The Little Hero

I read Requiem por un campesino espanol in my 450 class and although I didn't remember exactly what the story was about or what happened, I remembered the character Paco. I was looking through my notes from 450 today and I have written down that Paco is looked at as a hero. Paco lived in a time where poverty was so common, but also very looked down upon. The people who lived in the caves that Mosen Millan visits are oppressed with poverty and sickness. They are secluded from the town and have formed somewhat of their own society, because they are not accepted to live with others. Paco is the one character in the story who questions this "normality." Paco's childish wonder and innocence make it believable to the reader that he would have such an interest in the people who live in the caves and why he would question them being so excluded from society. Paco i snot an extraordinary person, he is normal in every sense. But the thing that makes his character stand out is his willingness to help and his big heart. Paco's representation as a hero in the story inspires the reader, I think, to evaluate their life; to look at their blessings and the misfortunes of others and wonder "What can I do to help?"