Joaquín Murrieta

I. Questions: Where is Murieta from? How did he earn a living before becoming a bandit?  When is it, according to the text, that Murieta becomes an outlaw? How does his character/personality change? Who was "Three-Fingered Jack"? Who were some of the other outlaws accompanying Murieta? Who is Murieta’s love interest? Do any women join Murieta’s group? How are they described? Who is Captain Harry Love? Who is Muriets’s target of revenge? Who does Murieta defend? How do Murieta and his group meet their demise? What happens to some of their "body parts"? 

II. Please make lists of relevant passages to examine the following issues in the novel: 

How are women represented in the book? What role do they play?  What position do they have vis-à-vis the male characters? 

Which ethnic groups are stereotyped and how?  What does this reveal about the author’s agenda as per Murieta’s symbolic role in society? 

What does the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo have to do with Murieta?  How is this manifest in the targets of his aggression? 

How is violence presented in the book? Is it presented as necessary, excessive, justified, a last resort?  

What does the figure of Murieta symbolize? Aside from Murieta himself, can you identify other allegories in the book?

  Do you agree that Murieta represents the dispossessed Mexicans? Why or why not? Who gets included and excluded in this representation?  

What do you think are the differences between this novel and the oral legend?  How does the form/genre affect the content, the meaning, the symbolism, and the target audience? 

Return to Index

Copyright © 2001 Guisela Latorre and Amanda Harris Fonseca