Sanchez Written by Richard Dokey

The short story "Sanchez," written by Richard Dokey, is a story about

Juan Sanchez and his family. "Sanchez" is told in many different settings,

which are all unique and represent various feelings that Dokey portrays to

his readers. The settings are described realistically; they affect Juan and

Jesus in personal ways. The settings vary from a small village in Mexico to

the Sierra Nevada in California.

At first the story is set in Stockton in the San Joaquin Valley. Jesus,

Juan's son, got his first job in a cannery called Flotill. Stockton is shown

to be a working town where Juan had lived before. To Jesus, Stockton is his

future and his hopes are large enough to shield him from the "skid row"

section of town. Jesus was to live in a cheap hotel while he worked in the

cannery. The hotel was described as stained, soiled, and smelly (151).

Jesus is proud of his room and his job, but Juan only sees them as

disappointing. Stockton, for Juan, brings back memories of hard work and

time away from his wife, La Belleza. La Belleza was the prime focus of

Juan's life and if he was away from her, he definitely wasn't happy; this is

why Juan has bad feelings for Stockton. From the hotel, we, as readers, are

taken through the town of Stockton. There are torn buildings and rubble all

over the place. A "warm and dirty" pool hall was Jesus' "entertainment"

(152). This smoky pool hall was recreation for Jesus but Juan only seemed to

be disgusted. To Jesus the pool hall was a place to relax while he wasn't

working in the cannery. Next, Juan and his son parted because Juan was

feeling tired from the events of the day. Juan got in his car and returned

home to Twin Pines to reflect on his past.

Twin Pines was where Juan and his wife had lived for about six years, but

the home wasn't the same now that La Belleza was dead. La Belleza had died

due to complications when Jesus was born. His wife's death completely

changed him. Twin Pines was where Juan and his wife had longed to live for

many years. The neighborhood and his new house had been well deserved. He

had to struggle for a long time in Mexico to save enough money to move to the

mountains. Juan had lived his whole life in Mexico before moving. Mexico,

to Juan was a "hard land. It took the life of his father and mother before

he was twelve and the life of his aunt, with whom he then lived, before he

was sixteen"(154). This inspired Juan to get away from the village and

eventually, he did. Mexico and its hardships were now in Juan's past

representing his struggle to have a better place for his wife. Juan had

saved enough money to leave the "death" of Mexico and head for his dreams of

the Mountains. Jackson, a town along the road to Twin Pines, was where "the

road turned and began an immediate, constant climb upward" (156). This, to

me, represents a major change in Juan's life. Juan's dream finally was

turning into what he wanted. The climbing road symbolized Juan's dream

slowly becoming a reality.

When Juan saw the cabin