Romero's Shirt Dagoberto Gilb Summary

Dagoberto Gilb’s “Romero’s Shirt” tells the story of Romero—the protagonist, a family man whose favorite shirt was taken from his juniper. A momentous episode occurs in Romero’s life when he decides to allow an old man cut his juniper which he usually does himself. Before this episode Romero was washing his car and because he didn’t want his shirt to get wet he put it on the juniper. In front of the house came the old man offering his service, Romero who usually doesn’t accustom to this type of jobs gave the old man a chance because he find him likeable. Happy with the little moment that he share with the old man he took a nap and then when he woke up he remember his shirt and didn’t find it where it was. He is upset, but he struggles about

thinking that the old man trick him to take the shirt. Because Romero holds more than one feature and appears to change, he is reflected as a round, dynamic character.

Gilb suggest that often parents focus so much in their jobs that it takes away their happiness. Romero works even in weekends and is off in a week day when his family is not in the house consequently he’s not able to enjoy his time of with them. His life is so involved with work that he forgets what makes him enjoy life that “happiness was as easy as some tacos and a five-dollar bill” (395). Gilb also shows that people who believe that materialism will bring them happiness are wrong. Romero likes his shirt because he felt like it show that he was well. He wants his children to be seen in private hospitals rather than the county hospital and he wants to give his daughter the best clothes, his sons more toys and everything his wifes ask

for.
Romero’s life is all work and leaves no time to spend with his family and his children question themselves the reasons of him working so much. Stress from work has turn him into a dry person who doesn’t talk that much with his children. His wife, justifies his husband and tries to understand and explains to the children “that this was because he was tired” (395). He is indeed tire and he doesn’t question the explanation that his wife gives to his kids. In the end, it avoids him to worry about “having to discuss why he lived working weekends and taking a day off of during the week” (395) letting no time to spend with his family.
More people cruises the board into El Paso and as a result it creates a society of unemployed persons who does anything to survive. Romero doesn’t trust anymore the area where he lives. He thinks that if he leaves his favorite shirt outside people “who had no work” (394) could still it. He also feels like his earnings are at risk because the immigrants where taking “his work, at any price” (394). His distrust with society makes him “brusque with requests” (395) of people who ask for money even if it was in exchange of a service that is being offer.
Romero has an internal battle between wanting to give only the best to his family and being simple.

He often compares himself with family members who had move to other cities like Chicago, Dallas and Los Angeles. Because “they came back for holidays with stories of high wages and acquisition” (394) he feels that he is not as successful as them. Often he has to remind himself how he used to live in Mexico where “so many things weren’t available” (394) and where people will do anything just to have the basics. He also has to convince himself that “life in El Paso was much like the land-hard, but one could make do with what was offered”

(394).
Romero also has turn off his generous side. With all the difficulties that he experiences thorough his life he taught himself not to care and not to wish. He was so disappointed with life that “he had become hard, guarding against compassion and generosity” (395). As a result Romero lost communication with his family taking dragging himself to loneliness. He “kept to himself, alone, almost always, even when his wife gave him his meals” (396), instead of talking with his wife and letting know his feelings so he can probably have consolation from her. Romero forgot the pleasure of giving and helping he “wasn’t used to feeling so virtuous” (395).
The story escalates when an old man offers to cut Romero’s juniper for money. The tension rises when Romero notice that his favorite shirt was missing. The climax happens when Romero distrust good intentions again convince that the old man trick him to take “his shirt, some food, and money” (396). Romero then realizes how good he felt when he show compassion to the old man and he lets go of the memory of his favorite shirt. He realize how he has taken for granted the most value item that he has, his family, that he was so busy with work and with his desire of wanting to give them the best that he forgot what he really wanted in life, “he wish his family were there with him so he could give as much, more, to them too, so he could watch their spin around in dances — he’d missed so many” (395).