The Power and the Glory: Part 1, Chapter 1 Summary & Analysis

Mr. Tench, an Englishman living in Mexico, leaves his home to pick up an ether cylinder that is set to arrive on a ship, the General Obregon. Outside, he sees a group of buzzards and throws a cracked piece of road at them. Most of the birds ignore him, but one flies away. Tench walks by a man with a gun and says hello, but the man does not respond. Instead, he stares at Tench intensely. Tench is annoyed that the man is acting like they do not know each other because Tench did his dental work. Tench also walks by a church that the town has converted into a treasury. As he walks by the treasury, the heat gets to him, and he momentarily forgets why he left his home in the first place.

Tench takes a moment to collect his thoughts and then continues on his path to the docks. There, he sees men unloading the General Obregon. Tench takes a seat and waits, knowing he cannot get his hands on the ether cylinder until the ship has been unloaded. For a moment, he once again forgets why he came to the docks in the first place.

While waiting, Tench spots a beautiful young woman standing on the boat. Out loud, but to himself, he remarks upon her beauty. To Tench’s surprise, another man standing nearby responds to him in English, asking what he said. Tench turns to see who spoke and finds a short man with a book in his hand and an attaché case. Tench repeats what he said about the young woman and then asks the stranger if he is coming or going. The stranger does not answer Tench’s questions directly, but Tench quickly realizes he is hoping to leave on the General Obregon.

Tench invites the stranger back to his home, wanting to get out of the sun. The stranger declines Tench’s invite because he is waiting to meet someone named Lopez. Tench tells the stranger that the authorities recently shot Lopez for helping “undesirables” escape. Because he will not be able to speak with Lopez, the stranger decides to go back with Tench. Tench shows the stranger his dental gear and then they drink some of the stranger’s brandy together.

Tench shows the stranger a picture of his children, whom he has not seen in 16 years. One of them is now dead, and Tench is unsure if his wife has remarried. Meanwhile, the stranger bemoans the change in Mexico since the arrival of the Red Shirts (an anti-Catholic paramilitary organization). Tench does not think the country is much different than it ever was. At the very least, everyone’s teeth have stayed the same.

Someone knocks on Tench’s door. Tench looks outside through the window before opening it and sees a young Mexican boy. The boy, who does not speak English, tells Tench his mother is sick and needs a doctor. Tench tells the boy that he is only a dentist and cannot help him. However, the stranger says he will help, even though he will most likely miss his boat.

The stranger leaves with the boy. Tench closes the door and sees that the stranger left his book, La Eterna Martir. Tench opens it and finds that it is written in Latin. Surprised, he quickly closes it and hides it because he knows it would be dangerous if anyone saw him reading it. All of a sudden, Tench remembers that he never picked up the ether cylinder. He runs as quickly as he can to the docks and sees the General Obregon leaving, with the cylinder nowhere in sight. Meanwhile, the stranger and young boy head to the boy’s mother. The stranger finds himself feeling frustrated and hopes that someone will catch him soon.