kristinberry

American Son deals with many issues, especially the idea of identity and what it means to a family of immigrants. Tomas is a very interesting character. He abandons his Filipino and white identities and takes on a culture similar to Mexican Americans in his area. I believe this is because he has negative experiences in both arenas. His father is white, and the last memory he has of him is an image of running out on his family, violence, and disgrace toward his mother. His mother who is Filipino has only experienced degredation from her brother and x-husband. It is these characteristics that Tomas has learned to connect to the specific nationalities, leading him to abandon this background because of the negative attributes. Furthermore, in the area where the family lives, the Mexican American community is predominant, and the author speaks nothing about any kind of Filipino community. This is also why Tomas attempts to belong to this group so that there is some kind of connection and support.
Continuing on the idea of his mother, he feels the need to protect her. He constantly talks about how if someone disrespects her, he would hurt them. This mostly is a result of watching his mother being disrespected by his father. This is also why Tomas keeps Buster around. Although he says he keeps him because he is the only one he is attached to, he is only attached to him because Buster means something to his mother. The dog also protects his mother by lying with her on her bed and making her feel a little more safe.
The whole story line with Tomas training the dogs is a little hard to read into. While he is trying to abandon his white identity, at the same time he is embracing it by training the dogs in German, one of the most stereotypical anglo cultures.
Gabe is also struggling with his identity. Although he is not following in his brother's footsteps, he is struggling with what he really is. Although he sees himself as Filipino, he wants everyone else to see him as white and fears the moment when they may realize differently. The storyline with him and the tow trucker especially represents his dilema with sharing any kind of acknowledgement with his background.
However much Gabe and Tomas may be struggling with their ethnicities, I feel like they will come to some kind of understanding by the end of the story.