Clemente Chavez’s life 360 In the first chapters of Heart of Aztlan by Rudolfo Anaya, the development and characterization of Clemente Chavez, the father of the family, set the novel's initial basis for the plot. As Clemente faces challenges that reveal his evolving role as a father through the difficulty of shifting from traditional values to new, untraditional ones in order to adapt, his character rounds out. Through Clemente, Anaya conveys the themes of sacrifice, transition, loss of identity, and family fragmentation, illustrating the unforeseen struggles Chicano families go through while embarking on the search for a better life. Chapter one presents the Chavez family selling their land. This was an extremely difficult decision for Clemente, …show more content…
The expression of his feelings became violent and unproductive. His internal struggles and emotions suggest he has a more rounded character, struggling with accepting his new reality. “He used to lead, and now he felt he didn’t even know the road ahead of him while she nimbly and surely led the way up Barelas Street” (Anaya, 39). Clemete recognizes the shift, but doesn't accept that his role as a father is completely different now. Anaya’s shift in Clemente’s character goes back to the struggles Chicanos face when making sacrifices for their children for them to have a better life. Through Clemente, Anaya shows how parents are supposed to be the source of support, showing the impossibility of it without feeling appreciation and connection to their role. In conclusion, the development of Clemente’s character throughout the first chapters of The Heart of Aztlan, Clemente's slow withdrawal of purpose disconnected from his traditional values and role as a father, reveal the depth of his character in the novel through his initial sacrifice for his family to his daughters Juanita and Ana, quickly assimilating and losing connection with his son