Themes in A Dream Called Home

1 Themes in A Dream Called Home There are several themes in Reyna Grande’s book. Some of them include biculturalism, family dynamics, and education.

Biculturalism The theme of biculturalism is evident as Grande feels caught between the American and Mexican identities. While living in the US, she wrote stories about Mexico to hold on to memories about her native country. When Grande went back to Mexico, people did not consider her to be Mexican enough because they felt that she had been corrupted by the American culture.

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Everyone she met during her trip assumed that she was not from Mexico. People in the US also did not consider her to be American enough. Therefore, she struggled to fit in by learning the American language and culture, but she still felt like a foreigner. Writing helped her create a connection between the two countries, languages, and cultures.

She faced challenges when trying to adjust to the American culture. When in college, she did not recognize most of the foods sold at the Kresge Food Co-op. She desired the food she was used to in Mexico. Even the things sold at the grocery store were strange to her, and she wished she could visit a Mexican market. She was excited when she finally spotted a Mexican market while on a bus ride as she could be able to enjoy the aromas and flavors of her first home (Grande, 2018). Therefore, although Grande was happy to have moved to the US, she still held onto her Mexican identity. This theme resonates with me because, as an immigrant, I also feel caught between the American culture and that of my native country.

Family Dynamics The theme of family dynamics is also present as the author had a traumatic upbringing.

She harbored feelings of abandonment by her parents and had to separate from her family to pursue her studies. Her father left Mexico for the US during her childhood and asked her mother to join him later, leaving them alone. She was separated from her parents at the age of five and lived under her paternal grandmother’s care. When her father left her mother and married another woman, she returned to Mexico but abandoned them again to be with a wrestler (Grande, 2018). Her father later came back for the children and took them to the US. Reyna feels guilty for leaving her small sister Betty in Mexico with her mother. By the time the two moved to the US, the family had completely crumbled.

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Her father also betrayed her later when he was going through a divorce with her stepmother. She had been supporting him through the process for several months. However, when her father asked his wife to reconsider the divorce, she accepted on the condition that he bans his children from their lives. Grande’s father accepted and asked his children to leave his house. Therefore, Grande is angry at his father for not standing up for them by choosing his wife over his children. She is also angry at her mother because when her father divorced her, she abandoned her children to look for another husband. She did not make an effort to visit them and did not show affection or concern for her children. Therefore, she was unable to achieve her dream of having a real relationship with her parents. As she was leaving Los Angeles for the University of California in Santa Cruz, she was sad that she was separating from her family members even though they were not on good terms. Even as an adult, she had not moved past her traumatic childhood memories of abandonment and could not open up to friends such as Alfredo (Grande, 2018). This theme resonates with me because I had to leave some family members behind to pursue my studies in the US. Education Grande was determined to become the first one in her family to earn a university degree despite her father’s expectation that she would be a failure. Her father had discouraged her from joining college, but she defied his wishes and enrolled herself at Pasadena City College (PCC) and later went to the University of California. Grande’s teacher Diana had supported and encouraged her to continue with her education when she was contemplating quitting due to her father’s alcoholism and physical abuse (Grande, 2018). The teacher invited her to her home and lived with her. Her experience at PCC gave her academic confidence, and she was able to manage her independence at the university, unlike other students who were interested in partying

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and doing drugs. She took her studies seriously and considered being in university an opportunity of a lifetime.

Grande was determined to learn how to write in English from an early age and did not give up when her fifth-grade teacher rejected her story because it was written in Spanish. In eighth grade, she entered another writing competition and won. Her persistence enabled her to pursue her writing career. She had started writing to express her traumatic childhood experiences but later realized she could pursue it as a career. Grande graduated in 1999 with a bachelor of arts degree with honors, and all her family members attended the graduation (Grande, 2018).

This theme resonates with me because, as an immigrant, I hope to succeed in my studies and change my family’s history.

THEMES IN A DREAM CALLED HOME Reference Grande, R. (2018). A dream called home: A memoir. Simon & Schuster.

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