Pedro Paramo

Pedro’s one real emotional attachment in the novel is to Susana, his lifelong obsession and eventual wife. What is Susana’s significance in the text? How do her characterization and arc reflect some of the novel’s key themes and ideas?

How does Pedro Paramo explore cycles of violence? In what ways does the violence change and develop over the course of the text? How and why?

Consider the role of storytelling in the novel. What is the significance of sharing personal stories and experiences for the characters? How does the novel’s narrative style and structure illuminate this preoccupation with storytelling?

What role do family ties play in the novel? How do familial dynamics reflect social or political ones?

Trauma permeates the novel. What different forms—political, social, religious, sexual—does trauma take for the characters? How does the novel depict the nature of trauma and how it is experienced by different individuals?

The novel features two alternating narratives: one set in the present, and one set in the past. What is the relationship between past and present in the novel? What do these parallel narratives suggest about memory, loss, and/or identity?

The action of the novel centers on the small town of Comala. What is the significance of this setting? What is the relationship between the depiction of Comala and the historical trajectory of Mexico more generally?

Explore the depiction of religion in the novel. How do different characters experience spirituality? How do they conform to, or rebel against, religious doctrine? Is redemption possible in the novel? Why or why not?