Their Dogs Came With Them: Perspective on Ben

In chapter six of the novel, Viramontes introduces Ben as a quite shy, young boy who is a boy around twelve years old. Having no mother around anymore, Ben’s father instructed him to buy a pair of shoes in an hour by himself. Ben, having no experience on his own, was almost scared and unsure of how to go about his shopping. As he ventured on his own, he got reprimanded by a salesman and was told to leave, which would make anybody feel more uncomfortable. He was then directed to a store with a variety of merchandise. However, Ben now felt even more nervous because he could not find the right shoes and was running out of time.

“Ben felt suddenly saddened by how cruel the world could be.” This was going on in his head as he saw an elderly woman bending to pick up boxes and hear her joints snapping. At this point, I can tell that Ben is not naive. He is scared of the world, which is why he has a harder time to build up the courage and interact with the sales people to get a simple pair of shoes. At this point he is ready to give up on his search until he sees a little boy around four years old. The way the little boy studied everything and how he actually noticed Ben, different than the grown-ups, caught Ben’s attention. Ben took his hand, an act of innocence and admiration, soon an act that he would look back on and regret.

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