Have you ever tried your hand at a new activity or a new job? How did it turn out? Were you an expert immediately or did it take you some time to get used to? Did you make mistakes? Chances are you did make mistakes because you were unaware of what to do and how to do it. But through those mistakes you learned and became more experienced. That idea of experiencing something new and gaining knowledge and wisdom through the mistakes and experiences is one of the themes that Victor Villasenor’s Rain of Gold seems to promote. Juan and Lupe come from two different backgrounds, they got to California in their own unique ways and live distinctive lifestyles. But in the midst of all these differences one thing holds common for both of them and for…show more content… During his quest for blood against the Italian and the Filipino, he gets ratted out and finds himself in jail for illegal activities. He gets sentenced with two months of jail time. In the tank, he surveys the place to find out who could be his main threat and ally. After establishing the main enemies, Juan makes short work of them and has the jail running smoothly to his will, however he stays separated from fellow Mexicans who offer him protection. Because of what happened in the rock quarry, Juan just doesn’t trust them anymore. Juan’s wits help him in gaining a valuable ally who teaches him how to make liquor prompting him to begin his new way of life (Villasenor 281-283). What happens in the tank is no luck or incident. It is all planned and organized successfully by Juan who has great experience from serving in jail before in Arizona. Regarding the Mexicans, because of the rock quarry incident he has learned that they cannot be trusted. Like Juan we have also used our knowledge from our experiences to gain an upper hand at something. Whether that’d be at work or in a game or something on a more serious note. Another example that comes to mind on the subject of benefiting from experience is Juan’s ability to read people’s eyes from Dual’s teachings and his gambling experiences. He is able to dissect a person by just looking in their eyes and also by doing so he can hide his true emotions. This skill comes very handy in multiple situations. When Dona Guadalupe traps him and starts her interrogations Juan is able to use his gambling skills to hide the truth behind his eyes. “He looked at the old lady, choosing his words carefully, staring straight back at her as she studied his eyes. After all, he wasn’t a professional gambler for nothing. ‘I move fertilizer,’ he said, lying to her, staring at her, eye-to-eye, giving absolutely nothing away,” (Villasenor 360). On one
