How we cite our quotes: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Utterly waterless, for the rainfall runs off at once on all sides into the sea, it has not soil enough—it is said—to grow a single blade of grass, as if it were blighted by a curse. The poor, associating by an obscure instinct of consolation the ideas of evil and wealth, will tell you that it is deadly because of its forbidden treasures. The common folk of the neighbourhood, peons of the estancias, vaqueros of the seaboard plains, tame Indians coming miles to market with a bundle of sugar-cane or a basket of maize worth about threepence, are well aware that heaps of shining gold lie in the gloom of the deep precipices cleaving the stony levels of Azuera. (I.1.2)
As we discuss elsewhere (see "Symbols" and "What's Up With the Ending?"), the story of three men who went looking for this treasure—and died in the process—seems like a pretty obvious metaphor for all the lives that are ruined in the quest to protect the Goulds' silver.
Quote #2
"We can't move mountains!" Sir John, raising his head to follow the pointing gesture, felt the full force of the words. The white Higuerota soared out of the shadows of rock and earth like a frozen bubble under the moon. All was still, till near by, behind the wall of a corral for the camp animals, built roughly of loose stones in the form of a circle, a pack mule stamped his forefoot and blew heavily twice. The engineer-in-chief had used the phrase in answer to the chairman's tentative suggestion that the tracing of the line could, perhaps, be altered in deference to the prejudices of the Sulaco landowners. The chief engineer believed that the obstinacy of men was the lesser obstacle. Moreover, to combat that they had the great influence of Charles Gould, whereas tunnelling under Higuerota would have been a colossal undertaking. (I.5.20-22)
Sir John and the chief engineer of the Costaguana railway are arguing about whether it's easier to move mountains or for a rich dude to use his wealth to influence men to play ball. As you can see, the Goulds' wealth is voted most likely to succeed.
Quote #3
Guzmán Bento of cruel memory had put to death great numbers of people besides Charles Gould's uncle; but with a relative martyred in the cause of aristocracy, the Sulaco Oligarchs (this was the phraseology of Guzmán Bento's time; now they were called Blancos, and had given up the federal idea)… (I.6.6)
Here, we learn the origins of the Blanco party that is mentioned frequently throughout the book. Also, there's a reference to Charles Gould's uncle, a member of the Sulaco aristocracy who was "martyred" under the Bento regime. This moment definitely highlights the political tensions that stem from wealth.