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?