This week’s reading on Carlos Fuentes’ The Old Gringo wasn’t at all what I was expecting. I thought it was going to be almost something similar to an autobiography like last week’s read of W, or Memory of Childhood. Although, I was much happier reading something that wasn’t an autobiography. I found this story really intriguing because of the love triangle. Although, I initially found it confusing at first to understand the type of relationships. After watching Professor Murray’s lecture, it made sense of bond between the old gringo and Harriet was pretty much parental as Harriet buried him like she would’ve for her father.
The lecture also highlighted some questions, “what is the effect of this repetition? Why this insistent return to the same phrase? Does it function in different ways at different times”? I found the effect of repetition of the statement “[n]ow she sits alone and remembers” to make it stand out to the readers the significance and that Harriet continues to review the past. I think she continues to reflect on this trauma because she is the only one of three that is still alive. I liked how Professor Murray stated, “repressed trauma returns to haunt the present”. I think that statement can connect to a lot of the previous books that we’ve already read. The first book I thought of was Laforet’s Nada as the main character reflects on her life even on her death bed. The repetition of the statement “[t]he old gringo came to Mexico to die”, addresses one of the questions Professor asked. The use of repetition of this statement made me reflect that maybe this was used to foreshadow events to come. Even though death kept being mentioned for the gringo’s future, I thought there was going to be a twist for the reader. Overall, I thought this statement for me helped me visualize the scene and the tense atmosphere between the old gringo and General Tomas Arroyo.
The lecture video also explained that the old gringo is actually based on someone, Ambrose Bierce. I was totally surprised to learn this since I initially thought this was going to be an autobiography but then it wasn’t and now, I learned it was based on an actual person. The video also elaborated on Bierce’s Devil’s Dictionary. I thought the definition of love was something that really stood out to me. “Love- A temporary insanity curable by marriage”.
The question I pose to the class is, why do you think Fuentes was inspired by Ambrose Bierce?