I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter Theme Analysis Essay Example

In the novel “I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter” by Erika L. Sanchez, the protagonist Julia, goes on a journey to find out more about her sister Olga; following her death. Along the way, she goes through many hardships and internal conflicts, leading to the discovery of many secrets in her family. The theme of the novel “I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter” is that some secrets are better left untold because they can have a negative impact on others. 

Because of the many secrets that some of the Reyes family members kept, it left a negative impact when they were discovered. One of the first examples in the novel,  I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter, is when Tia Fermina tells Julia about the situation that happened when Ama and Apa were crossing the border. In the novel it states “I can’t say it. I shouldn’t have to.. And Olga? What about Olga? She was…She was…” I can’t get the words out. Tía Fermina clasps her hands to her chest and nods… That night, I didn't fall asleep until morning. I just lie there thinking about my parents and how little I know them. I wake up at noon, my body aching. Because I don’t have anywhere to go, no real obligations, the days blend together; I can’t even tell them apart most of the time. I wake up, eat breakfast, help Mamá Jacinta cook and clean, and then lie around reading and writing.” This quotation demonstrates how knowing this information impacted Julia. She couldn’t sleep thinking of her parents, she starts losing track of the days, and she falls in the same daily cycle, she wakes up and eats, helps Mama Jacinta do chores, and then reads and writes. The way Julia copes with the secret is not in a positive way. Furthermore, proving that some secrets are better left untold because they can negatively impact others.

Another time the theme of the novel is infiltrated is when Ama finds the box of items in Julia’s room which contained Olga’s lingerie, hotel key, and birth control. She is devastated, disgusted, and betrayed when she believes Julia had kept this secret from her. This can be seen in the novel when it states,  “They’re not mine.” My body tenses as if a wire were running through it. “Why are you always lying to me, Julia? What have I ever done to deserve this? I always knew you would do something like this… Her voice cracks at the end of the sentence. Tears are streaming down her face, and her hands are shaking…“What must your sister think of you right now? What a disgrace.” Amá looks away, disgusted. “They’re not mine,” I say over and over, my body trembling. “They’re not mine.” (Sanchez 116)  Before her death, Olga had kept this secret, and Julia had found the items but never told her family about it. When Ama found the box in Julia’s room, she immediately believed it was Julia’s. Rather than Julia arguing with Ama and admitting Olga’s secret, she denied it was hers, and let Ama believe what she wanted. Ama reacting the way she did by calling Julia a disgrace, crying, and shaking proves that some secrets are better left untold, because they can affect others.

One of the last times the theme is shown in the novel is when Julia uncovers the emails between Olga and Dr. Castillo. Julia is infuriated when she reads the emails. This is shown in the novel when it states “From what I can gather, he worked in her office, was married, and had children, but I probably still have dozens and dozens of emails to get through. How could I have been so dumb not to notice anything? But then again, how would anyone have known? Olga kept this sealed up and buried like an ancient tomb. My whole life I’ve been considered the bad daughter, while my sister was secretly living another life, the kind of life that would shatter Amá into tiny pieces. I don’t want to be mad at Olga,because she’s dead, but I am. “Goddamn it, Olga,” I mutter under my breath.” (Sanchez 137) When Julia reads the conversation between Dr. Castillo and Olga, she finds out her sister had been sleeping with a married man who had a family. Even though she doesn't want to, she becomes mad at Olga. She spent years putting this perfect goody goody persona, making Julia look like the bad  “rebellious” child and making others treat her like an outcast for being herself. Not only would this secret make Julia feel upset, but also Ama. Ama always viewed Olga as “The Perfect Mexican Daughter” and if Ama were to find out her secret she would feel betrayed and broken. This Ultimately proves the theme that some secrets are better left untold because they can negatively impact others.

Overall, the theme in the novel I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sanchez is infiltrated several times throughout the course of the novel including when Julia found out about the day Ama and Apa crossed the border, when Ama found out about “julia’s” box, and when Julia found out about Olga’s emails. After these secrets were uncovered by the Reyes family, they were not taken lightly. This furthermore proves that some secrets are better left untold to protect others.