Close Reading of Page 1 of Pedro Paramo

The first page of Pedro Paramo gives the reader the reason why the main character, Juan Preciado, travels to the mysterious town of Comala for it was not a random decision. Juan's mother, on her death bed, asked for him to go to Comala to take back what was theirs.  He never intended on keeping that promise but his curiosity got the best of him.

The town of Comala was the place where Juan's father resided, a man named Pedro Paramo. Juan Preciado had little knowledge of his father, but he began to imagine a world around him. His imagination and curiosity made him consider the trip to Comala to make sense of his father. With Juan's mother dead, and his father absent, Juan had no one left so he decides to keep his promise that he made to his mother while she was on her death bed. Juan travels to Comala to discover that the town his mother described is no longer and his father has also died.