Theme

The main theme of the short story “With His Own Two Hands” by Albert Garcia is identity. Albert Garcia enhances this theme through motifs like generational gaps and cultural differences. The narrator and his grandfather belong to different generations: “We weren’t from the same place or time.”(l. 45). Furthermore, the narrator was born and grew up in American culture while his grandparents were born in Mexico and remained attached to Mexican culture even after moving to the US.

Identity

The theme of identity is explored in “With His Own Two Hands” through the characters of the grandson (the narrator) and the grandparents.

The narrator’s grandparents are attached to their identity as Mexican-Americans. While they live in the US, they were born in Mexico and had remained attached to Mexican culture. They do not have an American lifestyle. ...