In Americo Paredes' novel “George Washington Gomez”, the main character George Washington “Gualinto” Gomez is a young Mexican-American, growing up in Jonesville-on-the-Grande, Texas. As the novel chronicles his journey to adulthood in early 1900s Texas, the historical backdrop provides various trials and tribulations for Gualinto that shape his identity and perspective on life. Driven to become a “great man” by his late father's idealism, Gualinto struggles to walk the high path that has been set before him. A character who does everything to make Gualinto realize this dream is his uncle Feliciano. Spurred by Gumersindo's desire for Gualinto to become a great man, Feliciano enters the complicated world of politics and business with the intent of providing a financially stable atmosphere in which Gualinto would have the opportunity to realize this dream. Ironically, Feliciano ultimately disapproves of the man Gualinto becomes because Gualinto has no intention of helping his people and has a negative opinion of their resistance as a whole. However, without his financial support, his insistence on a formal education, and his role as a father figure, Gualinto would not be the successful man he has become at the end of the novel. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay During a time when most Mexican-Americans were poor and working dead-end jobs, Feliciano was able to provide financial security to Gualinto. This was an important feat for him as he “tried to earn as much money as possible by all possible means to make Gumersindo's dream come true because he knew that dreams are more likely to come true if you have money” (Paredes 155). Thus, Feliciano did not follow Lupe and the sediciosos to Mexico, but mindful of his promises to Gumersindo, moved the family to Jonesville-on-the-Grande where he quickly transcended several socioeconomic ranks. He begins as a bartender under the leadership of Faustino Bello, but soon moves into the political arena gathering votes for Judge Norris and the blues. Then, Feliciano successfully owns his own grocery store where most of his wealth comes from. Although he is by no means wealthy, being the sole breadwinner of his family, Feliciano is able to provide a home for his family with a "store-bought" front door and a swing that symbolizes their prosperity. Even when “La Chilla” hits Jonesville-on-the-Grande, Feliciano and his family are one of the few Mexican-American families able to weather the storm with minimal damage thanks to the fact that Gumersindo didn't put up all the money in the family in the bank. All this to give Gualinto the ability to become a great man. Unlike other Mexican-American families, Gualinto does not have to work to help his family, although he chooses to do so for a short time while in high school. As Gualinto matures and sees his other friends drop out of school and start working, he continues to study and become a successful man. Others in history were not so lucky. For example, Gualinto's sisters, Carmen and Maruca. As girls, Feliciano didn't care whether they finished school or not, and since they were women, he thought it was best for them to drop out anyway. Without Feliciano's support regarding their education, both Carmen and Maruca eventually drop out and become nothing more than someone's wife by the end of the novel. From this we see that without Feliciano's hard work and financial success, Gualinto would not have had the time or ability to become a man ofgreat esteem as Gumersindo imagined him. Feliciano's financial prowess is another factor that provided Gualinto the opportunity to pursue the most important tool in becoming a great man: his education. Feliciano didn't know very well the parameters of becoming a great man, but “he earned as much money as he could, doing jobs that he enjoyed but that sometimes made him doubt whether he was doing the right thing. All for the education of his grandson” (Paredes 49). Starting in elementary school, Gualinto had difficulty fitting in due to Miss Cornelia constantly teasing him and embarrassing him in front of the whole class. Yet Gualinto persevered and even excelled, gaining recognition for things like his ability to read fluently at such a young age. Gualinto subsequently attended middle school and prepared for secondary school. High school presented many challenges for Gualinto, with Maria Elena Osuna using him for her grades, La Chilla, and Maruca's pregnancy. Despite his declining academic performance, Gualinto also completed this educational quest. Unlike most of Gualinto's Mexican-American contemporaries, Gualinto made it not only to high school but also to college and law school. This was something of a privilege for Gualinto since when he arrived in high school, he was one of only five Mexicans remaining in the school system. Feliciano was the main, if not only, reason why Gualinto was able to achieve this goal. If not for his ability to provide for his family and the college fund he had saved long before “La Chilla” arrived, Gualinto would have long since dropped out of school for financial reasons. Instead, Feliciano recognized the importance of education early on in Gualinto's upbringing and continually impressed this on him. Having ensured that Gualinto was educated and financially sound, another contribution of Feliciano that ensured that his nephew became a great man was the position of father figure that he took in Gualinto's life. Feliciano never had a wife or children of his own, so he invested in Gualinto as if it were his own son. Yet, Gualinto almost never appreciated anything his uncle did for him. He was embarrassed that they were not as wealthy as other families like the Osunas and could not appreciate what Feliciano had gone through to provide what they had. Despite Gualinto's attitude, Feliciano continued to be the father Gualinto would never know, most notably reminding Gualinto to never be ashamed of his Mexican roots. We can see how Gualinto struggles to reconcile this with his position in the Anglo world. On the one hand he attends a mixed school with Mexicans and whites and tries to be friendly with them, but on the other hand he still feels frustration towards the rinches like the rest of his people. This is demonstrated by the scene in the banana grove where Gualinto pretends that one of the trees is a rinche and tells him “Why don't you kill me, eh? Because you shoot people from behind. Because you kill unarmed men and small children.” (68). Despite Gualinto's confusion, Feliciano did what he could to keep him grounded. Perhaps Feliciano's greatest act as a father figure in Gualinto's life was honoring Gumersindo's dying wish not to tell Gualinto how his father had died. Keeping this promise was an enormous responsibility for Feliciano that not even he shared. Gualinto ultimately thinks negatively of his father, but “Gumersindo had given [Feliciano] a job to do. The boy was too young to understand. Let someone else tell him after [Feliciano] is dead” (Paredes 264). Hiding not only his father's past but also his own in Gualinto is.