How we cite our quotes: (Paragraph)
Quote #7
[John] claimed that cowsense could be bred for. The hacendado was less sure. But there were two things they agreed upon wholly and that were never spoken and that was that God had put horses on earth to work cattle and that other than cattle there was no wealth proper to a man. (1862)
Although John and Don Héctor come from very different backgrounds, they seem to share a common interest in cattle: does tradition, as a series of ideals and lifestyles passed down over time, trump custom (i.e. cultural habits) here? Why might the religious context mentioned, whereas John seems indifferent to religion elsewhere?
Quote #8
What Alejandra dismisses as a matter of mere appearance or outmoded custom…
She made a whisking motion with her imperfect hand that was both a dismissal and a summation. She composed her hands again and looked at him.
Even though you are younger than she it is not proper for you to be seen riding in the campo together without supervision. (1949)
Alfonsa appeals very directly to tradition and custom here in order to prevent John from seeing Alejandra, despite the way in which such customs wounded Alfonsa in the past. Why hurt John with the same traditions that hurt her? What does she stand to gain (or lose)?
Quote #9
This was the chapel as you see. You are not superstitious?
No sir. I dont think so.
It is supposed to be made unsacred. The priest comes and says some words. Alfonsa knows about these matters. But of course the [billiards] table has been there for years now and the chapel has yet to be whatever the word is. To have the priest come and make it be no longer a chapel. Personally I question whether such a thing can be done at all. What is sacred is sacred. The powers of the priest are more limited than people suppose. (2058)
Can you make any connections between Don Héctor's notion that something can't be "made unsacred" with an idea of tradition? Why might an individual priest be powerless in the face of his own religious tradition?