Author Archives: fmcnally

Wrap-Up/Final Blog

I want to start off by saying how refreshing this course was when it comes to structure and style. Professor Beasley-Murray, and Orizaga, the lectures and discussions were unique in comparison to other literature courses I have taken, due to the inviting classroom setting that you guys created. I enjoyed the style through which you lectured, with useful incorporation of important Latin-American themes, and a general friendly, open-minded attitude that made it easy for me to feel like I could participate in the discussions without unnecessary critique. Coming from a majority of Econ courses to this style of literature analysis, I found myself looking forward to each time we met, since it was really a change of pace from uninviting, solitary economics lectures that I have been used to. While I didn’t enjoy every book I read, I still tried to make the most of each one, and overall, still enjoyed identifying and analyzing the usage of the main themes of the course within each reading.

I particularly enjoyed the texts that fragmented time, like Mama Blanca’s Memoirs, some of Borges’ passages, and The Taiga Syndrome. The Latin-American style of writing that was reflected by these books you chose for use to read were pretty unique compared to the other styles of poems, philosophical contemplations, or economics textbooks that I have to read, and have had read, in my other courses. Mama Blanca’s Memoirs, one of our first reads, is still probably my favorite, partially because of the way De La Parra chooses to divide the book. By defining the progression of time around the introduction and relationship of different characters or people in Blanca Nieve’s life, I felt a more real connection to her character, since it feels like a more accurate representation of how memory works within my head, and probably other people as well. The use of perspective, too, was pretty interesting to me, since each book had a different way it used the narrator’s or characters’ voice and lens to tell a story.

Between writing blog posts every week and the important themes of the class, I was better able to engage with the texts I read of this course, and dive deeper into the meaning behind them more than I normally would with assigned readings for a course. It was also nice to only come to class once a week, since It helped fit in my pretty inflexible schedule, relieving some stress. Also, thanks to you reading this and everyone else in this class who helped make the discussions more interesting.

So, my final question. What theme did you find most interesting, and which book (or books) did you think used it the best?

Thinking Outside the Box in The Taiga Syndrome

I enjoyed the methods through which Garza entwines fantasy with reality in her book, and the steady progression of fantastical elements taking over the story more and more. The references to past fairy tales created a surprising familiarity to the strange, unreal figures and events that are introduced throughout the tale. Garza’s style of writing reflected many of the past themes we have discussed in this class, like the fragmentation of time, certain archetypes, games, and intriguing romances. I found that, as her character progressed further and further into the fictional taiga, the realism, cohesiveness, and general stability of the writing fittingly became less and less robust. Garza definitely did an excellent job linking the deconstruction of time, realism, and sanity too, with the narrator’s journey deeper and deeper into the taiga.

The use of the two elvish-type creatures, and the ‘show’ they put on in the brothel certainly caught me off guard, but it helped me figure out the style through which Garza chose to write this story through. This sex scene, along with the other ones, as well as the type of romances described in the story, push themselves outside of the box of what one would consider a normal perspective or narrative on sex and romance. I think this is not the only element Garza uses to portray this stylistic approach, as her personal twists on what we consider to be standard fairytale archetypes and events, and her usage of romances and time, push the limits of what I considered reasonable. She incorporates sex into her criticism and commentary of capitalism by writing scenes in the brothel, like I mentioned above, but also uses it as a means to begin relationships, rather than just as a part of an already intimate relationship, which would normally be standard in more popularized books. The way she chooses to narrate it was also pretty interesting to me, and reflected how she chose to create the character through which the story was being told through.

The narrative style reminded me of The Kingdom of This World, since the way the character ‘spoke’ of her surroundings and what she saw or felt seemed pretty analytical and a bit emotionless. That isn’t to say the book was narrated without emotion, or that there weren’t scenes with emotional tumult or climax, but the general comprehension of the events that unfolded around her felt a bit like a scientific analysis, but it fits her archetype of an ex-detective. This detective element was more present in her translator though, and I think relates to the discussions we have on how the idea of ‘game’ or ‘play’ can be incorporated into the meaning of the books. The breadcrumb trail made me feel like the whole quest to find the lost wife was set up for her already, and while the events that transpired felt spontaneous, I had a feeling her attempts to find the runaway couple would be futile, much like many of her other attempts to solve cases had gone in her past. This failure to conclude the mission, or perhaps story, felt like some of the other open-ended books we had read already, like 100 years of solitude. This book did feel like a Latin-American book to me, but the setting and level of fantastical elements sometimes made me forget it was.

