It is an irony that something that can raise a person to their highest level has the same power to dissolve it. In the case of Caballero, pride and vision fuel the Mendoza family to establish an hacienda and be respected among their peers. This greatness, in their eyes, is the fruit of hard work, family, and traditions followed through many generations.
Through the course of the novel, pride remains a key element in Don Santiago, but somewhere vision is lost and is blurred by the pestering war that raises emotion to take control of his actions. A reasonable man can do many things, but Don Santiago’s reason is blinded by rage directed at people whom he knows little to nothing of. Letting pride take the best of him, he alone is the cause for the fall of his family.
When Don Jose arrived in the area known as Rancho Las Palmas, the land was unmarked and unwanted, so he labeled it his and raised a great hacienda and family. However, during this time, power and control changed as countries fought for this land. No one really took notice to the area of South Texas, for it was not yet settled by Americans, and it was too far from Mexico to be of real significance to them. This made life for the first hundred years at Rancho
. . .
This became the decline of the ranchero power over South Texas. Instead, Don Santiago makes Don Gabriel feel worse by making him feel like a traitor to his people and country, country of who he will no longer be part. Even when he caught the Anglo family moving in on part of his property did reason come into him, instead pride and anger rose even more. It is a quality we lack, for we live in the past and the present and see the future with our emotions only. This is a sign of him, once more losing that control as head of the family. Also, rancheros think of Anglos as savage and unruly, basing their opinion solely on their encounters with the Rangers, who are trained and expected to be that way. Shortly thereafter, his sister, a widow, marries his best friend, yet another change in traditional customs broken by the power of love. An this God who is supposed to be held above everything else is brushed aside and used only as a excuse for self glory by Don Santiago as he boasts his greatness at Christmas events. Don Santiago should have expected something to come from his sister’s, Dona Dolores, influence on his daughters. True it was not his choice, but his nonconformity has brought down the power of the ranchero to almost none. He refused to listen to McLane’s talk about filing paperwork for his land, just because McLane was Anglo.
Later McLane marries Susana, the good and holy daughter of Don Santiago. Instead, she is realizing that maybe tradition is not always the best way. Here, he loses vision and lets emotion take hold of his actions.
Approximate Word count =
1527
Approximate Pages =
6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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