How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #13
In an empty lot they were shot on the ground, because they could no longer stand, and then their bodies were dynamited. The shock of the explosion and the stench of the remains floated in the air for a long time. (13.25)
The tone of the passage that presents Jaime's murder is distanced and fairly unemotional, though it narrates what is possibly the most violent scene in the novel so far. Perhaps the impassive, matter-of-fact telling of this event makes it even more horrific to the reader.
Quote #14
He had never imagined that he would see a dozen plainclothesmen break into his house under cover of curfew, armed to the teeth, to drag him from his bed and push him into the sitting room, without even allowing him to put on his slippers or throw a shawl over his shoulders. He saw them kick open Alba's bedroom door and storm in with machine guns in their hands, and he saw his granddaughter waiting for them; she was already dressed, and though her face was pale, she looked serene. He saw them push her out and take her at gunpoint to the drawing room, where they ordered her to stand beside him and not move. (13.139)
The big house on the corner, the central gathering point for the characters in the novel and the setting of so many important family events, has always seemed an inviolable fortress. The fact that the secret police are able to breach this bastion of safety is indicative of the complete lack of rights, privacy, and security of the citizens under the military regime.
Quote #15
The man spun around and slapped Alba in the face, a blow that knocked her to the floor. Senator Trueba was paralyzed with terror and surprise. He realized that his hour of truth was finally upon him, after living almost ninety years as his own boss. (13.146)
In his "hour of truth," Esteban Trueba is at his most vulnerable. The phrase is also the title of the next chapter, in which Alba is entirely at the mercy of Esteban García and his men. What "truth" do the characters learn at their moments of greatest vulnerability?