How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #10
"And when we came out of that church, a capitán with epaulets and a sash and a silver sword saw my wife. Pretty soon my wife went away. Then I went to the capitán and I said, 'Give me back my wife,' and he said, 'You do not value your life, to talk this way to your superior.'" The corporal spread his hands and lifted his shoulders in a gesture of caged resignation. (10.49)
The arrival of the corporal from Mexico shows us that Tortilla Flat and Monterey aren't the only places where social status makes a difference in matters of the heart. The corporal thinks that it's completely logical that his wife would leave him for a captain, because the captain has a higher rank than he does.