José Maria Arguedas reminds readers that in the end, what you get is what you give in ‘The Pongo’s Dream’.  Immediately, the dynamic between the two main characters is set as the Master consistently dehumanizes Pongo. He does so by insisting Pongo to act as an animal and only ever naming him ‘Indian’. The racism in this is quite apparent as it was a common racial stereotype to compare people of colour to animals. It is important to note that Pongo was polite and efficient at what he did. Arguedas says, ‘whatever he was told to do, he did well’. This demonstrates the impact of the brutality and control of the colonizers. This is also evident when Pongo says that he can’t know his worth later on which emphasizes the impact of domination on the people.

Something that I found interesting was that Pongo didn’t pray in the dream because he didn’t believe it was his place. My take on this was to emphasize that karma exists separately from religion. You do not need religion to be a good person, nor does it make you a good person, and it doesn’t protect you from the consequences of your actions. Arguedas follows Pongo saying that he didn’t believe it was his place by saying ‘nor did any place belong to him’. Again, this reiterates the immense feeling of displacement and defeat following colonization.

The eternal licking exchange between Pongo and the Master epitomizes the overall message I took from this reading. In their exchange, Pongo is in undesirable circumstances, but ultimately has it better than the Master. The colonized is treated like sh*t, the colonizer is given privilege and false grandiosity, yet faces sh*t (literally). I also thought that this was intended to be endearing and uplifting for those facing the devastating impacts of colonization.

Class question: Magical realism is quite popular in Latin American works. Which elements of this work do you think are magical realism (if any) and how do they tie to the religious aspect?