I was way too excited to read The Old Gringo because I love anything set during the Mexican Revolution. It’s such an interesting struggle of democracy, land, and freedom strongly rooted in colonialism and foreign intervention. (If any of you want more context and liked the book, I highly recommend taking SPAN280: Revolution! It’s mostly literature from the Mexican Revolution but also parts of Latin America and it fills the literature requirement 🙂)
I think we talked about this concept in a previous class, but I found the beginning starting with the end (which was the burial of the old man) very powerful. I liked being introduced to him through the eyes of the other characters. There is also a lot of weight and significance in a burial scene because we find out that this was the ultimate goal of the old man. This style of opening the story got me hooked and created a lot of suspense to find out how the story got to this place.
An aspect of the book I really enjoyed, and was not expecting, was the role of the Mexican landscape. Mexico itself almost presented itself as a character intertwined with the war. The descriptions of the plants, cacti, and scorpions as “advance guards” (pg16) created super vivid imagery that complemented the mood of the story so well. The mountains and deserts even spoke to the characters almost as guides which added to the personification of the landscape:
“But Arroyo knew that the mountains were shouting it, from chasm to peak, from cave to canyon, across barrancas and bone-dry creeks; A brave man has come here, a brave man is among us, a brave man has set foot on our stones.” (pg.56-57)
And because the Mexican revolution was heavily based on the rights and freedoms of the farmers living in the hacienda system, the feelings of the land itself holds a lot of importance.
Throughout the book, Don Quixote is referenced a few times. The old man brings a copy of the book with him to Mexico but, importantly, has yet to read it (pg10). In addition, the strange way the people reacted to the old man first entering the encampment reminded Colonel García of how the girls had looked at a Quixote figure (21). In extremely basic terms, Don Quixote is on a quest of chivalry, but his delusions and unrealistic approach often finds him in impractical situations. What is the significance of this and how does it connect to the story of the old gringo?
Great question related to the Quijote, Anna!
And, I love what you have to say about the land itself (Mexico, the desert…) being a character. And you do well to back this up with concrete references to the text. There’s lots for good discussion here, and I look forward to hearing more of your thoughts on Tuesday.