Part 1, Chapter 5 Summary

Carlos likes helping his mother in her trading business. He meets a lot of people and learns about the pride of the poor peasants. His mother decides they will go to Puzzorobio to sell their products, and the town's middle class buys their beans. "She did not pay too much attention to her work, but was admiring the delicately embroidered dresses of the rich women, their smooth, silk handkerchiefs, and the way they carried themselves in the market. For the first time I realized that mother, always in rags, noticed how people wore elegant clothes and walked royally in the crowded place." (pg. 37) Carlos is full of contempt for the middle class because of their arrogance and attitudes toward peasants. One day on the way home they have all their beans swept away by the rising river. This is the last...