Mr. Arana

Mr. Arana differs from Alberto's father only slightly. He does not treat his wife well, abandons her for stretches of time, and has many girlfriends. He is an absent father to Ricardo, the Slave, and blames his wife for Ricardo's fault. When Ricardo has been shot and lies dying in the hospital, Mr. Arana moans to Alberto about the challenge he has had to face in making Ricardo a man: "It hasn't been easy to make a man out of him. He's my only son." Mr. Arana wants to believe the Academy did him good, that it undid all that his wife and Aunt Adeline did to emasculate young Ricardo. Mr. Arana does everything but consider his role in Ricardo's upbringing, especially his failure to ever appreciate Ricardo. In fact, Mr. Arana constantly insulted Ricardo as if he were not there, saying, "he acts like a girl...