What struck me most from Garza’s introduction to the book “Grieving” was one specific paragraph on the second page that starts with “What we Mexicans…”. The repetition of bodies was so impactful to me because she described all the different ways that these people’s bodies had been violently assaulted. They were burned, tossed, disappeared, unclaimed, persecuted, airless, and missing many of their parts. I found this paragraph to do two things:
Firstly, it described in detail just how they were found. There is no filter to the violence, instead, it is honest and direct about it. Normally when acts of violence are talked or written about, the gory details are left out or downplayed as they might be too much for the audience, but the author makes a point of putting their point across: these people were violently assaulted and it should be spoken about. There is a modern version of mass murders happening, which she likens to that of Auschwitz and Armenia, and its time that people accept this. The repetition of “bodies” is impactful and sets a tone for the rest of the book.
Secondly, the consistent repetition of “bodies” demonstrates just how many there are. This reminded me of a concept I’ve heard of which is that humans find it very hard to grasp very large numbers. Not only that, but we also tend to become desensitized to death when it’s published in these large numbers. It is a reaction our brain has when it’s exposed to situations that might cause grief or trigger strong emotions. These tragedies have been happening in Mexico for so long that the author could be trying to bring awareness to the problem and individualize these people and what has happened to them. Rather than saying that there were 20 bodies found, she describes each and every one of them to emphasize that they are not just a number, but that they were murdered and that they deserve justice.
Hi Ashley,
I also found the repetition of the word “bodies” to have a specific effect on me. Every time I read it, I responded with a turn in my gut. I find Rivera Garza’s way of talking about dead people to greatly contrasts the approach the media uses as well as other authors. When mass murders happen, the media historically tends to report the death counts as “100 dead” as if they were trying to approach it strictly from a statistical perspective rather than recognize a loss of life. I believe in part they do this to not cause panic. Whereas, I think Rivera tries to say, “No, you should be panicking.”