 

Also @Professor Beasley-Murray, I am impressed with what you consider a shot to be. That ‘shot’ glass was huge.

My question for you guys is: Which past important theme that we have mentioned in class did you see used most in this book? How?

 

My Tender Matador by Lemebel

I found My Tender Matador to be a more enjoyable and smooth read than some of the past books or passages we have read, like Borges or De La Parra. I think this was not only due to the style of writing Lemebel uses, but also the content itself, which draws upon and parallels the political and LGBTQ tensions in Chile, specifically in Santiago. Lemebel’s ability to create realistic, deep characters that carry much more to them than I initially thought, further applied to a real life situation where student revolutionists attempt an assassination on the president Pinochet, created a very interesting read. Initially I didn’t even realize this was a book based on a real assassination attempt in 1986. The two most important characters, Carlos and La Loca, have a very unique dynamic. Carlos uses her home as a base for his group’s revolutionary progression, convincing her (or more her convincing herself) that he is just a student. Even though their relationship begins partially from deceit, this theme of deceit and disguise becomes more central to the Carlos and La Loca’s character development, and also their relationship too. As the professor stated in this week’s video on My Tender Matador, the book’s use of LGBTQ and political suppression tie smoothly into the jumble of truths and lies Carlos and La Loca use to protect themselves from the oppressive political regime and general social pressure.

I think the necessity for disguises and lies made the whole read more enjoyable, as it was not just the others Carlos and La Loca would hide from and lie to, but each other as well. As I read more about each of the characters, and how perceptive they were, especially of each other, I wasn’t surprised to find out that La Loca convinced herself that the reason for Carlos using her house was for studies. I think, even though La Loca wasn’t really political, she knew what she was getting herself into. It reminded me of other Latin-American books or movies, where a political instigator, usually a revolutionary, finds romance with a non-political character, and then draws them in to their cause without trying. Even though it isn’t the most original thing, it is definitely a good motif and so far, it’s been pretty unique to only Latin American literature, at least in my experience. I liked how in-depth many of the descriptions of deceit were, but they still probably would’ve gone over my head if I had not been looking for them, since this theme is tied so heavily to the storyline and characters.

“She bowed to them with a gallant and extravagant gesture, anything to avoid
opening her mouth and showing them her empty gums. Better to remain on
their good side, she thought, or they’ll skin you alive. Anyway, she knew
they talked about her behind her back, but they told funny stories, gentle
anecdotes. He seems so happy. And why shouldn’t he be, with that
regiment of men coming to see him? But not all of them are, you know. …
At least that Carlos is, or that’s what they call him. Whenever he says that
boy’s name, he acts like Rapunzel letting down her hair. He can’t hide it.” (34)

Even in every day experiences, Lemebel mixes in the faux actions and comments that every person makes, whether it be out of politeness, fear, or any other motivator. It made me think about just to what extent I myself under or overstate things. It ties really well with La Loca’s character as well, given that she is a transgender drag queen. Especially one in Chile, during an incredibly rocky dictatorship, I can easily see why our professor specifically focused on the ‘game of deception’ in this book.

What theme or motif do you think has been most common in the books, short stories, and other literature we have read? Which one has been your favorite?

Rigoberta Menchu and Perspective

In I, Rigoberta Menchu, Menchu does an excellent job drawing to attention the oppression that indigenous people face in the Americas. While other readings we have done go over cultural oppression, Menchu’s writing comes from the voice of the oppressed herself, which, as the professor mentions in his video, stands out from poems and books written by male, less marginalized authors. Additionally, while Menchu’s anecdotal experiences are primarily in Guatemala, her experience can be broadened to other conflicts between American governments and Indigenous rights (to an extent). Even though critics like Stoll find errors within her accounts, I still felt the value of the content and enjoyed the unique perspective Menchu’s writing brings to influence the reader, and the communities she involves herself in in the book itself. Even if the story was embellished, I really felt a stronger impact on myself by reading this book compared to the other texts we have read that also go over similar themes and issues.

