I was eighteen or nineteen at the time and believed I was immortal. If I'd realized that I wasn't, I would have turned around and walked away."
-- Narrator of "Jim" (Jim )

Importance: Here, the narrator of "Jim" confesses that, as an adolescent, he viewed time differently. Mainly, he considered that he had unlimited time and therefore lived more leisurely and without rush.

The pampas had made him inquire in that frank, manly, and down-to-earth way, he thought."
-- Manuel Pereda (The Insufferable Gaucho)

Importance: Here, Pereda's character ascribes certain emotional and personal characteristics to the landscape of the pampas, and therefore, attributes his own disposition to his time in the pampas. Because he ignores the political realities of life on the pampas, Pereda's character romanticizes the pampas for his own ego.

After those chats, Pereda always felt that Don Dulce was somehow debasing the nation. Rabbit hunting!"
-- Manuel Pereda (The Insufferable Gaucho)

Importance: This quote captures Pereda's tendency to think about the world in terms of symbols and...