In The Weight of All Things, a book written by Sandra Benitez, the author expresses the motif of acts of kindness by using a tangerine that is given to Nicolás, a nine-year-old boy surrounded by war, and is later passed on by him to help a baby in need. The idea that even the smallest acts of kindness can leave a lasting affect on someone is the message that corresponds to this. One example of an act of kindness in this novel is when Nicolás is at Alvarado’s house to pick up some medical supplies, and he is given a tangerine by Alvarado. “‘Chele, want a tangerine?’ Alvarado asked. Nicolás shrugged. ‘Get yourself one.’ … ‘Take another one,’ Alvarado said, ‘there’s plenty.’ … Years later, Nicolás would remember that night. … Throughout his life, it was unsolicited kindness that the scent of tangerines recalled” (Benitez 80-81).…show more content… This quote is important in the story because it is one of the few positive, happier points in the story, and Nicolás later passes on this item of kindness because he knows how much a tangerine could mean to someone else based on what it meant to him personally. Later in the story, Nicolás is assisting el Doctor Eddy when a mother comes to them with her baby that has a fever. Nicolás knows that the baby could die from being sick so he tries to help her as best he can. “Nicolás thought of the tangerine that was in his
