Tag Archives: span312

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?

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?

Hopscotch introduction

Hello, my name is Felix and I am a 3rd year economics student, and am planning on minoring in Spanish as well. I am from Fort Lauderdale Florida, and from there I have brought up my favorite hobby, surfing. Living in the Pacific Northwest has been a little harder due to the colder weather, but I have enjoyed the change in type of outdoor activities. During the summer I like to go on hikes in the mountains and surf at Tofino, and during the winter I snowboard, though I have only recently picked it up.

To tie in literature to my little story about myself, I often like to bring books on my hikes to read with a nice view and calm ambiance. This class interested me because I’d like to expand my knowledge on literature from other languages, and since I’ve taken Spanish courses before, I think it will be a nice fit in my literary and linguistic interests. During the past few years, I have mostly read books about economic analysis, with a few fictional novels to alleviate the focus on real life statistics. I think that taking this course fits well into how my interests have recently been changing surrounding what I would like to read, so I’m excited to see how captivated I get by the texts presented in this course.

I honestly didn’t do much research into this course besides reading the brief summary before adding it to my worklist, since I prefer a surprise on the books and passages we will be reading. After looking over the course website a little deeper though, I’m expecting to enjoy this course. In my past Spanish courses I have heard a few of these authors mentioned, so I am interested in learning more about them and their texts. The past Spanish classes I took mostly focused on ability to write, read, and speak Spanish, with the rest focusing on Spanish culture as a whole. While I have learned about Hispanic traditions and regional dialects from many different countries in Central and South America, this will be the first course I take that focuses solely on Spanish literature. Even though the passages that we will be reading are translated, I’m still interested in the different type of meanings and “vibes” that will be found from the texts we are going to read.

For my question: If you were to read an entire book in one sitting, what environment would you choose to read it in?