Days of Obligation: an Argument with My Mexican Father Essay

This book is written in a quick, quick witted, volatile changeable style. Rodriguez tries to expel of the tensions in his life and life in America. He parallels or relates the realises of young and old, Catholic and protestant, communalism and individualism, cynicism and optimism and the past and future in his own life. When Rodriguez goes to Mexico, he feels unwelcome. To me, he seems to feel that he is overeducated and superior to his peers in Mexico. A lot of Rodriguezs opinions have come from his starts view of the serviceman.His father viewed it as a sad place, whereas when Richard was young, he viewed it as a fiesta. However, through adulthood, Rodriguezs opinions of the world began to parallel his fathers. He plays numerous variations on the contrasts he derives from an argument he once had with his father Life is harder then you think, boy. Rodriguez responds to his father, Youre thinking of Mexico, Papa. Youll see. Rodriguez is extremely cynical, he feels inclined to qu estion everyones motives some every decision they make.For example, on page 27, when talking about the Gay Freedom parade, Rodriguez states they marched, east to west, following(a) the mythic American path to optimism. Meaning they are following a path that isnt anything in Rodriguezs eyes. It is hopefulness that Rodriguez doesnt see at all. Additionally, Rodriguez states, I have never looked for utopia on a map. My grasp takes its cardinal point from tragedy (pg 29). This again proves that Rodriguez chooses to be negative and look at everything from a cynical, ill-starred standpoint.The above being said, I also believe Rodriguez fails to pursue a consistent argument. He has so many different viewpoints and issues. piece he does stick with the reoccurring themes in the novel such as AIDS, barbarism vs. civilization and religion, all of them are developed independently. He thanks the church for the schooling he received, nevertheless throughout the years, not only has he lost the strength in his faith but he foresees immediate crisis for the church. He goes from being negative and hating life in America to stating, I became Americanized, I finish up believing in choices as much as any of you do (pg 172).He feels flat as if being Chicano it is holding him back level though he is trying to get to the level he should be at as an American. In doing further research, I have found that a lot of the readers of this book also feel the same way. One essay I read say that Rodriguez is a walking dichotomy. I completely agree with this because he is gay, a devoted Catholic, Mexican even though he barely speaks Spanish, American but still feels that he is different than the rest of America, Mexican-American who despises Chicanos, a gay man who sets himself apart from gay men, and an English scholar who leaves the academy.Furthermore, Rodriguez is committed more to the truth when he discovers it through than he is committed to any political agenda. Although no m atter what he says about musical note American or living in America, he is deeply involved in Mexican and catholic values and makes it evident how alien he feels when he travels through Mexico because he feels everyone is a bandit. Further stating, if the join States stole California from the Mexicans, the Mexicans had stolen it from Spaniard, who had originally stolen it from the Indians. Overall, the book was a difficult read because of all the inconsistent arguments and topics Rodriguez approached. While he is an educated and knowledgeable writer, he approached everything with a negative view of life. I felt he was too straight-forward, too dark, and wide-ranging which in the end made a lot of topics confusing. However, I theme it was interesting to learn his views and I have grown from reading this dissertation.