This War Of Mine Stories Fathers Promise Torren... Free
The earliest moment in the story is Fulgor Sedano's arrival at Media Luna. His old patrón, Don Lucas, informs him that his son Pedro Páramo is totally useless and that he should go and get a new job when he dies. Later, Pedro's grandfather dies, and when his family prays for him after his death to help shorten his time in Purgatory, Pedro instead thinks about playing with Susana San Juan, the love of his life. They would fly kites near the village, and Pedro would help Susana fly hers. He is scolded for taking so long in the outhouse by his mother while he recalls this event. Soon after Señora San Juan dies, the San Juan family moves to the mining region. Exploring the Andromeda mine, Señor San Juan lowers Susana at the end of a rope into the old mine shaft. Searching for gold coins, Susana only finds a skeleton. Later in her life, her husband Florencio dies, and she's driven mad by the belief that he's still alive.
This War of Mine Stories Fathers Promise Torren...
She is the love of Pedro's life. They grew up together. Her mother died friendless, and later her father Bartolomé is killed in the Andromeda mine by Sedano so that Pedro can marry her. She loved her first husband very much and went mad when he died. She thinks that he is still living, and she "talks" to him several times in the work. She appeared to have loved him for his body and not for his personality. She might have had sex with Pedro, but it is apparent that he wanted to have her. They were never married since he had never divorced Dolores. He is full of grief when she dies and refuses to work anymore and lets the town die. She is commonly portrayed and symbolized as the rain and water. In the passages that she is in, there is a backdrop with it raining. Such an example of this is the scene with Justina, Susana, and the cat. The entire background is the rain; it is raining torrents, and the valley is flooded.[14]
XXX.There have been tears and breaking hearts for thee,And mine were nothing, had I such to give;But when I stood beneath the fresh green tree,Which living waves where thou didst cease to live,And saw around me the wild field reviveWith fruits and fertile promise, and the SpringCome forth her work of gladness to contrive,With all her reckless birds upon the wing,I turned from all she brought to those she could not bring.
I have said that there are few instances of amember of my race betraying a specific trust.One of the best illustrations of this which Iknow of is in the case of an ex-slave from Virginia Page 15whom I met not long ago in a little town in thestate of Ohio. I found that this man had made acontract with his master, two or three years previousto the Emancipation Proclamation, to the effectthat the slave was to be permitted to buy himself,by paying so much per year for his body; and whilehe was paying for himself, he was to be permittedto labour where and for whom he pleased. Findingthat he could secure better wages in Ohio, he wentthere. When freedom came, he was still in debt tohis master some three hundred dollars. Notwithstandingthat the Emancipation Proclamation freedhim from any obligation to his master, this blackman walked the greater portion of the distance backto where his old master lived in Virginia, and placedthe last dollar, with interest, in his hands. In talkingto me about this, the man told me that heknew that he did not have to pay the debt, butthat he had given his word to his master, and hisword he had never broken. He felt that he couldnot enjoy his freedom till he had fulfilled hispromise.
I pity from the bottom of my heart anynationor body of people that is so unfortunate as to getentangled in the net of slavery. I have long sinceceased to cherish any spirit of bitterness against theSouthern white people on account of the enslavementof my race. No one section of our country waswholly responsible for its introduction, and, besides,it was recognized and protected for years by theGeneral Government. Having once got its tentaclesfastened on to the economic and social life ofthe Republic, it was no easy matter for the countryto relieve itself of the institution. Then, when werid ourselves of prejudice, or racial feeling, and lookfacts in the face, we must acknowledge that, notwithstandingthe cruelty and moral wrong of slavery,the ten million Negroes inhabiting this country, whothemselves or whose ancestors went through theschool of American slavery, are in a stronger andmore hopeful condition, materially, intellectually,morally, and religiously, than is true of an equalnumber of black people in any other portion of theglobe. This is so to such an extent that Negroesin this country, who themselves or whose forefatherswent through the school of slavery, are constantlyreturning to Africa as missionaries to enlightenthose who remained in the fatherland. This I say,not to justify slavery - on the other hand, I Page 17condemn it as an institution, as we all know that inAmerica it was established for selfish and financialreasons, and not from a missionary motive - but tocall attention to a fact, and to show how Providenceso often uses men and institutions to accomplish apurpose. When persons ask me in these days how,in the midst of what sometimes seem hopelesslydiscouraging conditions, I can have such faith inthe future of my race in this country, I remindthem of the wilderness through which and out ofwhich, a good Providence has already led us.
