Gary Soto's Like Mexicans: Personal Experiences My decision to write in response to Gary Soto's work, “Like Mexicans” was influenced for the most part because of the similarities between myself and Gary Soto, and our families included. Gary Soto is a Mexican American male, whogrew up in the San Joaquin Valley in the industrial part of a town called Fresno.His grandparents came to this Great Valley in search of creating a better lifefor themselves and their families. I am also a Mexican American male who wasborn and raised in the San Joaquin Valley in a small town called Porterville. Mygrandparents migrated with their children, my mother, father, and their brothersand sisters in hopes of creating a better life for themselves as well. At thetime economic betterment meant working as a hired slave for minimal income andkeeping your mouth shut. After all, you were nothing more than a wetback whocame to America to reap her benefits.(This ludicrous ideology is still presenttoday) Gary Soto's grandparents and my grandparents, although they ma y be ageneration behind one another, I am sure were exposed to many of the samehardships and or social barriers. It was not uncommon back then as it is notuncommon today for Mexican families with minimal work skills to be forced intothe fields to work with their children alongside in hopes of escaping poverty.For the most part such families remained poverty stricken due to unfair andillegal wages and work conditions. However irrelevant this all may sound, facingsimilar hardships or obstacles will often create a sense of unity among thosewho are affected by such conditions. In short, I feel that not only do Gary Sotoand I share a common ethnic origin, but all that comes with our origin, be itpride, shame, or ideology. "Like Mexicans" is a short story in which Gary Soto is constantly beingreminded that he should marry his own kind. His own kind being one of Mexicandescent, and o...
