Antonio perceives the plains and the hills to be filled with life, yet he senses a dark shadow over all their lives. He is worried about tracks near the juniper tree, where Narciso was killed, and about the news that old Tenorio’s second daughter is dying. He is also disturbed […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapter 20Summary and Analysis Chapters 17-19
Antonio is adrift in a sea of confusion. He fervently wants to believe in God, but his friend Florence sternly and logically denies the existence of Heaven, Hell, and God. To Antonio’s argument that God is continually testing our faith in Him, Florence chides that because God knows everything — […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapters 17-19Summary and Analysis Chapter 16
Sitting under the juniper tree where Narciso was killed, dreaming of meeting the Virgin, Antonio encounters Tenorio and immediately forms a cross with a thumb and forefinger. Tenorio curses him and threatens to kill Ultima. Antonio rushes to warn Ultima, who wants to know if Tenorio touched him. She says […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapter 16Summary and Analysis Chapter 15
Andrew visits the bedridden Antonio but does not stay long. Afterwards, Antonio asks Ultima if he talked about Andrew while he was sick with fever. She says that he didn’t reveal Andrew’s secret, and he is glad that she understands. After Antonio recovers, he sits with Ultima and listens to […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapter 15Summary and Analysis Chapters 12-14
One night, one of Ultima’s friends, the town drunk Narciso, comes to warn her: One of Tenorio’s evil daughters has died, and Tenorio blames Ultima. Outside, a shot is fired, men’s voices are heard, and Tenorio demands that Ultima be given to them. Ultima comes to the door, and as […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapters 12-14Summary and Analysis Chapters 9-11
He wakes and hears his brother Eugene shouting that he and his brothers must leave. They don’t want to work on the highway with their father, and they don’t want to follow their father’s dream to go to California. They simply want to be out on their own. Maria cries […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapters 9-11Summary and Analysis Chapters 7-8
Once more, the family is united. Maria is happy that Miss Maestas praises Antonio and that, once more, she can cook for the “lost sons” even though Gabriel talks continually of his dream to move the family to California. Winter comes soon, and happiness fades in the Marez household. Antonio’s […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapters 7-8Summary and Analysis Chapter 6
Leaving for school and leaving his parents and Ultima behind is difficult; Antonio feels as though he will never see them again. Impulsively he dashes down the pebbled goat path toward the bridge and, half-way across, is challenged to a race by a small, thin boy, called the Vitamin Kid. […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapter 6Summary and Analysis Chapters 4-5
Next morning, Antonio and his mother and sisters travel to El Puerto to help their Luna relatives with the harvest. Antonio is especially fond of his Uncle Pedro, who calls him “Tony.” After dinner, Maria speaks of Antonio’s becoming a priest and guiding the Luna family. When everyone has gone […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapters 4-5Summary and Analysis Chapters 2-3
One Saturday night, a drunken war veteran, Lupito, kills the sheriff, and Gabriel joins the sheriff’s posse at the river. Antonio secretly follows his father and hides in some brush, where he sees the wild-eyed Lupito, holding a pistol and crouching close to the river bank. The deranged veteran screams […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapters 2-3