American Son - A Coming of Age Story

Tomas's crude response to Gabe's innocent question, in which he beat Gabe into the asphalt, spurs Gabe's coming of age. It seems an effort to escape Tomas's condascending eye and his mother's suffocating meekness, but in addition marks the beginning of Gabe's identity development. I think Roley devotes a large portion of the story to Gabe's journey with Stone because during that time he learns about his cultural and social identity, as well as social stratifications in California.

Portrayed as a Mexican gangster, Gabe is strongly aware of how Tomas is perceived when they are in the Producer's mansion selling Johan. Pretending to be tough when he is not, putting up a rude front in an effort to be taken seriously, and pretty much flipping out on Gabe when Gabe asks if he is crying, Tomas utilizes the unfortunate events of his past as an excuse to act on his rage and anguish. Realizing that he is following in Tomas's footsteps, whether intentionally or not, Gabe acknowledges that he indeed does not want to be like Tomas when he is older. This is the first significant turning point in his coming of age. Instead of knowing who he wants to be, he only knows who he does not want to be like.

During his journey with Stone, he confronts a plethora of situations that force him to evaluate his cultural identity. Though he looks Mexican and Asian at the same time, at certain points he hopes to look Mexican, in an effort to fit in. At other points, he hopes to look more Asian, in an effort not be regarded as a Mexican, for several negative implications Stone mentions. And at other times he hopes to just look completely White, as to not draw attention to himself in a diner filled with White people. At one point, he hopes his Oldsmobile does not convey it's gangster past, and at another point he uses his gangster experience to belittle the two small town Mexicans he encounters.

Stone repeatedly mentions the crappy conditions of L.A., claiming that in his area no crime exists. Gabe first becomes aware of the disparity in living conditions between his home and this place, where his mother has to sleep in the back of the house to avoid drive by shootings. It seems that by mentioning these differences, Gabe is meant to hear about them because he is meant to live a healthier life than Tomas's. His exposure to to these differences and the realizations they arise surrounding his own life fuel his personal development and growth into the person he wants to be.