The Significance of the Pendleton Shirt and the Old Man

Stories tend to present images and messages that exist in real life through several motifs. Romero’s shirt is such a story that uses motifs to present how the challenges in life harden someone’s soul. The story begins with the description of Romero’s house and garden then it moves further to explain why his situation is so. Romero had a difficult childhood and unlike his peers who left to Los Angeles and other American cities, he decides to live in El Paso. His life remains to be that of working on menial jobs

The Essence of the Old Man in the Story

The old man plays one of the most vital roles in the story in that he is allowed to work on Romero’s garden despite Romero living on such jobs. The story begins with the description of Romero’s jobs and as it is it is expected that gardening was one of Romero’s jobs. Additionally, the story states that “no job too small” implying that all the jobs that could earn a wage were in his job description. However, the old man was put into the story to bring out the Romero’s real character. From the story, Romero had decided to take a day off, and as the reader understands, he was an unusual man who took breaks durinshirt and hence his true character.

Although the visit by the old man has a negative influence on Romero at the end, it is evident that he made Romero forget a bit about his troubles. The reader is told that Romero had a great pleasure watching the old man do his job. In another part, the reader is told that Romero “was not used to feeling so virtuous.” Both of these statements show the positive influence the old man had on Romero. However, the eventual disappearance of the shirt altered the attitude of Romero towards life and the old man. Romero began to revert to his old self when he regrets the courtesy he offered the old man.

The Pendleton Shirt

The story is named after this shirt because of the influence and the essence it has on Romero and its essence on presenting the main theme in the story. Additionally, the old man in the story enhances the message transmitted by the story. This happens when the shirt disappears after the old man visits Romero’s house. The disappearance of the shirt causes a lot of anxiety for Romero to an extent that that his earlier plans to take his family for a vacation disappears from his brain. He does not sleep all night thinking of an old shirt he bought before buying his car and before getting. This situation shows that Romero cares about his material possession more than he cares for his family.