Who is Rose? & Who am I?

         
         In Farmworker’s Daughter: Growing up Mexican in America, we are introduced to the autobiography of Rose Castillo Guilbault. Throughout her story she presents us with her struggles and achievements, while describing the process of adaptation in a new country. All these experiences that these struggles and achievements entail come to shape Rose’s identity, just as they shaped mine. Many agents of socialization or factors contribute to the development of an identity. Rose Castillo’s identity was created by many of the same agents of socialization in with which my identity was formed.

          Considering that one of the first agents of socialization is our parents, one must say family does affect one’s identity. Especially within the stage of primary socialization, which is when an infant starts to adopt the different ideas, attitudes, beliefs and habits parents inculcate to them. Parents define a significant portion of our identities as infants and as adults. Even the lack of a parent greatly influences one. Both Castillo’s identity and mine were greatly influenced by our mothers; therefore our identities are similar. Rose and I both gained qualities from our mothers such as: self-dignity/ autonomy, independence and respect.

          In Rose’s case her primary socialization development was mostly shaped by her mother, Maria Luisa. Given that for a while Rose did not have a parental figure. Within this development, my mother Gloria, too, significantly shaped my infant years, consequently shaping my identity. Just like Maria Luisa became Castillo’s model for self-dignity, my mother, became my model. In the same manner and through the same example Maria taught Rose the importance of self-autonomy, my mom also taught me the value of this. The importance of self-autonomy was greatly illustrated by Rose’s mom when she chooses to stop procuring Mr. Brown, to ensure Rose’s safety. Mr. Brown would get annoyed by Rose’s presence, and Maria Luisa could intuit,   “He would punish her by hitting her…I could never give her that kind of father”, (Guilbault, Castillo 30).

          Geography is another very important agent of socialization. One’s location can be a disadvantage but also an advantage to our identity. This is to say your location can limit your views but it can also be the base that composes your memories, which also give meaning to one’s identity. Rose recalls, “We lived in Nogales, Mexico, a hilly town bordering Nogales, Arizona. But my imagination only recalls Vicam, the small Indian village where my mother and I stayed for long periods of time”, (Guilbault, Castillo 1). It was there, in Vicam where Rose lived as a little girl, along with the Indian Yaquis, from which she learned about their traditions. This was a small, humble town where Rose’s rural identity and rural memories were shaped. Vicam also shaped Castillo’s own traditions and customs. For example the Christmas custom was to celebrate with “posadas- elaborate crèches and los Tres Reyes Magos- The three wise Men”, (Guilbault, Castillo 95). This was in Mexico though once Rose’s location changed by moving to the U.S. (Nogales, Arizona), her customs had to be re-adapted. New customs meant new identity assimilations. Los Tres Reyes Magos were replaced by Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman. Even if Rose and her family felt detached from these customs they had to adapt to them “like polite guests”. Having to adopt a new culture and language seems like a drawback but it does have an advantage. Given the opportunity to reside in two different countries gives one the benefit of constructing a bi-cultural identity.

          I too had to move from Yerbabuena, Jalisco (Mexico), a very remote town, to Redwood City, California. I had to adopt a new language, although never forgetting my own. Even when I felt embarrassed singing the Jingle Bells song in my broken English, at school during Christmas, I still sang it. Just like Rose I did not want to be rude or impolite. It was hard work to learn a new language, but necessity makes you learn it faster. Like Rose I also became very successful in school. Through experience I also had the opportunity of constructing a bi-cultural identity. A bi-cultural identity gives one the opportunity to view life through different perspectives, therefore allowing a more open-minded, tolerant perspective. In a way this could be called sociological imagination. Depending on where you live also determines the kind of friends/ people you will associate with.

Peers/friends an agent of socialization and part of the second socialization stage can also shape one’s identity either positively or negatively. Karen and Erlin, Rose’s friends, became the model that Castillo did not want to follow. These two influenced Rose’s aspirations in a positive way even though they were setting a negative example, by not caring enough about their education. “Hey we’re not intellectuals like you. You know what you want to do. Karen Sue and I, we just don’t any burning passion to study one thing or another”, (Guilbault, Castillo

         Rose and I both wanted an education the difference is that she already received her education/ career and I am still in the process of obtaining it. Even though my friend’s do not really seem to influence my choices or identity, they are still an important part of my social context.

Becoming independent, introverted, extroverted, conformist or persistent are all aspects of an identity influenced by family, geography, and friends. Sometimes though, your family is only composed of one parent alone, hence the case of Rose and I. For a while my mom was my only friend, the only one that would not exclude me because I could not speak English. My mom was the only one that understood the significance of my tears, when I came home from school. Maria Luisa did not always have the right thing to say to Rose but she was always there, and her presence was enough to reassure Rose. My mom did not always have the right answers either, but she always told me, “the sacrifice you are making will be worthwhile, mija’. Now I see that my struggles just like Roses paid off well and the exclusion and uneasiness we felt was only temporary, but our solid identities are permanent.