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Friday, April 9, 2010

The Conspiracy

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7 comments:

  1. Ashlie McGuireAugust 8, 2010 at 10:09 AM

    I really enjoyed this chapter. As far as what I had thought earlier about Jaime and Amanda, I'm sort of glad that he didn't fall for her, but I disagree with his feigning a romantic relationship with her (p.353). I agree with Jaime about Miguel, that not everything has to be settled with blood (p.354). I was also happy to see that Pedro Tercero gave Blanca an ultimatum and stuck to it (p.346). I really feel sort of an anger towards Blanca's character for how she acts towards Pedro. Yes, she loves him, but she refuses to commit to a life with him (p.345), and that she waited so long to tell Alba that Pedro was her father, and even then she just casually mentioned it (p.358). I do think it was a good idea for her to go to Pedro for help when Esteban was being held hostage (p.358). I was glad to hear mention of Clara again. I can't wait to read about when Alba gets taken. "I came to tell you to be careful child," Luisa Mora said after she had dried her tears."Death is at your heels. Your Grandmother Clara is doing all she can to protect you in the Hereafter, but she sent me to tell you that your spiritual protectors are powerless when it comes to major cataclysms. She says it would be wise for you to take a trip, that you should cross the ocean. You'll be safe there." (p.365). Is anything going to happen with Esteban Garicia soon?

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  2. UnknownAugust 9, 2010 at 10:38 AM

    Finally, Esteban Trueba gets what was coming to him. When his former peasant workers at Tres Marias held him hostage (p.356) I thought it was very funny and fitting.
    It's nice to see that Alba is really starting to take a stand on who's side she's on in the election. She's choosing the Socialist because she is actually believing in them, instead of just staying neutral and only participating because of Miguel.
    I'm anticipating the attack of Esteban Garica. Luisa Mora told Alba "Death is at your heels." (p.365) Which could mean one of two things, either the political parties are going to crash in one big messy gun fight, or Esteban Garcia is going to take out his wrath on the Trueba family. If Esteban Garcia does attack, then I can only imagine what he will do to Alba.

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  3. UnknownAugust 11, 2010 at 10:01 PM

    Esteban Trueba is truly blinded by pride. Even in the face of death he doesn't have the sense to practice a little self control. I understand not wanting to look weak, but it's obvious that he takes himself a little too seriously.

    "A hail of bullets sailed past his head... Trueba did not stop to see if he was dead... he headed down the path to the hacienda without looking to either side... The next thing he knew he was in the dining room of the main house lying face up on the table..." pg 356

    For most people, that would be a crash into reality. For Esteban, that somehow seemed a perfect time to attempt to assert his dominance;

    "How do you feel, companero?" someone asked.
    "Sons of b*tches! I'm nobody's companero!" the old man roared. pg 356

    I couldn't help but to giggle. Is this guy serious? For me, this chapter firmly set my view of Esteban. Not only is he a rapist, woman beating pig but he's an arrogant rapist, woman beating pig. How could someone feel so much pride for themselves when they have lived such a shameful life? Those peasants should have tied him to the dining room table a long time before then.

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  4. AnonymousAugust 14, 2010 at 7:33 PM

    I loved the part of where Blanca is storing food and Alba wants to help the poor because that is right thing to do, so she outsmarts Blanca by putting a hole in the wall and stole small amounts at a time. Of course Blanca starts having her suspicions and makes a inventory list. Nice try Blanca, but Alba found a solution to that too. Just mess with the inventory list. Though I sorta feel sorry for Blanca but then I don't cause the poor now are getting food. (p.350-351)

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  5. TabTepesAugust 15, 2010 at 2:24 PM

    Boy, was I glad when Esteban Trueba got what he deserved: humiliation. He had disgraced probably every family in Tres Marias from all rapes he had committed. I enjoyed reading of his 'fox' pride that was conquered by the 'chicken' tenants.
    "Trueba followed him with his head bowed. His eyes were red, and, for the first time he could remember, he felt defeated." (p.361)

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  6. Hayley WAugust 15, 2010 at 3:15 PM

    This chapter and the one before it brought up a lot of questions for me about society in general. Most pressing of all, why do young people feel such passion, and then give it all up when they grow up?

    In the previous chapter, we learn about Sebastian Gomez, a professor who sparks ideas in young students' minds. But Allende goes on to say on p.323 that the flame he makes usually "extinguished itself as soon as they graduated and joined the world they had once hoped to change." Personally, I hope to never stop trying to make the world a better place, or to simply blend into the ordinary crowd when I grow up.

    In this chapter, that's exactly what happens to Pedro Tercero. He trades in his poncho and sandals for a desk, a secretary, and a barred window of gray sky. I resent the fact that people become less passionate with age, and I couldn't believe that a great musician like Pedro Tercero would work such a draining job that "by the time he left work he was so tired that he was incapable of striking a single chord on his guitar."(p.344)

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  7. Amy MinixAugust 15, 2010 at 9:10 PM

    I am so glad that Jaime's old flame for Amanda had finally died out. " He now found himself trapped ina demanding relationship at an age when he no longer saw himself capable of tuultuous love" (pg. 354). Some things are better left in the past, and knowing the way things end for Jaime, it would have been disasterous for Amanda had they been in a real relationship.

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