Because We Are So Poor (Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Juan Rulfo
- First Published: 1953
- Type of Plot: Social realism
- Time of Work: The early twentieth century
- Setting: Jalisco, Mexico
- Principal Characters: The narrator, Tacha, Their father, La Serpentina
- Genres: Social realism, Short fiction
- Subjects: Maturation or coming of age, Gender roles, Marriage, Prostitution or prostitutes, Poverty or poor people, Farms, farmers, or farming, Rivers or waterways, Mexico or Mexicans, Floods, Rain, Livestock
- Locales: Jalisco, Mexico
The Story
Swollen from torrential rain, the river near the narrator's village has been rising for three days. Everything is going from bad to worse. The rain has ruined the harvest, and the narrator's aunt has died. Moreover, La Serpentina, the cow belonging to his twelve-year-old sister, has been swept away by the river and drowned.
The noise of the river awakens the narrator. It is so loud that he thinks the roof of his house is collapsing. As he gets up, the noise grows louder and closer. The river has a rotted odor, and there is no sign that the rain will let up....
[The entire page is 1562 words long]
