Marcus Vega Doesn't Speak Spanish

By day three, Marcus is settling in, but his anxiety about running out of time to find his father is growing. When Marcus snaps at Darma’s cryptic answers to his direct questions about his father, Melissa tries to convince him to stop searching for answers. Melissa has no desire to see the ex-husband who abandoned her and made no effort to help her or his sons for the past decade, and she understands the pain that this search can provoke for her sons. She simply wants to enjoy this short break from her responsibilities and relax with her family. Marcus is too young to fully grasp how deeply his father hurt his mother or to understand that seeing him risks re-opening old wounds. He simply sees that they are struggling, and he thinks perhaps his father can help. His mother’s family, despite being hesitant to discuss Marcus’s father with him, recognizes that this may be the only opportunity that the children have to meet him and try to understand him. The heated exchange in the car between Melissa and Marcus is the only time that Marcus and Melissa honestly and directly express their feelings. Marcus realizes that nothing will change after this trip, but Melissa drops her veneer of calm optimism to tell her son honestly, “We need---I need a break. Our family is falling apart” (169). This conversation provides both Marcus and his mother clarity: Melissa understands how important meeting his father is to Marcus, and Marcus understands that his mother is at her breaking point. Although Marcus is irritated by Darma and her sayings, she convinces Melissa that they must find Marcus’s father. Melissa believes that by resisting the search for their father, she is protecting her sons from getting hurt, but Darma helps her see that the boys need to talk to their father and draw their own conclusions.

Melissa and all of Marcus’s Puerto Rican relatives refer to the selfishness of Marcus’s father throughout the book, but Marcus rarely questions his father’s actions. Instead, he desperately wants him to be the adventurous hero figure he imagines and clings to the hope that his absence is simply based on a “misunderstanding.” The first time he admits that he’s mad at his father for abandoning them is after the fight with his mother. Those thoughts are overwhelming for Marcus and affect him physiologically. To alleviate the stress of this realization, Marcus yells and turns his anger back on himself, reliving all the names he has been called and reinforcing his negative self-image: “I am the Mastodon of Montgomery Middle, the Springfield Skyscraper, the Moving Mountain, the Terrible Tower. Freakazoid. I am Big. Bad. Marcus Vega” (171).

The steadfast support that Marcus’s Puerto Rican family gives him, despite his tendency to be sullen and demanding, is plain when Sergio dismisses Marcus’s “thanks” for driving them around with these words: “Marcus, [...] You’re family. Entiendes?” (178). For everyone except Marcus’s father, family comes first. The author uses the gathering at Pepe’s house to introduce the children to more Puerto Rican traditions, such as roasted pernil, and help them build relationships with others through the culture of inclusivity: “Apparently, cooking outside in Puerto Rico is an open invitation to everyone in the neighborhood” (185). This gathering also allows Sergio the opportunity to address Puerto Rico’s complicated status. Puerto Ricans are US citizens who can serve in the US military, but they have fewer rights than people who are born in the 50 states. Sergio’s brother who died served two tours in Afghanistan as a US army captain. Sergio tells Marcus that he tried to stop his brother, but his brother wanted to serve the US. This conversation allows Marcus to bond with Sergio on a deeper level and helps Marcus realize that everyone deals with loss of some sort.

Charlie uses characters from his favorite Willy Wonka books to let people know how he feels about them in defined situations. Slugworth is the main antagonist in both Willy Wonka books. Therefore, Charlie repeatedly refers to Marcus as Slugworth after Marcus’s outburst in the truck, and he continues to do so until Marcus and Melissa make up. He even asks Marcus, “Ready to be a good guy, Slugworth?” (177). It is sometimes easier for Charlie to refer to characters and situations from the books to express himself; since Melissa and Marcus know the books thoroughly, they always understand his point. Charlie Vega identifies with Charlie from the books, the kind, caring boy who won the golden ticket. When Marcus insults his Puerto Rican family by sarcastically asking Melissa, “Were they part of your ‘regroup?’” (169), referring to Sergio and the others, Charlie responds, “We all have golden tickets, Marcus!” (169). With this comment, Charlie reveals that, for him, being together with his new family and friends in Puerto Rico is the best prize he can imagine.