Richard Dokey’s Sanchez, Book Review Example

Essentially the entire story is centered on the main character called Juan as well as the systematic account of all the issues that he and his family had to endure. Richard Dokey artistically uses the characters in this story to highlight and remind his readers about the vagaries of life in its most absolute form. The story being what it is, has got many sides to it, though an important element of the story is the philosophical inclination that has influenced the crafting of the narration. As this essay develops deeper discussions of three main literary components namely setting, symbolism and themes will be brought to the fore through cogent analysis.

Indeed, Richard Dokey’s presentation of the saga of Juan is captured in a variety of scenes with each of the scenes carrying enduring impacts of the stages of the realities of living challenges that the lead character here is battling with. As Richard Dokey lucidly presents in the story, it is understood that Juan and his son Jesus are being profoundly influenced and affected by their setting through ways that can best be described as the regular triggering of sentiments that are exclusive to both Juan and his son Jesus. Suffice to draw a contrasting imagery of the settings under which both father and son are staged in the story. From the humble abode of rural life in the hinterland of Mexico, the story is extending to reach a period of migration that steadily brings the lead character Juan into a contemporary urban settlement in Sierra Nevada in the state of California in the United States. For analytical purposes it will be good to acknowledge that Jesus’ place of work in Stockton located within the San Joaquin Valley carries some semblance with the main story. Whilst Jesus’ conceptualization of the city of Stockton is one that is glowing in optimism for the future, Juan on the other hand is not very enthused about it because he is somewhat familiar with the setting which was once his home. Mentioning Stockton to Juan only brings back memories of days of laborious routines that extended his loneliness away from his wife La Belleza.

Another added dimension to the setting is the working location of Juan’s setting. He is reported in the story to be employed in a cannery factory within the vicinity of Stockton. Whilst working in Stockton, Jesus will be living in a hotel described to be in a poor sanitary state (page 151). The entire city of Stockton reflected a setting of houses and infrastructure in a miserable state of dilapidation, which is not isolated to Jesus’ hotel environment. Yet the resolve of Jesus to succeed far outweighs the perceived odds and misgivings of his father Juan.

In addition to the foregoing, Richard Dokey uses this story to highlight some of the dominant themes of the human existence that has been so timeless in its association with humanity. Arguably, the symbolic message contained in the story is so intertwined with the theme in a manner that works together to produce a transient reconciliation of the message that Richard Dokey lives in the minds of his readers. Each of the significant phases of Juan’s life re-echoes the transition of the forces regulating human inherent knowledge that regulates the behavioral patterns around the instinct driven habits to the rational leverage of human transition.

Juan, as the author seeks to portray him shares striking traits with many aspects of the human desire to find maximum sense and pleasure in life. The quest for the achievement of the most optimum state of living conditions is inherently engrained in the human being; meanwhile this inherent desire is deliberately frustrated by a stream of natural environmental factors which tend to be beyond the control and machinations of the individual. Hence the human is subjugated to the prevailing dictates of life as the drama of life unfolds from all directions. The natural human impediments to a grandiose life of perfection includes among other things, the pain of death and its consequent separation of loved ones, momentary separation brought about by distance can also trigger loneliness and a painful search for lives meaning.

Death remains yet another scary factor for Juan in this story, as evidenced by the awareness that resulted in the fact that “He feared the land, believed almost that it possessed the power to kill him-as it had killed his mother and father” (page 30). The fear of death caused him to migrate from his native land with the hope that the distance would as it were providing a soothing effect for his fears if not taking it away entirely. Juan as portrayed in the story is somewhat tired of the number of bereavements in his kindred.

Reference

Richard Dokey. Sanchez, and Other Stories. Halfo Pr (December 1980).