en. For example, when Juan was talking to Lupe the day she was trying to learn how to drive the family truck without anyone knowing, he said this to her: "Any man whose true interest is in his offspring has the responsibility to find the smartest, most educated woman he can find, because the mother is after all, a child's first and most important teacher (p. 405)."He believed that in order for a man to have children who will become something in life, his wife also has to be someone who is special and educated. The mother has the power to bring the family closer to each other. In both of these families (Lupe's and Juan's) the mother was the primary caregiver of the children. The mother was the one who needed to socialize their children to become productive adults. In doing this there needed to be structure in the family and the mother was the one who was also responsible for this. The father may be the breadwinner of the family, but it is the mother who the children would seek comfort and guidance from. Being a man, man as protector of the family, pride of man to be a provider is what many see as the "man's" role. "For Salvador (Juan) took care of his family; he was an example of what mejicano could be if only he carried his balls with pride" (p. 387). Juan always took care of his family. No matter what type of job he had to take on. He became a bootlegger in order to make money for his family to survive. He loved it when he could give his mother money so she didn't have to find other means of getting money. Juan became the man of the family even when he was still a very young. He took on this role with much pride and dignity. Also, Juan was soft and tender, hard and tough, all at the same time. He was not afraid of letting others see him cry. He knows that a real man could have all these qualities and still have respect from others.In contrast, Lupe's mother became the protector of the family when Don Victor was away...
