How we cite our quotes: (Section.Paragraph)
Quote #1
The road rose and fell. It rises or falls depending on whether you're coming or going. If you are leaving, it's uphill; but as you arrive it's downhill. (2.2)
This quote shows the way that Juan's own thoughts are woven together with the memories he inherited from his mother. His observation triggers the memory of her voice.
Quote #2
I had expected to see the town of my mother's memories, of her nostalgia – nostalgia laced with sighs. She had lived her lifetime sighing about Comala, about going back. But she never had. Now I had come in her place. I was seeing things through her eyes, as she had seen them. She had given me her eyes to see. Just as you pass the gate of Los Colimotes there's a beautiful view of a green plain tinged with the yellow of ripe corn. From there you can see Comala, turning the earth white, and lighting it at night. (2.9)
The expectations Juan has of Comala are the result of hearing so many nostalgic memories from his mother—she sends him back in her place, with her perspective. Not surprisingly, he memory was kind of rose-tinted.
Quote #3
I had brought the photograph with me, thinking it might help my father recognize who I was. (2.40)
While Dolores, Juan's mother, has such vivid memories of Comala, Juan is afraid that Pedro Páramo will have no memories of them, and needs proof of their relationship in the form of the photograph. Even in the early 20th century, people lived by the rule of "pics or it didn't happen."
Quote #4
I remembered what my mother had said: "You will hear me better there. I will be closer to you. You will hear the voice of my memories stronger than the voice of my death—that is, if death ever had a voice." (3.12)
Dolores believes that by going to Comala, Juan will be closer to the happiest part of her life rather than her death. Little does she know that she is dead wrong—ba-dum ching. Death doesn't just have one voice, it has a whole freaking Greek chorus of 'em.
Quote #5
I was thinking of you, Susana. Of the green hills. Of when we used to fly kites in the windy season. (6.6)
Pedro Páramo's memories are surprisingly touching and innocent, in contrast with the jerk he'll become in his adult life. But isn't that the way? We tend to allow our memories to be pretty attractive. Memories act like a Vaselined lens on our lives, blurring any imperfections.
Quote #6
Green pastures. Watching the horizon rise and fall as the wind swirled through the wheat, an afternoon rippling with curling lines of rain. The color of the earth, the smell of alfalfa and bread. A town that smelled like spilled honey… (9.16)
This quote is a great representative of the beautiful, idealistic memories that Dolores has of Comala, which have nothing to do with the junky, abandoned ghost town Juan finds. Womp womp.
Quote #7
"My mother told me about a woman named Damiana who looked after me when I was born. Was that you?"
"Yes. I'm the one. I've known you since you first opened your eyes." (17.14-15)
Juan is going back into his mother's past, but also his own. Even though he doesn't remember it, he too has a past in Comala… and a pretty unpleasant future.
Quote #8
My memories began to fade with the light of dawn. (30.1)
As he lays dying, Juan loses his own memories and starts to be filled up with all the ghosts' memories instead. It sounds horrible… because it pretty much is. Be careful what you wish for, kids.
Quote #9
"My mother lived her childhood and her best years in this town, but couldn't even come here to die. And so she sent me in her place." (38.1)
In a way Juan is replacing his mother, going back in time for her to relive her past. That's a sweet thing for a son to do, although we're pretty sure that Juan's mom didn't think she was condemning her son to eternity sharing a coffin with a sad-sack named Dolorea.
Quote #10
He never liked to relive that memory because it brought others with it, as if a bulging sack of grain had burst and he was trying to keep the kernels from spilling out. The death of his father dragged other deaths with it, and in each of them was always the image of that shattered face: one eye mangled, the other staring vengefully. And another memory, and another, until that death was erased from memory and there was no longer anyone to remember it. (39.5)
Pedro's memory of his father's horrible, violent death is a clue to his own violent behavior. Memory is potent stuff—don't mess with it. You might just create a monster like Pedro.