Character Analysis
There's a hotheaded fellow in this book, and he goes by the name Gabriel. This chap shows up in Santa Maria where Francisco is picking strawberries with his dad and big bro. Gabriel has three kiddos and a wife, but he doesn't get to see them much because he's working so hard.
So right off the bat, we know this guy is a hard worker whose ready to do anything for his family. But what makes Gabriel super interesting is how he stands up for himself:
The contratista tied one end of a thick rope to it and, handing the other end to Gabriel, said, "Here, tie this around your waist. I want you to till the furrows."
"I can't do that," Gabriel said with a painful look in his face.
"What do you mean you can't?" responded the contratista, placing his hands on his hips.
"In my country, oxen pull plows, not men," Gabriel replied, tilting his hat back. "I am not an animal." (10.36-39)
When the contratista (a.k.a. labor contractor) tries to treat Gabriel like an animal, he's not about to go along with it. Gabriel stands up for himself without hesitation. What do you think of Gabriel's tone when he defends himself? Does he sound angry or confident? Or both? We think it comes across as a mix—confident enough to not be written off, but with a hint of anger that lets the contratista know Gabriel means business.
Of course, Gabriel gets fired so that's one downside to the whole standing-up-for-yourself thing, and because of this, he reminds us of how uncertain life is for Francisco and his family. If the boss at any farm they wind up working at wants to treat them poorly, standing up for themselves can come at the very real cost of losing the job. These aren't workers with employment contracts and job security—and under the wrong employer, this means things can get ugly.