Chapter 4

This chapter marks a transition for Antonio and his family, as summer is about to end and the family will travel to visit his uncles on his mother's side of the family, who are farmers in the village of El Puerto, about ten miles away.

Antonio has been spending time with Ultima walking in the hills of the llano, helping her collect the wild herbs and roots she uses in her medicines. Ultima teaches Antonio about plants - where they grow and what they look like - and about the natural world. "For Ultima, even the plants had a spirit, and before I dug she made me speak to the plant and tell it why we pulled it from its home in the earth. 'You that grow well here in the arroyo by the dampness of the river, we lift you to make good medicine,' Ultima intoned softly and I found myself repeating after her." Ultima is happy in the hills, and when Antonio watches her and imitates her walk, "I found that I was no longer lost in the enormous landscape of hills and sky. I was a very important part of the teeming life of the llano and the river." Antonio again senses the presence of the river.

As Antonio asks Ultima about his uncles whom they will soon visit, he thinks about the two very different sides of his family - the "strange and quiet" Lunas on his mother's side and the "loud and wild" Márez family on his father's side. Ultima compares them to the forces of nature for which they are named - the Lunas like the moon and the Márez like the ocean. Antonio loves both and wonders which he will choose. Ultima suggests that he not trouble himself with these thoughts, reminding him that he has plenty of time to find himself.

Later that day, after dinner, the family prays the Rosario and Antonio describes the statue of Virgen de Guadalupe at his mother's altar. Antonio loves the Virgin best of all the Catholic saints. Having been taught about sin and the punishment of hell, he feels that "God was not always forgiving. He made laws to follow and if you broke them you were punished. The Virgin always forgave....But He was a giant man, and she was a woman. She could go to Him and ask Him to forgive you. her voice was sweet and gentle and with the help of her Son they could persuade the powerful Father to change His mind."

That night, Antonio dreams of his brothers, about whom he had been thinking that day, and about his mother's prayer to the Virgin that he will become a priest. In his dream, the Virgin is "in mourning" for him, the fourth son.

Discussion Questions
1. How do the events of this chapter illustrate the conflicts and choices Antonio faces?
2. What is the meaning of Antonio's most recent dream?