"The Tree" tells the story of two women from different social backgrounds: Marta, economically well positioned and Luisa, Indian. Luisa, a woman from a working class background, arrives at Marta's house, fleeing from a violent husband, from whom, despite the mistreatment, she is unable to free herself. Marta welcomes her reluctantly and takes care of her with arrogance and contempt. The way the author describes Marta's thoughts towards the indigenous woman shows the discrimination towards her and the way she despises her. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay In one passage of the story, Marta even dehumanizes Luisa, when she thinks to herself "Is it possible that she is human?" and when he states that “the Indians were more like beasts than man. Marta is complicit in the patriarchal system in the way she treats Luisa. She does not see indigenous women as her equals. Throughout the story, Martha holds power and uses it against Luisa. He verbally abuses the indigenous woman and is also willing to use violence to demonstrate his power over her. Furthermore, Marta always questions Luisa and her stories until Luisa uses fear against Marta. Marta does not want to believe that the person she has welcomed into her home, providing her with food and shelter, could harm her and for this reason she is torn between the fear she feels and the security that her social class offers her. Marta welcomes Luisa reluctantly and takes care of her with arrogance and contempt. Luisa tells her little by little about the period of her life in prison to vent her feelings of guilt and provokes a fearful reaction in Marta. That period was, according to his own testimony, the happiest of his life, because there he felt safe, had enough food and enjoyed the cultural activities that were held to entertain the prisoners. For this reason she carries in her bag the knife with which she stabbed her first victim and which she considers the key that will take her back to the only place where she felt integrated and for which she is willing to give up her freedom. At the end of the story, the victim, Luisa, becomes the executioner. Throughout the writing, it is clear to readers how Luisa is verbally insulted and rejected by Marta. Therefore, Luisa's actions can ultimately be explained by the way she has been treated and marginalized throughout her life. Luisa, no longer able to bear the weight of her sins, went to do her business for four hours near a tree, which then dried up; this is exactly what happened with Marta, who after having told her everything in the same period killed her, because what the Indian was looking for was to be locked up again, because she was happy in prison - where she had access to water, food, work, friends and healthcare. All Luisa wanted was to have a dignified life – which she only experienced while in prison – and, in this case, her last action would free her from her marginalized life outside prison, even at the cost of Marta's life..