This story is about two boys, a 9 y/o and a 12 y/o, named Rafa, who lived in Santo Domingo but were visiting their tios (aunt & uncle) in a campo (country side), in Ocoa for the summer while their Mami worked in a chocolate factory. This campo was beautiful, but Rafa despised it very much because there wasn't many girls and no television or electricity. The boys used fowl language often and were mischievous as well. Rafa was sexually active and didnt seem to have a problem telling his little brother the dirty details. Their father lived in NY and would occasionally send them letters and presents for Christmas. In Ocoa, a boy named Ysrael was tourmented all of his life because he had a misfortune as a child. It was said that a pig ate his face when he was a baby, so he wore a mask to cover it up. The boy of course had to see behind the mask so one day they went on a venture and hurt Ysrael badly, just to see under the mask.
Pg 108 "I was too young to understand most of what he said, but I listened to him anyway, in case these things might be useful in the future". This quotation is important because it shows how the boy looks up to his older brother, Rafa. Even though he had no idea what Rafa was talking about when he told about the sex experiences, the younger listened as if Rafa was all-knowing, or told about important facts of life.
Pg 111 "He watched for a moment. You, he said, are a pussy". This shows how Rafa is always trying to "toughen up" his younger brother. Rafa calls him a pussy because he was crying after they got off of the bus that they robbed for 2 fares. The author was trying to show that the younger one knows they did wrong and has a conscience, but follows Rafa anyway, whom doesn't have a conscience at all.
I think this story is good because it was written from the child's view, and it has some Spanish words in it which added to the culture of the boy's lives. The last two sentences "Get ready to run, he whispered.
