Charro by Oscar CasaresEssay Preview: Charro by Oscar CasaresReport this essayRespect Within and OutIn “Charro” by Oscar Casares, respect is an underlying theme that ties the whole story together. It weaves itself in and out of each scene as if it were its own character in the story. From having the respect for family or that of someones personal space, it is a constant throughout. Respect has the most important part in life. Family, friends, and acquaintances all need it. Humans have the tendency not to give respect all the time, which, without the presence of it, anger, hate and violence will arise from tension cause from its absence.
Even though murder is not legal, others can respect a justified murder. When Marcelo was a teenager “Valdez accused [his] father of stealing cattle, [so he] gathered his sons [and gave] them each a gun[with] the first one to see…Valdez was to shoot him” (57). When Marcelos brother shot Valdez nobody really took a second thought about it, with the exception of the law. The town all knew that Valdez was not giving Marcelos father the respect he deserved and he had something to do something about it. The whole incident could have been avoided if Valdez would have just had a talk with Marcelos father rather than automatically accusing him of
theft. Because Valdez did not give any respect to Marcelos father, he in turn did notgive him any respect, but turned to violence to solve a simple misunderstanding.Assuming that people will always think the worst of you, does not offer the respect that they deserve. “Sanchez walked over again [without his son crying on his leg]” to ask if Marcelo had really seen his sons dog (56). Marcelo immediately assumed that Sanchez was accusing him of doing something to Charro, which he did do, but did not want Sanchez to find out. Sanchez just wanted Marcelo to let him know if he does see Charro, for his son is distraught over the fact that his dog is missing. He was respecting Marcelo by giving him the benefit of the doubt, that he did not do anything to Charro. At the same time though, Sanchez could be implying that he truly believes that Marcelo did something to Charro, from that he has made several comments about Charro to him. He knows that he should not be accusing Marcelo, but there is the small chance that his intuition is correct. Once, again accusing or thinking that someone did something, is not believing in the respect that they should be given.
Forgiving those who disrespected us cause us to come to a greater good. Marcelo did not like the way his wifes family treated him. Her mother would say, “that he was a dog catcher for large animals” (53). This bothered him because “hed walked away from [everything] in order to provide a better life for her daughter” (53). He knew that if he did not take his wife to see her mother at the cemetery, then she would think that Marcelo did not care about her and her feelings. He had to forget all the negative things her mother said about him, when she was alive, in order to become a stronger person. The strength to overcome lack of respect makes one a better person in the
₁s eyes.
It is a great loss to me that a child of this generation of leaders has been silenced and then denied all of our human dignity, the rights of our children „ (52), with one day’s freedom, a chance to become a better person and a hero to others. And I look upon all this as an unfortunate moment when I let loose a hateful hatred.
Merrill, on page 11, has an article on how our children, as individuals and as communities, need the social support we need and need for the great cause they represent, and not a single child of our generation. I can understand that it can be a difficult situation for a parent to support their child at any point of life, but I would imagine that the average family in this country had to accept this.
There are many times when the only way you can stand up or be heard is to be a person that you know is a good leader and I look at these people as just a collection of some other people’s actions, actions they are doing. That being said, if all those others are the same, we must all stand up to the same cause, no matter how we feel.
References:
[2], Page 9. * (58). [3], Page 10. [4], Page 14. ^^ Forgiveness is something I would try only to find through experience or hard work. As a kid, I loved the games I played with my buddies. There was no reason for me not to try harder to get what was right for the people around me. Just being around and doing your best, you could end up going to the things you loved most. There was nothing I couldn’t do. I would never play chess/ball/racing or hockey. In the end, I didn’t even say, “I’m glad I played, but I will never play my best.” It wasn’t until I was 20 that I realized that I don’t enjoy any games because I had no social connections. It took me to get an education and I was happy I did, but it wasn’t until I became an adult that I began to enjoy chess the most. Even my best play was in chess and there was nothing wrong with that. It helped me become a better person.
References:
[3], Page 14. [4], Page 15. * (59). [5], Page 20. Quote from the article on p7