Introduction & Overview of The Glass of Milk

Manuel Rojas
This Study Guide consists of approximately 36 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of The Glass of Milk.

Introduction & Overview of The Glass of Milk

Manuel Rojas
This Study Guide consists of approximately 36 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of The Glass of Milk.
This section contains 282 words
(approx. 1 page at 400 words per page)
Buy The Glass of Milk Study Guide

The Glass of Milk Summary & Study Guide Description

The Glass of Milk Summary & Study Guide includes comprehensive information and analysis to help you understand the book. This study guide contains the following sections:

This detailed literature summary also contains Bibliography on The Glass of Milk by Manuel Rojas.

In 1927, Manuel Rojas published his first signifi- cant collection of short stories, Hombres del sur (Men of the South), which included his short story "El vaso de leche". It is one of Rojas' best known and most widely anthologized tales.

"El vaso de leche" ( "The Glass of Milk") is an intensely written short story that examines a brief moment in the life of a youth who is out of work and very hungry. The unnamed youth is refused work and refuses free food. He finally is overcome with a hunger stronger than his pride. He accepts some milk and cookies from the woman in the milk bar and experiences a powerful emotional release. She understands, and he leaves the cafe without paying.

Grafton Conliffe identifies Rojas as one of the premiere Chilean writers. He was innovative in character development, portraying hard-working, down-and-out people in a sensitive, sympathetic fashion. Cedomil Goic reports that Rojas was the first Chilean writer to use the subjective narrator, a narrator who makes comments on and takes part in the telling of the story. However, the narrator in "The Glass of Milk" is an objective narrator. Rojas acknowledged being influenced by the American writers Ernest Hemingway and William Faulkner.

In his fiction, Rojas often included autobiographical material derived from his youth, when he and his family wandered about in the mountains of southern Chile and Argentina. However, this story is not about himself. It is a tale about the plight of the lower classes in his adopted homeland, as witnessed through the life of one young lad. Rojas does not preach; he lets his readers come to their own conclusions about the problems these people face.

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This section contains 282 words
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