Tag Archives: identity

Valeria Luiselli, “Faces in the Crowd”

Valeria Luisell’s novel, “Faces in the Crowd,” was intricately written from the perspective of two different narrators originating from different cities and periods. The author didn’t introduce nor warn the readers of the back-and-fourth narration occurring throughout the story, so I was very confused about the events transpiring until more than halfway through the book. Even after the realization that there were two points of view, I was confused about the man’s identity and thought that the male perspective came from the female protagonist’s husband instead of Gilberto Owens. The lecture confirmed the identity of the male narrator and suggested that perhaps it was actually the female protagonist writing from Owen’s perspective. That was intriguing because I myself thought that it was a completely different narrator. The novel was uniquely structured, it was deliberately fragmented and told in bits and pieces, resembling the unpredictableness of resurfacing memories and the disruption of family and work in the female protagonist’s life. Not only were there different narrations, but the storyline jumped between different times in their lives as well, which increased the difficulty of the reading because I needed to lock in and puzzle together the narrative.

The woman lived with her husband but frequently reminisced on her life before her kids and family obligations. Her narration emits a sort of detached feeling like she regards herself from an external viewpoint. For instance, she never names her family members, she just refers to them as “son”, “the baby”, or “my husband”. It’s this detachment that makes me consider that the female protagonist possibly lost her sense of identity (a recurring theme in this course, like in Agostino and Agualusa) due to the responsibilities and commitments that come with marriage and motherhood. She introduces and revisits many characters from her premarriage days, merging the line between past and present. This novel was like reading her diary, but it’s difficult to interpret how much of the story was her own as she told her husband “It’s all fiction…” (pg. 57) when he snuck glances at her writing.

A very fascinating point in the story is when Gilberto Owens begins to take note of a “woman with the dark face and shadows under her eyes (pg. 43)” on the trains. Owen’s description of her “red coat” (pg. 43) made me recognize the woman’s identity, which revealed that he shockingly saw glimpses of the female protagonist. It was kind of like the two characters are interconnected through different realities. But if it had always been the female protagonist narrating, then wouldn’t this impossible event that defies the bounds of time and reality be a figment of her imagination due to her fascination with Owens? Overall, this was a difficult novel to navigate and interpret, I struggled to place characters and timezones and figure out the different narrations.

Discussion Question(s)

What reason do you think the female protagonist chose not to include the names of herself and her family in her writing? What is your interpretation of the narration(s)?

José Eduardo Agualusa, “The Book of Chameleons”

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Jose Eduardo Agualusa’s novel, “The Book of Chameleons,” is an imaginative novel that explores the themes of identity and memory through the lens of a gecko living in the house of Felix Ventura. The gecko undergoes life with feelings and thoughts adjacent to those of humans, capable of processing human behaviours and interactions. This made sense as it was later revealed that the gecko was a man “in an earlier life (pg. 29)” whose “soul has been trapped in this body [of a gecko] (pg. 40).” There are many interesting characters in this story and the narration was engaging and straightforward, without the philosophical and abstract writing from previous readings.

Felix Ventura was the owner of the house and he established a close friendship with the gecko whom he named Eulalio (not sure if this was his true name in his past life). He was very creative and imaginative, saying that “Literature is the only chance for a true liar to attain any sort of social acceptance (pg. 68).” This quote intrigued me and got me reflecting on the values that I was taught. Society often declares that “honesty is the best policy,” so is there ever a time when lying is justified? Is it only when words are typed out on pages of fictional novels that it’s acceptable to spin tales from our minds? Another quote from Felix that stood out to me was “I think what I do is really an advanced kind of literature… I create plots, I invent characters, but rather than keeping them trapped in a book I give them life, launching them out into reality (pg. 68).” This confirmed my hypothesis that Felix was in the business of selling false identities and creating artificial memories to his customer; the most prominent one being Jose Buchmann, who became so immersed in his new identity that it appeared that “this man has been Jose Buchmann all his life (pg. 59).” Jose’s dedication and faith he put into his new identity was alarming and frightening, he listened intently to Felix’s fabricated story of his past life while asking detailed questions to reinvent himself.

