Yet, within all this we reserve areas to build parks and plant trees. New technology and modernization take us further and further away from nature, which we find ourselves attempting to recreate in a more accessible form. Previously, Allende had switched the roles and brought technology to Tres Marinas. Esteban, wanting to stay informed and educate his tenants, ordered a radio set and set it up in the schoolhouse. However, the peasants, "cared not at all about the war, about scientific inventions, about the advance of industry, the price of gold, or the latest extravaganzas in the world of fashion. These were fairy tales, which did nothing to alter the narrowness of their existence." (2.61) Esteban's fascination with the radio compared to the peasants lack of interest shows the different mindsets between the "civilized" and the "natives" which Allende wished to critique. She views the modern, civilized mindset as wrong in the sense that it values the wrong things and has strayed too far from traditional ideals. More proof of this was when Esteban tried to explain the war in Europe to his tenants but, "they could not imagine the world as a size of a piece of paper spread over a blackboard, in which whole armies were reduced to the head of a pin." (2.61) Allende once again presents something we see everyday in a different light and makes it seem crazy. These make us reevaluate the way we view the world and to question if it's truly the best way.
Along with modernization, Allende critiques the growing division between the social classes and the corruption in imperialism. Esteban Trueba, through an iron fist and a stronger will, ends up accumulating an immense fortune along with prestige and class, eventually becoming a senator. The Del Valles are an upper class family with a fortune of their own and a very high reputation. Despite the story being set with most lead characters in the wealthy, upper class, the poor play a large role in many of the character's lives.
