Reading Guide to Pedro Páramo #1

Be prepared for: abrupt changes in narrator and narrative modes, unfocalized flashbacks, stream of consciousness, time shifts, and the predominance of a supernatural sense of the real.

1. p.3 "I came to Comala.."
   A. Who is narrating here?
   B. To whom is he speaking?
   C. Why did he come to Comala?
   D. What is the time frame?
   E. Comala = ???
2. p.3 The scene of the promise: What promise does he make?
3. p.3 What sense we get from Pedro Páramo at the outset?
4. p.3 How does Pedro Páramo's son end up deciding to visit Comala?
5. p.4 When does he go there? What is the weather like?
6. p.4 "but as you arrive it's downhill" Why downhill?
7. p.4 Describe Comala.  
8. p.4 In whose place is Pedro Páramo's son coming back to Comala?
9. p.4 Whose memories are these?: "Just as you pass the gate of Los Colimotes there's a beautiful view ..." How does this description contrast with what the narrator sees?
10. pp.4-5 "You're going to get some welcome . . . They'll be happy to see someone after all the years no one's come this way . . . Whoever you are, they'll be glad to see you". Why?
11. p.5 Where did Pedro Páramo's son run into the burro driver?
12. p.5 "Pedro Páramo's my father too." What type of implications does this suggest on the following levels:
    A. Biological
    B. Social
    C. Mythical
13. p.5 "The stillness seemed to be waiting for something". For what do you think?
14. p.6 The hottest place on earth.
15. p.6 "Living bile . . ."
16. pp.6-7 The Media Luna
17. p.7 Baptism & 2 jokes
18. p.7 A deserted town: Where is everybody? Where is Pedro Páramo?
19. p.7 A silent village
20. p.8 The woman in the rebozo.
21. p.8 "And that if I heard only silence, it was because I was not accustomed yet to silence - maybe because my head was still filled with sounds and voices".
22. p.8 "How I wished she were here, so I could say . . ."
23. 6-9 Flashback: "So I stayed in Comala . . ."
24. pp.9-10 Eduviges Dyada: "She told me you would be coming. Today, in fact. That you would be coming today".
25. p.10 "So that was why her voice sounded so weak . . ."
26. p.11 "No one knows better than I do how far heaven is, but I also know all the shortcuts".
    A. How far is Heaven anyway?
    B. What shortcuts may there exist?
    C. What is Heaven like for Catholics?
27. p.11 "I wondered if she were crazy".
28. pp.11-12 Change in narrator and time sequence: flashback :
    A. Contrast: What is the weather like?
    B. What is the atmosphere like?
    C. What kind of people are speaking?
29. p.12 "I was thinking of you, Susana (. . .) into the green of the earth".
    A. Who is speaking here?
    B. What is he speaking about?
    C. What is the tone of this passage?
30. p.12 "I'm thinking"
31. p.13 "Hundred of meters above the clouds. . ."
32. p.13 "But with all the money we spent to bury your grandfather. . ."  
    A. What is this family's economic situation?
33. p.14 "He stopped by the shelf where the picture of the Sacred Heart stood (. . .) He found a peso. He left the veinte and took the larger coin".
    A. Character trait?
    B. Who is this boy?
34. pp.14-15 "During the night it began to rain again (. . .) And every thought I thought was of you, Susana".
35. p.15 "As she closed the door her sobs began; he could hear them for a long time, mixed with the sound of the rain".
    A. Who is crying here? Why?
36. p.15 Time change: Prospective : Back to Eduviges and Dolorita's son:
37. pp.15-16 A note on the burro driver, Abundio.
    A. What do you make of this?
    B. Can Abundio hear?
    C. When did he stop talking and why?
    D. Is he alive?
38. p. 16 Eduviges’s demeanor:
39. p.17 Dolores's wedding night and Eduviges's favor.
40. p.18 "Green pastures. Watching the horizon..." To whom does this voice belong to?
41. p.19 Dolores's departure: "And your mother went."
42. p.20 To whom is Eduviges speaking?: "When will you rest?"
43. p.20 Time change: flashback : Back to where it rains...: "The day you went away, I knew I would never see you again..."
    A. Who is speaking thus?
    B. To whom?
44. p.20 "You must learn to be patient". What is young Pedro's reaction to this admonition?
45. p.21 Time change: Prospective : Back to Doña Eduviges and Doloritas's son: "What was that I just heard, doña Eduviges?"
    A. What sort of things can Eduviges hear?
46. p.21 Eduviges's sixth sense and the death of her godchild, Miguel Páramo:
    p.22 "'No. Not crazy, Miguel. You must be dead".
    A. Attitudes towards death and the dead.

Adapted from http://www2.ups.edu/faculty/velez/FL380/