Another interesting aspect of this story was the gecko’s capability to enter into the human character’s dreams. At first, I thought that he could only enter Felix’s dream as they lived under the same roof and shared a connection because they were “best friends (pg. 179),” but he was in Jose’s dream as well. What’s even more fascinating is that the gecko took on a human form in these dreams: “In the dream he had human form, a serious sort of man, with a face that seemed familiar to me (pg. 69).” Was this human form the man he was in his former lifetime?

Discussion Question(s):

One of the main themes of this novel is identity, do you think that identity is fixed or ever-changing? Why do you think someone may ask Felix to change their identity? Under what circumstances would you consider changing your identity?

Clarice Lispector, “The Hour of the Star”

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Clarice Lispector’s novel, “The Hour of the Star,” tells the story of a poor and uneducated “northeastern girl” in a raw and haunting style of writing. In the beginning, I was quite confused about what the story was about as there wasn’t really a plotline, it was more just following the thoughts and emotions of the narrator as he told the story from his perspective. I was also confused about the narrator’s relationship to the protagonist, it seems like she’s just a figment of his imagination or a story that he conjured up himself, but he conveyed the literature in such detail. In addition, I thought it interesting how Lispector decided to write a story through the narration of a man telling a story of a young woman. Although I first found the writing to be intriguing because of the abstract descriptions and thought-provoking sentences, soon it grew tiresome and I found myself wishing for the narrator to be more simple and direct. However, the story picks back up with the introduction of Olimpico, a northeastern boy with a huge ego and superiority complex.

The protagonist’s, or “northeastern girl,” name wasn’t revealed until later in the book, which was interesting because the narrator said that he didn’t “even know the girl’s name (pg. 10)” when he was introducing the character. The girl’s name was Macabea, she was a young, impoverished, and very naive girl who lived in the slums of Rio de Janeiro. What perplexes me the most about this character is her oblivion to the misery of her situation and how she drifts around like a shell of a person because “she was used to forgetting about herself (pg. 41)”. Her ignorance and innocence are emphasized through several events and exchanges in the novel, like with Olimpico, the doctor, and the fortune teller. She was incapable of picking up the distaste and mistreatment Olimpico directed toward her, it was almost like she struggled to comprehend complex thoughts and emotions; “Thinking was so hard, she didn’t know know how you were supposed to think (pg. 45)”.

Macabea’s naivety was puzzling but also saddening. She was an orphan living in poverty which limited her access to education. I think that this significantly contributes to her present personality as she never had the chance to develop critical thinking skills or attain basic geographic, cultural, and social knowledge. Her story demonstrates how systemic poverty will continue to keep people economically disadvantaged and socially marginalized without the proper education and supporting environment.

Discussion Question:

How does Macabéa’s ignorance and innocence shape her identity throughout the novel? What do you think contributed to her naivety? Was it her upbringing, society, gender norms, or others? How do you think her personality isolated her from the world around her?

Alberto Moravia, “Agostino”