My favorite topic was Menchu’s writings on Catholicism, and her personal involvement with it. Even though the religion originates from the colonizing culture, Menchu mentions similarities between catholic beliefs and indigenous beliefs, like their orientation surrounding death, the afterlife, and a godlike figure. The similarities end with just that though, but Menchu understands the importance of using Catholicism to her advantage when she becomes targetted by the Guatemalan government and joins a Catholic church for a short amount of time. Menchu’s optimism through how much atrocity she went through, as well as her understanding and tolerance for the cultural and religious beliefs that the ladinos force on her, were pretty inspiring. Specifically in relation to Catholicism, the indoctrinating nature of christian religions causes ladinos to discriminate and suppress the indigenous people’s practices and rituals. However, Menchu still chooses to learn from the catholic religion rather than just fight against it.

Menchu chooses a similar approach to language and literature, and learns how to speak Spanish as well. Even though she does a lot of her fight against the oppressive Guatemalan government in the Indigenous towns, I liked how she also understands that they wont come to a compromise until someone is willing to view the conflict from (relatively) both sides. That isn’t to say she sides with the Guatemalan government, but compared to many other indigenous supporters of their civil rights, Menchu learns Spanish to reach and communicate with the colonial Guatemalans. She experiences countless situations of discrimination, and the culture she integrates herself into often tries to convert her beliefs and practices to theirs, but still she decides to persevere.

Looking at the involvement and commentary the book has on government, I found that Menchu’s writing has similarities to the criticism and experience of revolutionists, like in The Underdogs and in 100 years of solitude. I saw more parallels between this book and 100 years of solitude as the perspective of Menchu and other Indigenous characters seemed more similar to that of the Buendias’ perspective on the political affairs that impede on the progression of a once-isolated Macondo. While Menchu progressively becomes more involved with the political process of fighting for indigenous civil rights, initially her experience with Guatemalan “politics” was involved with their enforcers, and often violent.

 

Even though she wasn’t as well known until this book was published, Menchu still found opportunities to voice her opinions to both indigenous and ladino audiences in the book. What was the biggest conflict you felt Menchu overcame to progress the influence of her voice?

100 years of solitude round 2

I read 100 Years of Solitude in its entirety over the reading break, so like my last post, this post goes over themes from the whole book, and not just its second half.  Having gone over the subject of death, as well as the fragmentation of time within Macondo, I will focus on the relationships between characters in Macondo, especially those involved with the Buendias. Additionally, the house of the Buendias plays an important role as the stage for many of these relationships to develop and transpire, and works as a central location in the settings of the book.

Adding onto Professor Beasley-Murray’s comments on the irony of the title, 100 years of solitude follows a course of character production that never allow time or space for any one of the characters to face what we would consider to be the standard definition of solitude. Even characters like Amaranta, in her home during her old age, or Colonel Aureliano, when he would lock himself goldsmithing, never gained the focus of the novel to create a narrative of their characters that highlighted their isolation. The plethora of characters entering and leaving the pages of the book constantly provide opportunities for new relationships to be formed, further straying from a book about solitude. Family and romantic interest seem to have the strongest influence to make bonds between characters, with the Buendias family as a whole as the protagonists.

The usage of characters like Pietro Crespi or Pilar Ternera providing intergenerational romances and disputes also helps to create even more depth to the development of the Buendias family. Ursula creates a base for maternal influence on the household, and the power of her position as oldest mother is only challenged by Pilar Ternera’s ability to read cards, and her reputation as a ‘child-bearer’ to put it lightly. Additionally, the other mothers in this line of family members usually belong to outside families, like Santa Sofia or Fernanda. I personally noticed that female characters from the Buendias family, besides Ursula, often were used as tools to create narratives on the male characters in the book, sometimes ending up in incest. Paternal characters, like Jose Arcadio Buendia, Jose Arcadio, and Arcadio, all belong in the Buendias family line, but differ greatly in respect to their influence on the novel. The Moscote family, introduced initially in competition to the Buendias family authority, end up providing opportunites for Marquez to write rich romances and sisterly dynamics that add to the diversity of relationships within Macondo. This addition of another powerful family in the fictional world of Macondo, however, does not take away from the main setting to be centered around the Buendias house.

