Tag Archives: Perspective

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?

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?