Barrabas Importance In The Family

1. Explain who Barrabás is, his arrival to and importance in the family.

a. Barrabas is a very, very large black dog that lives with the del Valle family. He had been the travelling companion of Uncle Marcos, Nivea del Valle’s brother, and when Uncle Marcos passed away from an illness on one of his many adventures, the dog was returned to the del Valle family along with the body of Uncle Marcos and all of his other personal effects. He arrived with his fur matted by his own urine and fecal matter, but Clara del Valle took to him immediately. She cleaned him up and managed to get him fed and he rebounded from his poor arrival condition very quickly. He is important to the family because he becomes Clara’s constant companion and he slept in or by her bed every night.

2. Explain who Clara is. How old is she? Who else is she related to in the family? What makes her peculiar or different from everyone else? What is her family like?

a. Clara is the youngest child of Severo and Nivea del Valle (they have eleven) and she is ten years old. Mentioned so far, she is related to Severo (father),

Rosa the Beautiful is the daughter of Severo and Nivea del Valle and the older sister of Clara. Her appearance in general, but specifically her stunning beauty, sets her apart from all of the other characters. She is described as “white and smooth, without a wrinkle, like a porcelain doll, with green hair and yellow eyes” (4). The midwife called her “the most beautiful creature to be born on earth since the days of original sin” (4). She is often compared to a mermaid or other creature of the sea. I think this chapter is named after Rosa instead of Clara because it introduces Esteban’s connection to the family. If the chapter were named after Clara, it might be strange to have so much of it told from the perspective of her sister’s fiancé. Rosa is killed by poisoned brandy that was meant for her father, which was predicted by Clara just a few days before Rosa’s