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Alberto Moravia’s novel, “Agostino,” follows the story of a young boy transitioning into adolescence while exploring themes like identity, loss of innocence and sexual awakening. While many adolescents struggle with a sense of identity during their journey of self-discovery and growth, Agostino seemed to have matured much too fast in the span of one summer. From the very beginning, I took notice of Agostino’s pride and weirdly intimate descriptions of his beautiful mother during their swimming trips. It reminded me of “Combray” by Proust, how the protagonist was obsessed with attaining the warmth of his mother’s night kiss. Agostino took joy in being the only man his mother paid attention to, but that changed when a young suitor entered the scene. Pushed to his mother’s periphery, Agostino felt a sense of betrayal and abandonment as his mother formed a new romantic relationship with the suitor. After a quarrel with his mother, Agostino met Berto who introduced him to the community of working-class kids who resided on Vespucci beach. This is where Agostino’s life and understanding of intimacy and relationships took a pivotal shift. Firstly, it appears that Agostino grew up in a wealthy family with a sheltered lifestyle, so the behaviour and language used by the local kids came as a shock to him. It also came as a shock to me as well, how they made such disturbing comments and asked such intimate questions about his mother. When the boys found out that Agostino “knows nothing (p. 30)” about what a man and woman do together, they were crude with their explanation of sexual intimacy, using harsh words and vulgar gestures. After the loss of childhood innocence, Agostino grew even more confused about his emerging sexuality and the relationship between him and his mother. The admiration and love he once had for his mother turned into something distorted and cruel: “He couldn’t say why he wanted so much to stop loving his mother, why he hated her love (p. 46).” I think that the sudden dump of information about sexuality confused and shocked him, making him feel repulsed, lonely and even more susceptible to thoughts like this. It was also mentioned that Agostino’s father passed away, leaving him and his mother to form a close and affectionate mother-son relationship without the presence of a father figure. Therefore, it must’ve been even more overwhelming for Agostino to face his sexual awakening without a trustworthy adult to answer his questions or guide him through his adolescent journey. Agostino also struggled with his self-identity; he didn’t enjoy the company of the kids from his social class and gravitated toward the presence of the local working-class kids by “deliberately pretend[ing] to appreciate and enjoy the behaviour and manners that still horrify him (p. 73).”

Question:

Agostino always had an intimate relationship with his mother, how did this relationship affect his emotional and psychological development and alter his perspective on romantic relationships?

Roberto Arlt, “Mad Toy”

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Roberto Arlt’s novel, “Mad Toy,” was a refreshing coming-of-age novel that invited readers to follow the harrowing journey of a struggling youth named Silvio Astier. In the first chapter, “The Band of Thieves,” Silvio befriended Enrique Irzubeta and Lucio. Together, the three adolescents became members of the “Club of the Midnight Horsemen,” entangled in a life of petty crimes and thievery. The narrator used Enrique and Irzubeta interchangeably, which I found peculiar as he didn’t stay consistent with just a first or last name. Additionally, Silvio described his friendship with Enrique as “that of Orestes and Pylades (p. 26);” this interested me to search for the historical context behind the two characters to better understand the relationship dynamics between the two boys. From the beginning, this book was much more engaging for me in comparison to “Combray” by Proust. Although it was also told in the first-person, the narrator immersed the readers with descriptive dialogue and exciting action that conjured a sense of danger and thrill for readers. In chapter 2, “Work and Days,” Silvio leaves the days of thievery and mischief behind to find work, signalling the start of adulthood. Although the “Club of the Midnight Horsemen” disbanded, Silvio still looks for traces of his old friends during his time working at a run-down bookstore, he stated that Dona Maria’s smile “reminded me of Enrique Irzubeta’s smile when he was slipping through the fingers of the police (p. 76).” This reflects the universal experience of growing up and leaving childhood friendships behind, which most university students can resonate with as they face similar transitions into adulthood. The next chapter, “Mad Toy,” highlights Silvio’s intelligence. Despite the barriers of poverty, Silvio’s curiosity and self-education, from books and literature, emphasize his resilience and determination to pursue knowledge and advance his skillset in constructing gadgets and explosives. Overall, this reading successfully depicted the journey of a troubled youth navigating through the complexities and hardships of life. Silvio was constantly growing and adapting to the obstacles thrown his way as he discovered new aspects of himself in the quest for identity in this ever-changing world.

Questions:

In chapter three, Silvio was fired from his new position as an apprentice airplane mechanic, but what was the reason behind it? The school director stated, “We don’t need smart people here, just dumb brutes who can work (p. 99),” so was Silvio simply too smart to stay in the army? That doesn’t make sense to me as I thought that the Military School was looking for youth who wanted to study and had an interest in engineering to build engines and repair planes. Even Silvio was confused, “They threw me out of the army for no reason (p. 100).” Another question I have is whether Silvio’s previous life in crime influenced his decision to turn in Rengo to the police, what was the pivoting point when he made his decision? Why did he decide to turn Rengo in and was this another turning point in finding his identity and morals?