Jonathan Harrison January 4, 2009

Maria Amparo Ruiz De Burton

"María Ruiz de Burton has a few consistent themes running through her major works. These are the subordination of race, gender, and class. Class, gender, and race are all intertwined to illustrate the cultural constraints on women and how they should submit or be rejected. It also demonstrates the construction of the upper class and how Chicanos are viewed" (wikipedia)

The themes discussed in the above quote, are portrayed all throughout "The Squatter and the Don." It was clear to see that Don Mariano was the smartest of all the characters, but because of his Mexican heritage his opinions were tossed aside by ignorant white squatters, and this clearly reveals Ruiz disdain towards the U.S. government and their treatment of Chicanos.

"The Squatter and the Don" is a story about a wealthy Mexican landowner, Don Mariano, who holds a meeting with local squatters in hopes of reaching a compromise. The squatters had been stealing and killing the Don's cattle while adding to the problem by rotting the land by planting grain fields which are at the mercy to the elements. Don offers to give the squatters half of all his remaining cattle and help these new settlers in learning the ways of cattle raising. He is generous enough to promise that he will relay his knowledge about orchards and agriculture , more appealing to the native land, to these white settlers, but his generous offerings are discarded solely on the basis that he is Chicano. It is a sad set of circumstances but one all to realistic.

The story, The Squatter and the Don, was an all too real depiction of life in California and the struggles over land that were fought between Chicanos and white men. Ruiz clearly shows how mistreated and misunderstood Chicanos at this time really were. Don Mariano is easily the most knowledgeable man in terms of knowing the land and how to cultivate it best, but his knowledge is tossed aside as ignorant babble by white squatters who have no clue about how to get by in California. Mariano has lived and benefited from the local resources yet the ignorant squatters insist on planting grain and slowly rotting the land. This atrocity is Ruiz's cry to the fact that the American government is similar to the monarchy of England, which it detests in so many ways. The new settlers should respect and learn from the locals, Ruiz argues, but instead the government mistreats Chicanos and treat them like a lower class which is a gross misrepresentation of who they really are.