And of Clay Are We Created

When the geologists warn the villagers and government about the impending volcanic eruption, their advice goes unheeded and is denounced as fantastical. What can this circumstance tell us about the nature of the relationship between the public and its experts? Can experts truly ever have the full trust of the public, or are the impressions these two groups have of the world somewhat irreconcilable?

Allende does not start the story off with lurid descriptions of the eruption and ensuing mudslide themselves, but with Azucena. Why is that? What is the significance of this structuring within the context of the narrative?

The narrator says that Rolf, before the days he spent with Azucena, used the physical presence of his camera to distance himself from the most harrowing journalistic cases he encountered, transporting himself to a different “time.” What can Rolf’s relationship with his camera and the general presence of cameras in the story tell us about the connection between time and individual perception of pain? Does one affect the other, and if so, how?

The term “martyr” was originally used to refer to anyone killed as a result of their religious beliefs but has since broadened to include another definition: a person whose self-sacrifice furthers a cause, ideology, or principle. Is Azucena a martyr? Why or why not?

Though the character names, focus on Roman Catholicism, and odes to vast mountainous landscapes suggest that the country in this story is in Latin America, the country itself is unnamed. Why does Allende do this? What does the absence of a specific country name add or take away from the piece?

In literature, the “man against nature” conflict is an external struggle that articulates the friction between humankind and its environment. Is the conflict in this narrative purely of the “man against nature” variety? Why or why not? Support your answer with evidence from the text.

Rolf feels a particular kinship with Azucena because he understands himself to be similarly trapped, though his bindings are emotional and rooted in memory. Are their situations truly comparable? How are they similar? How do they differ?

The mind, like the world at large, is a complicated place, replete with the capacity for positive or negative feeling. Choose one character and discuss how their psychological state develops or deteriorates over the course of the narrative.

What is the role of sensory imagery (sight, smell, sound, touch) in this piece? How does it deepen the emotionality present? How does it affect the characterization of not just the human characters, but of the nonhuman setting as well?