"The pachuco has lost his whole inheritance: Language, religion, customs, and beliefs. He is left with only a body and a soul with which to confront the elements" (Chapter One, pg 15). Is that a true statement?

Beginning in Chapter One, the author makes an argument about the character of the pachuco. He wants to explain the extreme nature of the pachuco's life, given his displacement from his native culture to another. "The pachuco has lost his whole inheritance: language, religion, customs, beliefs. He is left with only a body and a soul with which to confront the elements" (page 15). This argument is true if you believe that a person exists only in the present time and place. In that instance, the pachuco can only be comprised of the anger and displacement that he feels at the moment. If however, you believe that a person is the sum of his experiences, then this statement is not true. The pachuco has Mexican culture experiences from his family and friends, as well as experiences of North American culture from school and other friends. He does not have a dearth of customs and religion from which to pull in order to create a synthesis between cultures.