How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
"In union there is strength […] If the hens can overcome the fox, what about human beings?" (5.50)
Pedro Tercero makes no secret of the allegorical significance of his song about hens and foxes. As usual, he's willing to get up in the face of the patrón and speak (or sing) his mind.
Quote #5
Therefore, when a train came through carrying the new candidate of the Socialist Party, a charismatic, nearsighted doctor who could move huge crowds with his passionate speeches, they watched him from the station, observed in turn by the owners, who formed a fence around them, armed with shotguns and clubs. They listened respectfully to what the candidate had to say, but they were afraid to make the least gesture of greeting… (6.38)
The reference to the "new candidate of the Socialist Party" is almost dismissive – there's little to suggest that he'll be of any importance in the novel, given the forcefulness with which the landowners clamp down on any possibility of opposition to the conservatives. The "charismatic, nearsighted doctor" has yet to take on the pivotal role that he will occupy in the novel when the author starts referring to him as "the Candidate."
Quote #6
"The Socialists are going to win," Jaime had said. After spending so much time living with the proletariat in the hospital where he worked, he had lost his reason.
"No, Jaime, the ones who always win are going to win again," Clara had replied, for she had seen it in the cards and her common sense had confirmed it. (7.37)
There's a sense of inevitability to the conservative victory – for most of the novel, the notion that anyone could oppose the ruling party is totally unreasonable. "The ones who always win are going to win again" becomes a sort of catchphrase for Esteban Trueba, and something that the conservatives rely upon. They become complacent that they will always be in power.