In my opinion, I think that these sets of readings have probably been the most interesting yet, simply because I found them the most captivating, especially through the colourful use of language, specifically in the piece by Miguel Asturias.
The tale written by Asturias, is I assume meant to be representing Guatemalan myths, and seems like somewhat of an attempt to preserve Guatemalan culture. This is consistently displayed by the gushing use of colourful language throughout, for example, as early as page 3, Asturias talks about ‘magic resins’, ‘coloured earth’ and ‘dust of stones magnetic with thoughts of music’. This certainly keeps in line with mythical and magical purpose of this piece.
Simply because of the context of the Asturias and Guatemalan culture, it is easy to draw connotations out of this work. Asturias was most famous for his work ‘El Señor Presidente’, which was effectively an outright vilification of then dictator president Manuel Estrada Cabrera though a representation of life under a savage dictator. For example, in this piece, adjectvies such as ‘petrified’ and ‘cautious’ might evoke the mood of a frightened country, being ruled by an imposing dictator.
It is slightly ironic in some senses, given the context of Latin American and South American politics; the 20th Century, especially for South America has been mired in political violence and dictatorships, with notable examples under Augusto Pinochet in Chile in the 1970s and under Fidel Castro in Cuba around a similar time.
The legend of the Crystal Mask (2nd part of the Asturias), takes on a very different tone. The repeated use of ‘yes’, on the first page of this piece creates a very insistent tone, even a stab like quality, which makes one think that this could be a charged up politician, or president addressing a large crowd. In general, I feel like the legend of the crystal mask is more of a celebration of stone works and different rock types more than anything else.
The Arguedas reading is very different. The Pongo’s dream is extremely biblical, and draws on traditional religious ideals that the in the afterlife the poor man becomes one of God’s angels, whereas the rich man doesn’t enjoy such benefits, as it is seen that he has already enjoyed these benefits on earth. I guess in a way it also tries to preserve traditional Peruvian culture. However, it is more a celebration of a plight of the poor man, ‘the pongo’ and how the story completely flips on its head in the very last paragraph. Certainly for me it was one of those feel good stories that not only had a positive moral message, but also had a nice ending!