The Glass of Milk

Describe the protagonist’s feelings of obligation and shame in the first part of the story. How does Rojas characterize these attributes? How does he differ from the other characters featured in the story? Looking beyond this particular short story, how does this protagonist match protagonists from other Rojas stories?

Compare and contrast elements of the sea and the big city. How does the protagonist perceive each environment? How do the characters reveal new or interesting aspects of these environments? Analyze what this says about the protagonist’s poverty and his navigation of it.

How does the protagonist’s interaction with the blonde woman attending the dairy differ from the interactions he has with others in the story? How do maternal elements pervade her characterization? What is the author saying about the young man’s possible rootlessness or place in the city?

Analyze the ending of the story and the previous climax. Why does the protagonist seem so capable of forgetting the previous events from his epiphany? Why might his display of emotion be an act of purging or cleansing, according to the author?

Is there a traditional antagonist in “The Glass of Milk”? Or is the antagonist more abstract in nature, as in a larger societal or systemic issue? What might the author be saying in his depiction of the story’s antagonist? Analyze the protagonist and the forces that opposed him.

What role do the side characters play in the narrative? What do they reveal about the nature of the world the protagonist is trying to navigate? Does Rojas view the young man as the only victim in this world? How might other characters be victims, too?

Manuel Rojas was a member of the anarchist groups in Chile. How do doctrines from anarchist movements pervade this story? Is the author suggesting anarchy as a possible alternative to the system presented in the story?

How does the author play with the Spanish picaresque genre in this story? How might the story relate to other famous picaresque novels? Why would the author use this genre to explore the plight of the young man? Is the author combining literary and aesthetic preoccupations with political ones?