Vocabulary: Thank you dictionary.com

implements -(74-75) a tool or requirement

flagrante- (76) scandalous


Figurative Language

Quote: the lard having impregnated the fabric (76)

Analysis: Personification. The lard is being spoken of as if it were human. Therefore, as a person would it soaked the fabric so thoroughly that it could be said that the lard impregnated the fabric.

Quote: He looked indide the rooms to which the diffuse light from outside gave a ghostly air, where the student's desks looked like lines of tombs, where the teachers desk looked like a sombre sacrificial alter.... (77)

Analysis: metaphor. This compares desks and classrooms to a graveyard. It's also very mood setting.

Quote: At the moment, he did not yet know how right he was (78)

Analysis: Foreshadowing. This is an excellent example of the foreshadowing that great books have. It's subtle enough so that it's not overbearing to the reader, but quite present.


Significant Quote: each movement he made, opening a box, untying a bundle, raised a cloud of dust so much so that in order not to be asphyxiated, he had to tie his handkerchief over his nose and mouth, a preventive measure that the clerks were advised to follow each time they went into the archive of the dead at the central registry. (90-91)

Analysis: This quote not only shows more than it's fair share of figurative language (foreshadowing, similes, etc) But it provides the reader with vocabulary, imagery, and a mood.

Theme: The theme is undoubtedly surrounding this girl whoever she is. It's all about her now, and we just have to see if Senhor Jose meets her.