This novel written by Carlos Fuentes really brought more questions for me than answers. Which is something I enjoy while reading. One thing that I did notice was that it was difficult to follow along with the story since it was difficult to stay engaged with the reading as I got lost in the words. I did, however, appreciate the plot. It was one of the more interesting reads as it had more action I would say, since it was based during war and chaos.. I enjoyed how the Old Man’s main goal is to die in the heat of the revolution. Dealing with the loss of his own family, I could see why he would want to end things this way and in some ways, it will show that he died for a reason
Another aspect of the novel that I enjoyed was the contrast between all the characters. Each character had a trait I either liked or disliked. Arroyo was one that I was not really fond of. Despite burning down Hacienda owned by the Miranda family for revenge (and for valid reason), he came off standoffish and hard to like.
With his family dead, I do sympathise with the Old Man, which is one reason that I did enjoy his character. It is sad to think that with everyone close to him being gone, including his wife, he would only think there is one solution to his problems. I did, however, found it surprising with the way he wanted to end his life. There must have been a multitude of reasons on why he would want to end his life the way he wanted to but what are some of the reasons. I do look forward to discussing this in class since I do want to hear more perspectives on the Old Man
Hi Yasmin, thanks for your thoughts! Do you also have a question for your peers in relation to this text?
My question would be what were his reasons to choose the way the Old Man wanted to end his life?
I agree with what you said about finding it surprising that he would want to end his life in such a chaotic and wild way. I think part of his reasoning could be that he truly had nothing to lose and wanted to die anyway so why not go on an adventure just to see how long he could stay alive.
Hi Yasmin!
I agree with you that it was drastic how he wanted to end his life. His death ended up being as violent as he was thinking it was going to be. I do wonder if he changed his mind along the way as he seemed to have found a new purpose to live for, to protect Harriet.
Hey Yasmin! I agree that the style of prose being used made it a tad bit difficult to follow along which can be interesting if executed in a way where questions were always being asked to the reader. I found the pieces were all starting to come together by the end such that much of my initial confusion subsided. I also agreed that the contrasting, and interrelated, story arcs of our main trio were so fascinating as each of them had a past that they were seeking to reconcile and how the plot weaves each character’s motivations around each other over the backdrop of the revolution.