In the Ruins

The poetry of one of the novel's characters provides a further level of exploration. While ostensibly narrating the Aztec's fall to the conquistadors, the verse, by suggesting a parallel between the historical characters in the poem and the characters in the novel itself, leads to reflections on the ambiguous nature of individuality and its relationship to the past.

This inward journey uses flashbacks and time shifts to create an ambiance of simultaneity as well as a portrait of the city-a city that emerges as one of the novel's unifying themes.