Basic Information About the Story

Point-of-View: Third person (omniscience) 
Characters: Old woman, 12-year-old daughter, priest,  priest's sister, Rebecca and Carlos Centeno Ayala.
Setting: A small town in the midst of the banana plantations on a Tuesday at mid-day
Summary: The old woman and her daughter, wearing mourning clothes, are in the third class section of a train, passing by banana plantations to go to a town that is three hours away. While they are on the train, they eat and make themselves presentable before they arrive. They arrive to a tiny town during its siesta time and find that everything is closed and everyone is at his/her home. Upon reaching the town, the old woman goes straight to the priest’s house, scratches the door until the priest's sister opens it to let them in. When the priest comes out, the old woman demands the key to the cemetery to visit his son’s grave. Carlos Centeno Ayala is the thief that was killed last week by an old widow, Rebecca, who was terrified and fired a gun when she heard someone in her house. The priest asks whether she has ever tried to straighten him out and she replies that he was a good man who did what he could to take care of his family. She accepts the fact that he was a thief because it pains her less than when he was a boxer. The priest gives her the key and directs her to the grave. As she leaves the front door with her daughter, she realizes a crowd has gathered around the house.


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