Carlos Fuentes “The Old Gringo”

The old gringo is set in historic Mexico during the Mexican revolution. This story took a couple of turns that I was not expecting, but it definitely kept me wanting more. The love tale told within the story had both passion, and deceit, which kept it interesting every step of the way. My expectation of this book was completely wrong, but in the best way possible. I think this book has been one of the only books throughout the course that really highlights love and relationships, which was unexpected. 

I also want to touch on some of the questions asked in the lecture, as I also found myself pondering the same questions. As professor Murray stated in the lecture, a common theme throughout this story is repetition. More specifically, repetition of the line “Now she sits still, and remembers.” I interpret repetition in a book as something that the author wants their readers to pay attention to and think about it in a deeper way. I think that the placement of the line, “Now she sits alone and remembers” means that the author wants his readers to do the same. He wants them to sit and reflect on the events that had just occurred, and understand their significance. Another line I noticed that was repeated several times was, “And your daughter?” Although, I don’t think this line was repeated in order to convey some deeper meaning like the others did. 

I think the love triangle between the three characters was fascinating as I wouldn’t expect Harriet to have fallen for the old gringo. I wouldn’t have expected such a turn of events when Arroyo became so angry with the gringo and Harriet, as I never caught on to the strength of Arroyo’s feelings for Harriet. I think for Arroyo to be so forceful and aggressive towards Harriet, shows his true intentions and personality. 

I also noticed that they made this book into a film as well. Having watched some of the scenes, I was surprised to see the characters whom I had imagined in my head, as they were not like what I was imagining. However, I am intrigued as to how much the story line of the film matches with the novel. 

My question for my peers is:

Do you think the meaning of repetition, in this story more specifically, conveys a deeper meaning or do you believe the author felt like the line fit in more than one place?

The Shrouded Women

The Shrouded Woman takes on a super naturalistic approach to death as the main character (Ana Maria) lays deceased, yet she takes her audience through her most important past events in her life. What stuck out to me with this story was the many failed loves Ana Maria had experienced throughout her life. She points out the men she has loved in her life- Ricardo, her sons, and Antonio- and how her love towards them was never returned to her in the way she desired. I will first touch on her relationship with Ricardo- this was her first love as a young woman. Since they were both young, it was more of an infatuation/obsession sort of love. However, Ricardo chose to pursue his opportunity to study scientific farming, which broke Ana Maria as he rejected her idea that she would move with him. Because of this, she felt betrayed and unwanted by Ricardo, as she felt that she would do anything for him, and for them to stay together, but he was not willing to make those sacrifices as well.  Then there is Antonio- Ana Maria’s husband. Her love with Antonio was always being held up to standards with her love for Ricardo- to which she felt did not ever meet her expectations of how the love between them should be. She feels there is a lack of passion between the two. Another contributing factor as to why she felt less passion with Antonio was because Antonio split his focus between his wife, as well as his love for other activities. This point is illustrated on page 225 when the narrator states, “She realised she was, she had always been, only one of Antonio’s many passions, a passion circumstances had shackled to his life. He tolerated her, that was all;” This made me question why Ana Maria stayed with Antonio, if she did not get what she felt she deserves? Was she willing to accept the love she didn’t deserve in fear of being alone? Ana Maria felt that she had to suppress her love when it came to the men in her life that mattered most to her, Ricardo, Antonio, and her sons. “For it would seem that not to love too much might be the best proof of love which can be given to certain people.” Over the years she had adapted her ways of showing love and affection towards her husband and sons in a way that they wanted, but not in the way she felt she wanted to express her love for them. It seems like she was having to make the majority of the adaptations for the people around her, without them returning the favour. 

 

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