Summary and Analysis

In the first story, August, the narrator reminisces about his boyhood home and some of the people that struck his imagination as a child. The city and his home are portrayed as dark, dull and old. The individuals living in this town are disturbing and unsatisfied.

In the summertime, the narrator's father would leave the city to escape the heat. The apartments that the family lived in were kept dark and shuttered during the day. Adela, the house servant, would bring back food from the market in the morning and the narrator describes the fruits and meats. Food, light and colors are described in detail. These descriptions are what the narrator remembers from his childhood. More than dramatic events, the daily life of the house had more importance in the life of a child. Dialogue is sparse, because what...