The Tree of Red Stars (5)

Not only are women treated differently than men in Uruguay in this book, but even the little girls are harassed. Emilia lived in an apartment building owen by a man named Basco. Basco was thought to have a secret life, and often scared Emilia with the strange looks and gestures he shot at her.

"We were warned, however, that under no circumstances werw we to be alone with Basco. Emilia needed no reminders of this warning. She avoided Basco, knowing instinctively that she was afraid of the way he moistened his heavy underlip whenever he saw her, rubbing his thighs with his hands. If her father was present, Basco did not even look at her" (45).

Being an only child, Emilia gets lonley.

"Emilia, I knew, would have liked to spend the money on a Great Dane" (46).

Could this possibly be foreshadowing...?

I think metaphores and similies add alot in describing an object. Magdalena's family accidently recieves a bouquet of flowers meant to be sent to Cora for her twelvth birthday. Magdalena and Emilia end up bringing them back to the Allenbergs, and the author uses a beautiful metaphore to describe the flowers.

"It was wrappedi n white paper with a design of pink flowers stamped on it, and from the partly open top, we could see twelve bird-of-paradise thrusting their flowery beaks out of the bed of white baby's breath" (47).

Cora's family was very reseved, one may even say a little scared, when we first met them in the book. In the end of this chapter, Emilia and Magdalena are invited into their house.

This chapter also mentions how Magdalena's father has left the family. She feels very disconnected from her dad.

"" 'It must be so wonderful to walk out with one's father looking so proud,' I said, remembering my father's disappointment that I had not been a boy. When Josefa telephonedhim in Buenos Aires with the news of my birth, he had exclaimed, ' A girl?' and gone back to sleep. My mother had laughed when she told me this story, not knowning that I would never forget it" (49).

Just like Magdalena, Emilia is starting to feel disconnected from her family. She has noticed her mom leaving her at night, and she feels abandoned, alone.

"She had oftened told me of Lilita's nighttime excurions, when she slipped out of the apartment thinking Emilia was asleep. Emilia would lie in her bed trying to sleep, but the night was not her friend, she said. . . She would stifle her cries in her pillow until her mother returned and then hate herself for being angry" (50).