This is also why I mention the house of the Buendias as an important role on the connectedness of the characters. With a unified roof to live under, the Buendias are forced to interact with one another, and even characters outside of their family that come into the house to visit gain influence on the other members in the house. Politics also works as a medium for conflict between characters. Specifically for Macondo, the town faces leadership from both Liberal and Conservative parties, and results in the end of many character’s lives through the conflict generated. The feuds sparked by the revolution ignite conflict within the Buendias family as well, with Ursula displaying her matronly power over her tyrant son Jose Arcadio when he attempts to kill a town member with a firing squad. This was personally one of my favorite scenes, as it reminds the reader that even tyrants answer to their mothers.

My question for you is, which romance intrigued you the most?

The Magic of Macondo in 100 years of Solitude

This novel certainly lives up to its name, and was a great read for reading break, as it actually made me want to keep reading it. I certainly got lost in the text multiple times, which is often a difficult thing for me to do. The in-depth descriptions, intricate and passionate relationships between the characters, and compelling meaning behind all of it created a world that was pleasant to get lost in. Themes surrounding life and death, time, and the uniqueness of Macondo as a magical-realist place interested me the most, so I’ll be focusing on those in this post, but I also found many themes around revolution and other important topics we had gone over in our discussion classes.

One of the largest anxiety-inducing scenes in this book came from the first death in Macondo, as it signified a change in tone in the story. During the first part, Gabriel Marquez seemed to make a point that Macondo was without death, that the youthfulness of the town and separation from government, politics, and death created a magical place. The death of Melquiades was fitting as the first reality check for the town, as it did not take away from the magical realism, with his character being mentioned as transcending mortality. However, it did allude to the progression of time that was not very apparent before this moment, since the lack of death, new characters, and separation from the outside world made it difficult to place Macondo along the progression of time. Even in Jose Arcadio Buendias’ adventures to find the sea and connections to other towns were futile, until his wife found the path to a nearby town. The deaths following Malquiades, such as Jose Arcadio’s, Colonel Aureliano’s, and Jose Segundo’s, help to reveal the commentary on mortality that Gabriel Marquez creates. From celebrations to sorrow, funeral processions to hasty burials, and duration that the death is discussed, Marquez shines a light on the diversity to which death is dealt with. Its supernatural nature is only penetrated with the mass shooting scene, which a lack of reflection and emotion imply a connection to the real world without magical impacts. The final scene, where Macondo and its inhabitants are wiped off of the planet, brings the theme of death full circle, with a sad but cathartic ending to a town that seemed separated from the grounded, bland realism of the world that surrounds it.

While 100 Years of Solitude does not have the same severity of fragmentation of time as Mama Blanca’s Memoirs, I found that the novel used much smaller jumps through time to express the same concept, such as the mention of Colonel Aureliano’s ‘death’ from the firing squad. I also liked to think about the tie between non-linear time and death, as they were not only two of the most interesting topics that I thought about, but help support the supernatural and diverse nature of death that the novel comments on. Going back to Melquiades’ death, his premonition of his own death. “‘I have died of fever on the dunes of Singapore'”(72), fittingly create an air of mystery around his mortality (or immortality). His true death was actually in the town of Macondo, from drowning. I can’t say exactly why, but I found it interesting that Gabriel Marquez chose to write a premonition of death that broke space, where Melquiades in his fever state thinks he died across the entire world. Petra Ternera and Ursula also break the linearity of time, living longer than physically possible. While this can just be boiled down tomagical realism, I think the separation of Macondo from the linearity and realism of space and time from the rest of the world inspires a better and more in-depth thought on the significance of their life, death, and value to the book and Macondo itself.

Finally, the impact of magical realism, which is underlying in every other theme within this book, is perfectly integrated into this book. It ranges from subtle impressions to overarching effects, and adds so much depth and meaning to the story that a non-magic-realist novel could never have. Perhaps I’m saying this due to its perfect placement within this nobel prize winning book, but it just fits too well into the story that Gabriel Marquez writes. It adds to the power of emotions, relationships, events, violence, love, adventure, solitude, family, friends, life, death, and so much more. The significance of magical realism within this book is simply too diverse to write about and think about so quickly, and even though I was thinking about it throughout the entire week that I was reading this book, I still can’t exactly say to what extent this theme impacted the novel

So instead I’ll ask my question:

What was your favorite usage of magical realism within this book? Or, what theme that magical realism impacted benefitted the most from their coupling?

