Like a good chunk of my peers, I find myself in agreeance that this week’s read, Pedro Páramo by Juan Rulfo, was a more enjoyable read because I quite enjoy stories that run along the themes of memory, family, life, and death itself. Even though the book wasn’t exactly in chronological order, I still found it easier to understand, follow along with. The first theme I felt showed very strongly, however, was that of memory.

The book itself begins with Juan Preciado’s visit to Comala to fulfill his promise to his mother, who was presumably on her death bed (4). When his mother says, “make him pay, son, for all those years he put us out of his mind,” the reader can make some general assumptions of what may have went down years prior, but we are not yet aware–but for the mother, the memories are there. Rulfo soon sets the scene, to help the reader, by describing the “dog days” with hot August wind and saponaria blossoms (4). While Paramo enters the town of Comala, the ghost town, this theme of continual scene-setting utilizing first-person narrative and imagery helps effectively portray memory in its entirety–not just memories about or from one person, but from each person that Juan encounters throughout his time in town. From Juan’s interactions with the dead, to Preciado dying partway through the book, to the retelling of memories fron Pedro Paramo’s time, this book constantly thrives off memory and nostalgia. These memories, often filled with the ideas of hope, despair, truth, and longing, are consistent throughout all timeframes and stories told or recounted by each character in the book. In memory, life and death are constant. Not linear, not interchangeable, but always present. Whether that be the characters in which Preciado faces, or the fate he eventually leads to himself. Life and death are all around us, and we can learn from both the present and the past. As mentioned in the video lecture, “the distance between life and death is apparently minimal, almost discernable.” These voices, these stories, they are almost eternal in a way. A quote from the book itself reminded me and really drove home this theme of memory for me–I’ve pasted it below:

“Nothing can last forever; there is no memory, however intense, that does not fade.” (217)

Even the word “fade” or “fading” shows up almost ten times throughout the book–almost each time it is mentioned, whether it is used in a literal or figurative way, refers to memory–with a fear of it being lost or maintained. I found it to be powerful, and it being consistently used throughout the story made the theme stand out all the more overall.

My question for you is: Did you pick up on any other central themes in to how memory was conveyed throughout this book? How did these make you feel? How can they assist the reader in understanding the events of the book, especially as it in a non-chronological order?