Study Questions
What is the symbolic significance of the cage which Balthazar makes? Why is it significant that Balthazar has produced a cage and that he was "accustomed to making cages since childhood" (106)? How might the concept of a cage figure into the other concerns of the story such as the relations between rich and poor? What is the meaning of the cage having several stories, passageways, eating spaces, swings, etc.? Why is it described as "like a small-scale model of a gigantic ice factory"?
Is there symbolic significance to the appearance ("like a Capuchin," unshaven) and other details of the description of Balthazar (carpenter, 30 years old, no children)? How about his name? What does it allude to?
How is Balthazar characterized in terms of his work and craftmanship? Why is the cage said to be "the most beautiful cage in the world"? Why is that significant? What values does Balthazar's craftmanship represent? How does Ezra Pound's "Usura" canto relate to Balthazar's carpentry business?
What has Balthazar managed to express or accomplish in the creation of the cage? What do you make of Dr. Octavio Giraldo's observations that the cage "is a flight of the imagination"; that "it would be enough to hang it in the trees so it could sing by itself"; and that Balthazar could have been "an extraordinary architect" (108)? (think about the possible meanings of the word "flight" and the idea of birds and song, as well as artistic creation). Why is the cage said to vibrate with "resonant chords"? What do these ideas and images point toward?
How does Balthazar fit into a commercial society? Is he a good merchant? How much does he want for his cage? Is it a fair assessment of its value? What does that say about him? What about the character of Ursula (with whom Balthazar is living though not actually married to her)? What does she consider most remarkable about the cage? What does that say about her? How much does she want to charge?
How is Dr. Octavio Giraldo characterized? What is his attitude toward his profession? Why is he said to be "smoothly and delicately fat"? Why does Balthazar refuse to sell the cage to him? What's Balthazar's argument? (does that argument resonate with any of the previous readings?).
What is revealing about the character and description of the rich man, Jose ("Chepe") Montiel? Why is he described as "obese and hairy" (111)? What about his wife? How is their home described? How does Balthazar contrast with the Montiels in terms of character and appearance? What is Balthazar's attitude in approaching the house of the Montiels? Is Balthazar at ease among the rich? How does Balthazar feel about them?
How does Montiel treat his child Pepe? How does Pepe react to his father's refusal to pay for the cage? Why is his tantrum compared to "the death throes of a rabid animal" (112)?
Why does Balthazar give the cage to Pepe as a gift? What is his argument? (any echoes of similar ideas earlier in our reading?). Why is Montiel so enraged by the gift? (think about Bataille). What does he accuse Balthazar of? What may be the deeper significance of his rage? What is Balthazar subverting through his generous gesture? What does that threaten?
How do the townsfolk greet the (false) news that Balthazar has sold the cage to Chepe Montiel for sixty pesos? Why does Balthazar lie about having received money for the cage? (any connections to Bataille and the idea of gaining status through gift-giving?). What does Balthazar accomplish by means of his lie? How does that affect the character of his gift? Why does he buy drinks and music for everyone? (any allusions through that gesture?). How is he paying? What is the significance of his comments while drunk? Why does he say that the rich "are sick, and they are going to die" (113)? (any similarities to the comments of Bataille?).
How does Balthazar end up in the story? What is the meaning of the "lighted room" where Balthazar is left and the adjoining "outdoor dance floor" (114)? Why does he want to "lie down with two women in the same bed"? (is that in any way related to the fact that he's not actually married to Ursula?) What about the fact that his watch had to be pawned? The loss of his shoes? How is all of this connected to the idea that he was having "the happiest dream of his life" (114)? Why do the women on their way to Church think of him as dead? Does all of this suggest Balthazar has made a terrible mistake or that he has scored a great victory? Has he found some mysterious freedom in his condition or is he just the victim of the rapacity of others and of his own foolishness? Is he abjectly indulging in immoral behavior or has he found a secret way out of what Bataille calls the "huge counterfeit" of present-day society?
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