Juan Sanchez Summary

“Sanchez, written by Richard Dokey, is a short story about a migrant worker Juan Sanchez and his challenging life as he tries to move to United States. Dokey uses distinctive settings to signify how various places are associated with different feelings. The settings vary from Stockton, to a small village in Mexico, to the Twin Pines, which affect Juan and Jesus personally in different ways. From the beginning, the author introduces his readers to a town called Stockton, which creates a different perception of home to the two characters. Jesus, Juan’s son obtains his first job in a Cannery, and sees Stockton as a step to independence where he can seek his own dreams. While working at the Cannery, Jesus lives in a cheap hotel. The author describes the place as “smelly, stained, and soiled” (Dokey 26). He lives in a place with “torn buildings and a dirty pool hall” (Dokey 27). The living conditions did not seem to bother Jesus. To Jesus, the pool hall was a place to relax while he was not working, but his father was disgusted by it.

Juan is aware of the hostile environment in his native land. “He feared the land, and believed it possessed the power to kill him” (Dokey 30). Juan does not feel safe in his homeland because of the absence it created. Juan grew up in the village of Mexico, and it only created him memories of hardship. Dokey describes Mexico as a hard land. It took the life of his father, mother, and aunt (Dokey 29). All the negative connotations associated with the village of Mexico make Juan feel ultimate sadness. His anger becomes even more chronic after he loses his second child. At that point, he curses himself, the village, and God (Dokey 30). Dokey uses this setting to describe how home can cause unpleasant moments and make people feel resentful towards it. All of these unlucky events inspire Juan to move away from his native land and seek for a better