The Kingdom of This World

I found the structure of this book to be similar to Azuela’s The Underdogs, following the same progressive story split by short chapters. Carpentier’s The Kingdom of This World, though, has titled chapters that I found excellently highlighted the topic of each part. Whether it was utilized for foreshadowing or emphasizing a relevant phrase, the titles of the sections helped me think further into the themes introduced into each part, as well as what themes I should be thinking about. Macandal, for instance, introduced as a character in the earlier parts of the book, deconstructs himself into a concept and overarching philosophy for the revolution. Starting in the section Metamorphoses, Macandal’s impact on the story diversifies, as his name is brought up in relation to revolutionary motivation, nature, animals, and other things relating to revolutionary Haiti. His name even returns at the end of the reading, described as serving the people, and tied shortly after to Ti Noel himself, who reflects that he too is just a body who suffers and hopes for himself and others.

Carpentier’s writing also discusses religion, both implicitly and explicitly. The recorded lecture mentions the maintenance of spirituality and religious meaning within African and Native dances, and the absence of the same in Western dances. I think this idea parallels what I was considering when reading into the significance of religion, especially in the chapter “Santiago de Cuba’. in this section, Carpentier compares the slave’s religion to the landowner’s religion through the eyes of Henri Christophe, a Westerner. He views the slave’s religion as snake-like and witch-like, with possibilities of supernatural or ‘magical’ elements, while he views his own as normal, yet proceeds to pray to extra-terrestrial deities in the same way other religions would.

This perspective through Henri Christophe’s eyes is only one deviation from the usual perspective of Ti Noel. I think that this switching of narrator, as well as the third person perspective, helps to remove some of the emotion from the text. Compared to a first person perspective, Ti Noel seems a little unperturbed by the situations he views or gets involved in, but this element allows for a more omnipotent description of the process of the Haitian revolution and Macandal’s impacts on the slaves’ ideology.

If written in the first person, how do you think the text would change?

Borges’ Labyrinth

The beginning of the readings within Borges’ The Labyrinth drew upon the ideas of many other texts, and I think the way Borges progressed from text to text reflects his philosophy surrounding the uncertainty of their meanings. Besides his second-guessing of the texts he had just wrote about, and constant revisions of his thoughts on them, also I enjoyed his focus on how giving meaning to a word or text falsifies that meaning of the word or text. I think language plays a large part in the falsification of meanings, since there is no perfect one definition of an item that can be written out in language. Very fittingly, I am finding it difficult to properly articulate what I mean. To give an example, lets say a person tries to give a name and description to an emotion. Based on the language they write in, and their own subjective experience of that emotion, the meaning is more or less only true to them, and is therefore not a universal meaning that accurately reflects what the given person tried to describe.

I also liked Borges’ input on the progression (or lack of progression) of time. When he discusses time explicitly, he often mentions the writings of others, like the excerpt “that the present is indefinite, that the future has no reality other than as a present hope, that the past has no reality other than as a present memory” (23). However, in his short stories, time is more of a motif and theme carried across, with its purpose changing slightly between each. He uses time as a way to distort reality in some stories, while in others as a way to lengthen or shorten the duration of a person’s existence, or their perception of existence. This theme of time is what has made Borges the most interesting reading for me as well, as his perspectives on it are for the most part new to me, and were interesting to think about.

Besides time, I also took notes on the commentary Borges made on the connection (and disconnections) between the mind and the body, or possibly better put, consciousness and the brain. Both Borges and I, and The Secret Miracle, use the separation between the physical and mental worlds to their advantage. While the short story The Secret Miracle focused more on time and magical realism, Borges and I was certainly more a contemplation of reality, and I think the latter story held a more grave energy, even though both had equally deep thoughts.

I personally had to take some time reading some of these short stories, as I found the inconsistencies Borges purposefully creates sometimes difficult to comprehend. So, what was the most confusing short story you read and why?

