Essay Questions

Why is Jose the only character to be given a name in the text?

The fact that only the protagonist is given a name is significant to the text's meaning. Other individuals in the text are defined by a characteristic or a feature. The narrator refers to the unknown woman, who does not have a name as he doesn't know who she is. He also refers to the registrar, who represents authority and Jose's workplace, and is therefore not given a name or their own individual identity.

In doing this, the author is suggesting that as people we are superficially defined by our outward appearance or characteristics, showing how little people really understand and know others.

How is Jose's profession significant to the plot of the novel?

Jose works as an administrative clerk, registering births, marriages, and deaths. This is significant to the plot as Jose gets bored with his monotonous job and uses the data he encounters to create his own record of people in history. During this pursuit, he accesses the data of an unknown woman and becomes obsessed with her. He abuses the power of his position by trying to locate her and revolves his life around the unknown woman. As such, the plot is strongly influenced by Jose's profession.