In “Uncle Rock,” Dagoberto Gilb produces a piece of prose fiction, which is succinct and concise. The narrative is written from a third person perspective and concentrate on Erick, the protagonist. He is eleven and being brought up by a single mother in Los Angeles. The mother is a beautiful immigrant from Mexico, though Erick has no sense of his original homeland, Mexico. Erick is confronted by dilemmas as the mother tries to create a new identity by finding a rich man as a husband. For the most of the story, the protagonist is mum and never engages in any conversation with the men; however, one of the men makes him have mixed feelings. Erick’s antipathy to his mother’s men extends to the newest man, Roque, whose nickname forms the title of the story; Erick refers to him as his “Uncle Rock.” The narrative shows that young boys require a father figure in their lives, but his case is different since he misses a father figure, care, and affection from the mother.
The narrative starts with Erick observing his mother incessantly hunt for Mr. Wrong in dissatisfaction. He sensed that all the men were wrong for the mother, and it disturbed him when all the men used him as the icebreaker during their conversation with his mother. Erick wished that his mother would be keen to see the true characters of these men and not push the conversation. He realized that his mother is only dated rich men when he stated, "She almost always gave the man her number if he was wearing a suit. Not a sports coat ” (Gilb 596). Uninterested in knowing his mother's suitors, he "never said anything when the men were around"(Gilb 597). Erick regarded the suitors of his mother as a nuisance and was not interested in them. He is dissatisfied with the choices of men that the mother picked because they are not fulfilling his father figure gap needs.
Erick's personality is so precautious and secluded he barely talks with his mother. The seclusion and cautiousness are not realized until he is alone and praying when his actual feelings are exposed. He "thanked God for his mom, who he loved, and he apologized to Him for not talking to her, or to anyone, really, except his friend Albert " (Gilb 598). Through the story, the solitary and longing for a father figure are seen when he shows some admirations for Albert’s (his friend) life. Since he was envious of the connection Albert was having at home, he lied to him when he said that Roque was an engineer (Gilb 600). He wanted his friend to believe that he, his mother, and the new man were a happy family unit. It is evident that he wanted a father figure so much that he thought he could find a substitute when he started to think that he could get his own horse (Gilb 598). However, due to his precautions character, he stopped talking to Albert when his friend discovered that he was lying.
The change of character is seen when Roque became the subject of discussion. When his mother lost her job and was desperate for consolation, she calls Roque. She would call on him when everything alternatives failed since he was not her type for dating. Erick depicts him as, "always too willing and nice, too considerate, too generous. He wore nothing flashy or expensive ” (Gilb 598). Her mother later began to reassess her principles, desires in men and asked Erick his take when she marries Roque. The mother devises a plan to bring Erick and Roque together, and the only way is to attend Erick’s sports passion, a baseball game. The change of attitude came when Erick realized that, "Roque was the proudest man, full of joy because he was with her" (Gilb 600). He noticed that he was real and loved his mother unreservedly. He realized that even though Roque was not rich like an engineer, he behaved and acted as the richest man globally when with Erick’s mother. Gilb exposed Erick's verdict when he stated that when Erick reached his mother and Roque, the letter he was given by one of the baseball players had been disposed of. This indicated that he was lastly satisfied and did not want any other men for his mother. Erick was uninviting and cautious of the mother's several affairs and relationships. He frequently prayed for answers from God, and sure the answer came when his mother decided to marry Roque.
Work Cited
Gilb, Dagoberto. "Uncle Rock." Literature: The Human Experience. Eds. Richard Abcarian, Marvin Klotz, and Samuel Cohen. 11th Ed. Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2013. 596-600. Print.
