Antonio’s father, who keep in mind raised him, thinks that learning English is

It can be argued that a full assimilation into another culture is not necessary to succeed. Acknowledge parts of the opposition that are valid- There are many instances of this due to people moving around all the time, in fact, this was essentially the whole concept of the American Dream. People would come from all around the world to a foreign land to make it big, and of course, some people did. However, this does not apply whatsoever to Antonio. Antonio is familiar with life in the U.S, and only is alienated by the other students because of how he doesn’t speak English. The language barrier and mocking is explicitly shown to keep Antonio from excelling in school. While there are exemptions from the idea that assimilation into a culture is required to succeed in it’s society, Antonio is not one of these. He is clearly shown to have troubles because of the cultural difference, making this argument