"Three Hundred Pesos." Story Analysis

Biography:
Manuela Williams Crosno was born in 1905 and died in 1997. A long-time resident of Las Cruces, New Mexico, she set her stories in the area around Santa Fe, Albequerque, and Taos. Her interest in Hispanic culture is reflected in the subject matter of many of those stories of setllers who lived on the land more than one hundred years ago. As an English teacher, Crosno won a statewide writing contest with her essay, "Why I Teach School." She was an accomplished poet, artist, and illustrator.


Summary:
Emilio and Berta are sisters, their brother Anastacio Perea has become a very selfish man. Since he was a small boy he set a goal for himself to earn 300 pesos and become a storekeeper. He rejected to help his brother and sister with financial problems. By doing this he has lost his crops twice, and by the third time when he finally got enough money to buy his store, he suffered a terrible accident and passed away. His brother and sister found him, and with the 300 pesos he had earned they are going to pay for his funeral.


Story Plot:
The Conflict; Anastacio Perea has a goal to earn 300 pesos to be able to buy his own store.
Rising Action; Anastacio is asked by his brother to lend him one peso to buy medicine for his son Pedro, but he rejects this. Later on his cornfield is completely destroyed by a storm. After the storm Emilio invited Anastacio for supper of tortillas and chile, but Anastacio being angry and blaming Emilio for his loss tols Emilio to go away. Next comes his sister Berta to ask him for help with rebuilding her house. She too is rejected by Anastacio. Once again, his cornfield is destroyed by a flock of sheeps. In spring Anastacio planted pinto beans knowing it will sell for a very high price. He hoped to earn 50 pesos by selling them. When he finished harvesting his beans he putted them in wooden boxes and loaded them in his wagon. then he left for the village.
Climax; After Anastacio's accident, the man driving the horseless wagon offered to pay him 50 pesos to avoid further troubles. Here he was happy because he finally reached his goal of having 300 pesos.
Resolution;  Anastacio sat down and suddenly fell forward and lay very still. His brother Emilio and sister Berta  came to find him dead. With the 300 pesos he had they would prepare a beautiful funeral for him.


Characters:
Anastacio: is the main character of the story.  He is a single man, doesn't have any children, and works in the fields. He held on to his money like a miser, but he has made bad investments too. He was unlucky in business matters. He is a very selfish man.
Emilio: Brother of Anastacio. A poor man, married and has a son. He's a very generous man.
Berta: Sister of Anastacio. A poor woman, has her own family, still a very genrous woman. She's very thin and frail, small face. She looked like a starving bird.


Moral of the story:
This story shows a lot of selfishness; in this case Anastacio not wanting to share or help his brother and sister. At the same time it shows generosity; Emilio and Berta not hating their brother for not helping them. The man of the horseless wagon paying him for the accident.


Personal opinion:
My personal opinion of the story "three hundred pesos" is that it's a nice story for people to realize that being selfish is not a very nice thing. Being bad to others would end in something worse happening to yourself. This  is what people call Karma. By helping others you'll get in return something even better, and it's a nice feeling to have helped someone in need.