Under the Sky

The introduction of Under the Sky  opens to a narration of the scenery. We learn the setting is a small town, possibly rural, in a very hot climate. We  are introduced to a man who is rolling his illegal cigarettes in public. These cigarettes were made from marijuana, a now illegal substance in this small town, punishable up to three months in prison. A passerby then subliminally threatens the cigarette roller and he is forced to give up two of his 'creations'. Bowles then adds in the two characters who are obviously not from the town of 'Inferno'. Our main character is interested in the appearance of the female outsider. He can not tell if he is interested due to attraction or due to curiosity. I believe Bowles puts the outsiders into this story to show us how unhappy Jacinto is.  I believe he does not like his life and town.The town is described as an inferno which has the connotation of hell.

The ending of the story is similar to the beginning in the sense that there is a theft. Jacinto threatens and steals the woman's body just as easily as the homeless man threatened and stole his cigarettes. He uses religion to push her into rape, while being on holy grounds. The sight of these new people, who are not stuck in the 'inferno' stir up something hateful in the man. This could possibly be jealously. They do not belong here, they are not bound to the same life he is. Jacinto seeks to conquer the woman possibly to feel dominance.