FL 380: An Archaeology ot the "Boom": Moder Latin American Prose Fiction

Reading Guide to Vargas Llosa #2

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The Time of The Hero

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1. 85 A life line: Alberto Fernández, the "Poet"
   A. "his mother had not seen him naked since he had become a cadet."
2. 86 "Have you seen my father?"
3. 86 "He walked past his mother... a centavo."
4. 87 "And she always worked herself into a state where she..."
5. 88 "Berto," she said, "I'll buy some cookies for our tea."
   A.Mother & son
6. 88 Alberto's errand: "The woman was fat, greasy and dirty."
7. 89 Teresa: "Yes. He's from the Military Academy. He gets a pass today..."
8. 90 A sordid situation: "Bah! You don't care if I'm getting old..."
9. 91 Daddy: "Alberto felt pleased. His father, unlike his mother..."
10. 92 Family dynamics and paternal truths: "Keep quiet..."
11. 92 Appearances and bourgeois marriage: "What you're really worried..."
12. 93 Good families: "And of course we'll have to stop having scenes..."
13. 93 A Peruvian rich kid: "I'll send you to the United States..."
14. 94 Teresa's world: "Get away from there, you filthy old goat!"
15. 96 Alberto and his old pals: "This Tico is a real fiend".
16. 97 Clichés: "Those were the days."
17. 98 Hidden motives?: "I knew she'd be ugly..."
18. 99 Social class: "Her prattle sounded to him like a caricature..."
    A. 102 "You cadets from the Leoncio Prado, you all like to fight..."
19. 103 Alberto's Culture: "You can tell he's a queer from a mile off..."
20. 105 Coveting the Slave's "girl": "Have you got anything to do tomorrow?"
21. 107 Talking to Mamma: "Alberto listened to her in silence..."
22. 108 Alberto's dreams and the Golden Toes: "her name took voluptuous, contradictory meanings..."
23. 109 A trip to the brothel: "He could tell that he was in the Victoria district..."
24. 114 BACK TO SCHOOL: "I went to see Golden Toes on Saturday..."
25. 115 FLASHBACK: A LIFE LINE: ??? A loan from Skinny Higueras and a date with Tere
26. 117 La Perlita and Paulino "the half-breed"
27. 119 A man of the cloth" The cadets admired the chaplain..."
28. 119 FLASHBACK: A LIFE LINE: Ricardo Arana, the Slave
    A.120 "Then he understood: She's on his side..."
29. 120 Two "friends" meet to chat about Teresa: "I'm really in love with her," the Slave said.
30. 124 The "bet" at Paulino's La Perlita
31. 126 Friends: "If you touch him, I'll break your jaw."
32. 128 Boys will be boys: "I piss on everybody, I fuck everybody..."
33. 129 FLASHBACK: A LIFE LINE: Alberto Fernández, the Poet
    A. 132: Helena's dare: "That's better. . . Take a chance."
34. 132 BACK TO SCHOOL: IN CONFINEMENT:
    A. 135 "You're the only friend I've got..."
    B. 135 "That sounds like the way a fairy..."
35. 136 The Slave's decision: a misfit confides in another: Lt. Huarina
36. 140 Irony: "A man has to accept resonsibility for his actions..."
37. 143 "The Slave thought, Deep down, they're all friends..."
38. 143 The Poet at work: "Her legs were plump..."
    A. A maker of fictions, fabrications, and falsehoods: a fabulator.
39. 146 Alberto's stream of thought: should he or shouldn't he???
40. 159 Daydreaming about Teresa and a convertible.
41. 160 A declaration of love.
42. 161 FLASHBACK: A LIFE LINE: ??? Tere's neatness... and puppy love
43. 164 IN SCHOOL: The Boa wonders...
    A. "The Jaguar's an animal..."
    B. "I'll kill the peasant Cava..."
44. 166 FLASHBACK: A LIFE LINE: Alberto Fernández, the Poet
45. 173 IN SCHOOL: The Boa wonders...
    A. "Cava's got the face of a peasant and a soldier..."
46. 176 FLASHBAGK: A LIFE LINE: Ricardo Arana, the Slave
    A. "Are you a man?"
47. 178 IN SCHOOL: Gamboa
    A. 180 "Gamboa loved the military life..."
    B. 181 "I don't know if I'd like him to be a soldier..."
48. 185 On the Academy: a fiasco
49. 192 "It doesn't mean a damned thing to be a soldier in Peru.."
50. 195 A fallen cadet: "A moment later he noticed a green silhouette..."
    A. 196 "Ricardo Arana, Captain."