Reconciliation

In Burro Genius, we learn the power of reconciliation. Victor has great love for his father, but at a celebration he is told stories about his father as a leader in the mafia. Victor tries to reconcile his view of his father as a loving, hard working man who sacrificed a lot for his family, with a man that is violent, cut throat, and willing to viciously torture people who do him wrong. I think all of us have at some point look at our family and wonder if the truth lenses we viewed them from still hold as adults. Are eyes are opened to our heritage just as Victor's was, and ask questions about whether that is still the path we wish to follow.

Victor struggles with understanding his heritage and reconciling it with the world around him. At school his teachers are incredibly violent with people he loves and contradicts the teaching of his parents. His mother puts lots of trust in the school and encourages Victor to pay attention, and that nothing bad would happen. He tries to reconcile the wealth they have with some of the ways they appear poor as a young boy; the heritage of his two grandmothers and their American Indian beliefs along with the Catholic religion. Throughout the book Victor portrays his evolving beliefs, and how it all comes together to shape who he is.


Villasenor, Victor. Burro Genius (2004). HarperCollins e-books. Kindle Edition.

Comments

  1. Brandi GoodAugust 1, 2019 at 3:03 PM

    I believe that we all have to reconcile who we are and where we fit into the world. Whether it be religion, culture, class, everything. I love the way Victor explains it though. "For me[him] it was all like one big river running together with all these different waters." (p26) That is the way I choose to look at it. I have a very large, blended family, with step-grandparents, step-parents, and step-siblings. I struggled to know when and who I could talk about wherever I was. My mother hated everything about my father and my step-siblings hated my mother, and that is before you even think about bring grandparents into the mix. I think as individuals we have to decide what pieces and parts of our heritage we want to make part of who we are. I find it inspiring that Victor is able to reconcile who he is; cowboy hat, bright turquoise shirt and big belt buckle, and all.

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  2. Destini MarshallAugust 1, 2019 at 9:34 PM

    Burro Genius and the memoir that I read, Hunger of Memory, made me think of the importance of considering the role of intersectionality. Although we both read about Hispanic students, they had completely different life experiences. Like your post says, he has to reconcile with his catholic religion, Indian heritage, and wealth. Hunger for Memory on the other hand consisted of a middle class, catholic hispanic boy. They both were Mexican American but chose completely different paths. In Burro Genius, he had to deal with hardships such as his brother's death and discrimination while in Hunger for Memory he didn't have such hardships. My point here is that although students may be of the same race or ethnicity, it is intersectionality that determines the ways they experience life. Therefore, we should consider intersectionality when we teach because every student of the same race does not need the same attention.

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