How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
Esteban Trueba kept his eye on him and did not trust him. He tried to prevent him from continuing his schooling, inventing all sorts of tasks for him to do, men's work, but the boy simply rose earlier and went to sleep later in order to finish the work. (5.51)
Considering the hardships Esteban Trueba experiences as a youth and the amount he has to work to overcome his poverty, it's ironic that he attempts to sabotage Pedro Tercero's attempts to rise above his own humble origins. From Esteban Trueba's perspective, there's a difference in class between the two men, and Pedro Tercero will never be equal to the patrón, no matter how hard he works, or how much education or money he acquires.
Quote #8
Then he put him on a cart and took him to the Indian reservation, where he introduced him to a century-old blind woman whose hands were clawed from rheumatism but who was still strong-willed enough to make baskets with her feet. "If she can make baskets with her toes, you can play the guitar without your fingers," he told him. (7.73)
The example of the elderly woman who overcomes her disability serves as inspiration to Pedro Tercero, just as his story will inspire Alba to overcome her own mutilation.
Quote #9
Ana Díaz helped her to resist while they were together. She was an indomitable woman. She had withstood every form of cruelty. They had raped her in the presence of her lover and tortured them together, but she had not lost her capacity to smile or her hope. (14.54)
Companionship helps Alba endure the torture inflicted upon her while she's in prison. The prisoners draw strength from one another, and it's the withdrawal of this support that makes the doghouse, where Alba must suffer in isolation, so intolerable.