Fire and Water in Neruda’s Poems

When I first started reading the poems, I noticed the emphasis he created on his lover’s physical body. At first I expected the poems to maintain this focus, but as I continued reading, his descriptions of her became more about her eyes (and other less sexual body parts), and being as a whole, and then finally he would create metaphors about the memory of her. Throughout his poems, the metaphors were very diverse in topic but usually kept a theme of nature. I really enjoyed his metaphors of his lover to inanimate objects found in nature, especially after listening to the video lecture on Neruda, as it highlights his objectivity of women. Rather than comparing her to animals or feelings, he usually compares her to plants, rivers, or embers.

His comparison of her to embers and rivers intrigued me the most. I found it very interesting that Neruda would use contrasting imagery to express the same feeling, such as objects like fire, embers, and heat to express his passion, but at the same time mentioning rivers, water, and wetness as an expression of passion. Neruda takes advantage of the suggestive nature the reader has on how his metaphors are interpreted, and seems to know that we can make connections between passion and wetness OR heat.

This idea extends beyond his metaphors of passion, as he often writes about a concept as a compliment to its opposite, rather than as a contrast. This is primarily in the first half of his poems, where he talks about sadness and death as compliments to her impact on him even when most poetic writers would describe their love as providing happiness and life. It certainly adds to Neruda’s style, making it more distinct in a way I normally wouldn’t think of.

Poem 20 and the song of despair talk about sinking, love being in the past, but with her memory as enveloping him

When it comes to Neruda’s last few poems, I like to think of his theme surrounding sinking and drowning as directly relating to imagery of  rivers and water he used to describe his lover. Even though he says he no longer loves her, he still mentions that her memory stays with him, causing him pain by “drowning” him in the rivers of passion he mentioned in earlier poems. Overall, the flow from poem to poem creates an interesting and dynamic story while still maintaining and utilizing multiple motifs and metaphors that further build off of each other.

For my question:

What is the significance of the names of the poems? Are they highlighting the beginning of the poem or is it just easier to name a poem after its first line?

The Underdogs Blog

The Underdogs by Azuela didn’t follow Mama Blanca’s memoirs very well. This is not to say that it is a bad book, because it certainly had interesting characters, good perspectives on the revolutionary war, and good character dynamics, but it lacked depth within the female characters and smooth writing style. This could be due to the translation from Spanish to English, but since Mama Blanca’s was so visual and complex, I feel like this limitation could be avoided. Overall, it was a good read, just a more simple text.

One character I found particularly interesting was Louis. Louis’ introduction into the story gave the text a deeper dilemma than most of the actual conflicts the crew of characters went through. His development with the other characters, from a captured “spy”, to an influential doctor, gives the text a lot more of a dynamic progression than if it had continued with only characters that would be considered the base image of a revolutionary soldier.

I also enjoyed how the text took a couple opportunities to be written in the 1st person. When it came to the scene describing a government officer, Campos, sending his troops out in an attempt to be promoted to general, which subsequently led to the story of his and his crew’s death, I couldn’t help but appreciate the perspective change, even if it was mostly to make fun of the enemies of the protagonist. Both short excerpts, though, the text is primarily conveyed through the 3rd person

Comparing the perspective of the Campos compared to the perspective of Demetrio on leadership, I found there to be more contrasts than comparisons. While Demetrio knew many of his fellow officers, and had a strong bond with the soldiers he led, Campos simply saw his soldiers as pawns, and looked at sending out scouting units as a way to brag about his military victories. I also saw a connection between the success of Demetrio’s unit and the cohesion and brotherhood of it. Even in its strongest, at the end of the book, Demetrio’s team found defeat, as they didn’t have the cohesion they had in the beginning.

Finally, some criticism then my question

Camilla and War Paint, the two female characters with romantic interests, lacked any other characteristics. Their only function seemed to be a romantic conflict for Demetrio, Louis, and Blondie, and with each other. They certainly wouldn’t pass the Bechdel test. Additionally, the sentences and paragraphs can feel quite broken, even when it seems intentional. The flow of the text does have nice visualizations, and good metaphors, but still feels a bit clunky

Question: Which Character did you feel to be most impactful on this story, and why?