Vampires of El Norte

Content Warning: This book contains depictions of sexism and graphic descriptions of war.

“But its tone was as it always had been: a question. An invitation. A door she could either open or shut.”

Cañas uses a metaphor to compare Néstor’s tone of voice to a door over which Nena has complete control. This comparison emphasizes the fact that Nena feels complete freedom with Néstor.

“Apprehension circled over his shoulders like vultures. It spread to Nena. It spread to the rest of the rancho.”

Using a simile to compare Don Feliciano’s apprehension to circling vultures, Cañas emphasizes the palpable nature of his feeling. This comparison also develops the idea that human feelings are an inevitable part of the natural world. Finally, the presence of vultures generally signifies a dead animal, so this comparison foreshadows a deadly situation.

“The rancho was a lively beast with many limbs; lately, she fretted about it. It was tired, stretched thin, its strength paled by sickness at the worst possible time. They could not afford weakness when Anglos breathed down their necks. So she would tend to it with every technique she knew, and would not rest until it was well again.”

Nena compares the rancho to a living beast that she aims to heal. Through this metaphor, Nena emphasizes the theme of the Connection Between All Living Things, which for Nena includes all elements of the rancho, human and nonhuman, animate and inanimate. As she would heal a human body, Nena vows to heal the organism that is the rancho.