First of all, Gonzales learns to again respect the men in his family. Since Gonzales and his family have moved to America, Gonzales has seen his father and his mother's brother, Tio Juan, regress as people. As Gonzales states at the beginning of his chapter, "the older you are, the younger you get when you move to the United States." Though only a child, Gonzales has to act as a translator for his father and as a babysitter for Tio Juan.

His view of them changes when Tio Juan starts working in the garden. Finally, Gonzales sees Tio Juan doing something that he enjoys and understands. He watches as Tio Juan works the soil and even learns from him how to plant the seeds properly. As he states, Tio Juan has "changed from a baby back into a man."

Secondly, Gonzales learns not to take people at face value. Through most of the chapter he seems to presume that Tio Juan is a bit of a simpleton. As he says, the only person Tio Juan can communicate with his Gonzales's mother, and while she is at work, Tio Juan wanders around the apartment talking to himself. When he is working in the garden, however, he suddenly looks focused and alive.