From the time that I can remember having anythoughts about anything, I recall that I had anintense longing to learn to read. I determined, whenquite a small child, that, if I accomplished nothingelse in life, I would in some way get enough educationto enable me to read common books and newspapers.Soon after we got settled in some mannerin our new cabin in West Virginia, I induced mymother to get hold of a book for me. How orwhere she got it I do not know, but in some wayshe procured an old copy of Webster's "blue-back"spelling-book, which contained the alphabet, followedby such meaningless words as "ab," "ba," "ca,""da." I began at once to devour this book, and Ithink that it was the first one I ever had in myhands. I had learned from somebody that the wayto begin to read was to learn the alphabet, so I triedin all the ways I could think of to learn it, - all ofcourse without a teacher, for I could find no one toteach me. At that time there was not a singlemember of my race anywhere near us who could read, Page 28and I was too timid to approach any of the whitepeople. In some way, within a few weeks, Imastered the greater portion of the alphabet. In allmy efforts to learn to read my mother shared fullmy ambition, and sympathized with me and aidedme in every way that she could. Though she wastotally ignorant, so far as mere book knowledge wasconcerned, she had high ambitions for her children,and a large fund of good hard, common sensewhich seemed to enable her to meet and masterevery situation. If I have done anything in lifeworth attention, I feel sure that I inherited thedisposition from my mother.
The opening of the school in the Kanawha Valley,however, brought to me one of the keenestdisappointments that I ever experienced. I had beenworking in a salt-furnace for several months, and mystepfather had discovered that I had a financial valueand so, when the school opened, he decided that hecould not spare me from my work. This decisionseemed to cloud my every ambition. The disappointmentwas made all the more severe by reasonof the fact that my place of work was where I couldsee the happy children passing to and from school, Page 31mornings and afternoons. Despite this disappointment,however, I determined that I would learnsomething, anyway. I applied myself with greaterearnestness than ever to the mastering of what wasin the "blue-back" speller.
After I had worked in the salt-furnace for sometime, work was secured for me in a coal-mine whichwas operated mainly for the purpose of securingfuel for the salt-furnace. Work in the coal-mine Ialways dreaded. One reason for this was that anyone who worked in a coal-mine was always unclean,at least while at work, and it was a very hard job toget one's skin clean after the day's work was over.Then it was fully a mile from the opening of thecoal-mine to the face of the coal, and all, of course, was in the blackest darkness. I do not believe thatone ever experiences anywhere else such darknessas he does in a coal-mine. The mine was dividedinto a large number of different "rooms" ordepartments, and, as I never was able to learn thelocation of all these "rooms," I many times foundmyself lost in the mine. To add to the horror ofbeing lost, sometimes my light would go out, andthen, if I did not happen to have a match, I wouldwander about in the darkness until by chance Ifound some one to give me a light. The workwas not only hard, but it was dangerous. Therewas always the danger of being blown to pieces by apremature explosion of powder, or of being crushedby falling slate. Accidents from one or the otherof these causes were frequently occurring, and thiskept me in constant fear. Many children of the Page 39tenderest years were compelled then, as is now true,I fear, in most coal-mining districts, to spend alarge part of their lives in these coal-mines, withlittle opportunity to get an education; and, what isworse, I have often noted that, as a rule, youngboys who begin life in a coal-mine are oftenphysically and mentally dwarfed. They soon loseambition to do anything else than to continue as acoal-miner.
By walking, begging rides both in wagons andin the cars, in some way, after a number of days, Ireached the city of Richmond, Virginia, abouteighty-two miles from Hampton. When I reachedthere, tired, hungry, and dirty, it was late in thenight. I had never been in a large city, and thisrather added to my misery. When I reachedRichmond, I was completely out of money. I hadnot a single acquaintance in the place, and, beingunused to city ways, I did not know where to go.I applied at several places for lodging, but they allwanted money, and that was what I did not have.Knowing nothing else better to do, I walked thestreets. In doing this I passed by many food-standswhere fried chicken and half-moon applepies were piled high and made to present a mosttempting appearance. At that time it seemed tome that I would have promised all that I expectedto possess in the future to have gotten hold of oneof those chicken legs or one of those pies. But Icould not get either of these, nor anything else to eat. 041b061a72