Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussions of anti-gay bias and murder.

Harrison Shepherd acts as the protagonist of The Lacuna. The novel traces his development from a neglected young boy to a humble and dedicated servant to an acclaimed novelist to, finally, a social pariah. The novel is largely told from Shepherd’s point of view through his journal entries and letters. Although initially Shepherd tries to obscure himself in his writing, he comes to embrace the “I” and assert his identity and views. Shepherd is an awkward and self-effacing pale-skinned, tall, gangly Mexican American who embodies The Struggle of Dual Nationality and the Search for Belonging.

Shepherd was born into the petty bourgeoisie; his father is an American government bureaucrat. His circumstances, however, after his mother, Salomé, leaves his father and pursues a series of affairs with wealthy Mexican men, results in a childhood on the brink of poverty. As a result, he has an intermediate and unclear class position as a child and young adult. He experiences some aspects of the middle class, like access to books, but not the income or education that would typically be expected of someone with that class position.