The Sanchez Family Analysis

The Evolution of Mexican-American Family Values My Family by Gregory Nava follows the Sanchez family through three generations. It follows their very humble beginnings in post revolution Mexico to modern day California. The family grows together and goes through many trials and tribulations but remains close through it all. Through many deaths and tragedies, the family learns to lean on each other and evolve to make their day to day lives work. Since the turn of the century the Mexican-American value of family being together has changed very little. The 1930’s was a time of great financial hardship in Mexico, as well the United States. Young Jose Sanchez found himself without any family alone in rural Mexico. Without giving it much thought …show more content…
The times had brought on much change and Los Angeles became a roaring city. Throughout all that change there was one thing that remained the same. The Sanchez family stayed together for all the important things. Jose and Marias Daughter Irene was getting married. Like any family it was a very large wedding but one thing made it even more of a family affair. Their oldest son Paco was away in the navy and the wedding had been planned perfectly for him to be home to attend. All of Irene’s younger siblings were part of the wedding and included in Jose’s speech at the reception. The entire day was based on the family being together. Not long after Irene’s wedding there was a terrible tragedy that hit the family. After being involved in a fight that left a man dead Chucho was on the run from the law. While in hiding the youngest son little Jimmy snuck around to see him and take care of his injuries. Little Jimmy loved his big brother and was traumatized when he witnessed Chucho gunned down in the street by the police. Even through this tragedy the family remained together. They all ran out into the street, Jose even tried to get past the police officers to get to his dead son. This terrible event could have destroyed the family but they stayed as close as …show more content…
As Jimmy reached adult hood his anger followed his grief. After being released from prison with a tough guy attitude Jimmy still looked after his family. When his sister Toni returned home with unbelievable news she caused Maria to faint in front of everyone. The first person to jump to take care of her was Jimmy. No matter how angry he is at the world his family is still his priority. After falling in love with Isabel, Jimmy’s world turned upside down. She became pregnant and he decided to get a job and become a father to his child. Had Jimmy not cared about his family he would have continued to be a criminal and left Isabel to care for their child alone. Isabel tragically died in childbirth and Jimmy’s new found world was destroyed. He was left all alone with a son to look after. After getting arrested again Jose and Maria stepped in to raise their grandson. Without those strong values Jose and Maria would have left their grandson to be raised in foster care or by the government. He would have most likely grown up to be a criminal. They were past their child raising years but they knew the value of Carlitos being raised by family. Throughout their lives Jose and Maria struggled to be with their families many times. After losing Maria for some years and their son Chucho they still pulled together for their families. Even towards the end of their lives when their grandson needed someone