George Washington Gomez: Gualinto The Selfish
George Washington Gomez:
Gualinto the Selfish
In the novel, George Washington Gómez by Américo Paredes, the main character gets his immense sense of importance from his deceased father’s prophesy. Throughout his childhood and teenage years he has been told by his mom and uncle that he will become a great leader among his people. This causes the main character to for the most part think about his welfare. For that reason, Guálinto is portrayed as a self-centered individual. His selfishness is apparent by the way he is ashamed of his house, reacts to violence and by only caring about his job.
His self-centeredness is viewed in the text as Feliciano sees, “Guálinto walking fast and reached the gate just as a big black automobile came up the street from the opposite direction. He hesitated, stopped and then hurried forward the gate” (156). When Feliciano sees Guálinto hesitating to enter the family home, this causes Feliciano’s feelings to be hurt. Guálinto’s uncle has done so many things in order to not only make his family survive, but also to provide them with comfort. By realizing that his nephew is ashamed of the all his hard work makes …show more content…
Guálinto a spoiled and selfish individual.
Apart from that, another scene in which the audience can see Guálinto as a self-center individual is where his mother beats his sister Maruca half to death and he does nothing.
He shows no sign of defending his sister and doesn’t even show concern about her welfare: “Gualinto stood at the doorway, holding on to both sides of the jamb instead to steady himself. The blows stunned him as if they were pounding on his flesh” (224). This moment perfectly portrays his selfishness. Instead of being worried of his poor sister, he instead manages to make this horrible situation about himself. It’s extremely self-centered of him to make himself the victim; his sister is the one being beaten and whose body is receiving all the blows of their mother’s rage and Guálinto is the one who expresses this attack on his sister as an attack on
him.
Another example in the text that shows the main character’s selfishness is at the end of the novel. After all the sacrifices and hardships that his Uncle Feliciano endured in order to create opportunities for Guálinto, all the uncle gets is being told, “… It would ruin my career if it became known at this time” (302). Not only is Feliciano not being thanked after giving Guálinto the choice to go to college, but he’s asked by his nephew to keep the fact that he is really a spy for the government/border police. It’s absolutely selfish to tell his uncle the truth and to ask him to keep it a secret. He does not take into account his uncle’s feelings. He’s more concern about his welfare than his uncle’s pain at knowing that his nephew has turned against his people. For the reasons stated above, George/ Guálinto is a self-centered character. Throughout the story, he is portrayed as a character that only thinks about himself. Although it is not entirely his fault, overall his negligence to consider the feelings of others makes him into a selfish individual.
Gualinto the Selfish
In the novel, George Washington Gómez by Américo Paredes, the main character gets his immense sense of importance from his deceased father’s prophesy. Throughout his childhood and teenage years he has been told by his mom and uncle that he will become a great leader among his people. This causes the main character to for the most part think about his welfare. For that reason, Guálinto is portrayed as a self-centered individual. His selfishness is apparent by the way he is ashamed of his house, reacts to violence and by only caring about his job.
His self-centeredness is viewed in the text as Feliciano sees, “Guálinto walking fast and reached the gate just as a big black automobile came up the street from the opposite direction. He hesitated, stopped and then hurried forward the gate” (156). When Feliciano sees Guálinto hesitating to enter the family home, this causes Feliciano’s feelings to be hurt. Guálinto’s uncle has done so many things in order to not only make his family survive, but also to provide them with comfort. By realizing that his nephew is ashamed of the all his hard work makes …show more content…
Guálinto a spoiled and selfish individual.
Apart from that, another scene in which the audience can see Guálinto as a self-center individual is where his mother beats his sister Maruca half to death and he does nothing.
He shows no sign of defending his sister and doesn’t even show concern about her welfare: “Gualinto stood at the doorway, holding on to both sides of the jamb instead to steady himself. The blows stunned him as if they were pounding on his flesh” (224). This moment perfectly portrays his selfishness. Instead of being worried of his poor sister, he instead manages to make this horrible situation about himself. It’s extremely self-centered of him to make himself the victim; his sister is the one being beaten and whose body is receiving all the blows of their mother’s rage and Guálinto is the one who expresses this attack on his sister as an attack on
him.
Another example in the text that shows the main character’s selfishness is at the end of the novel. After all the sacrifices and hardships that his Uncle Feliciano endured in order to create opportunities for Guálinto, all the uncle gets is being told, “… It would ruin my career if it became known at this time” (302). Not only is Feliciano not being thanked after giving Guálinto the choice to go to college, but he’s asked by his nephew to keep the fact that he is really a spy for the government/border police. It’s absolutely selfish to tell his uncle the truth and to ask him to keep it a secret. He does not take into account his uncle’s feelings. He’s more concern about his welfare than his uncle’s pain at knowing that his nephew has turned against his people. For the reasons stated above, George/ Guálinto is a self-centered character. Throughout the story, he is portrayed as a character that only thinks about himself. Although it is not entirely his fault, overall his negligence to consider the feelings of others makes him into a selfish individual.