Beto In Huerfanita

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Actions can display someone's inner most personal feelings. The father, Beto, in the short story Huerfanita by David Andrew Talamantes is contemptuous and vicious towards his homosexual son. Beto’s violent and abusive nature is not due to the fact that Pablo is gay, but rather to Beto’s insecurities within himself. Pablo’s degrading nickname, huerfanita, expresses that Beto does not act hostile towards his son because he is gay but rather because his wife was unfaithful. If the father was truly upset with his son because he was gay he would have given him a nickname that related specifically to that topic; he referred to him as a “pinche muchachita” but the epithet “huerfanita” was more prevalent than any other name. The term “huerfanita” means orphan girl, but this term does not just affect Pablo because he no longer has a mom, but it also affects Beto because his wife left him. He expresses his hatred …show more content…

Beto is at a loss of his identity, he releases his anger on a defenseless child and woman and constantly drowns his problems with liquor to cloud the real dilemma. Whether it was the tragic event of his wife leaving or the sketchy “underground projects very few knew about” (Talamantes) something had undoubtedly affected him. He seems to hate that his son is flamboyant and lively, which could be due to the fact that Beto is not able to express himself in such a manner. For example, when there was a party right in his own home he decides to bitterly “stay in the garage while the celebration unfolded” (Talamantes) and curse at his deceased wife. Instead of mingling with the guest and drinking with other people he decides to stay isolated. When someone is not able to effectively coexist with other people it could be because that person has to work on themselves

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