In this week’s reading, “The Parade Ends” by Reinaldo Arenas I was particularly interested in examining the “you” that appears throughout the story. The story is fast-paced with a constant shift in location; Arenas’ inclusion of the “you” furthers this manufactured chaos that seeks to represent the state of life in Cuba. There seems to be a particular intimacy between the narrator and “you.” When planning an escape, the narrator displays how the “you” is local and familiar with the problems facing Cuban society. The “you” instructs the narrator on what materials are needed to escape, where to get them, and how to keep them. Arenas reveals the unique knowledge of survival that is gained under oppressive circumstances. The “you” and the narrator have a certain level of intimacy based on their shared secret; the desire to escape.

We touched on in class that perhaps the “you” or the lizard do not need to be specifically interpreted, which I think was helpful in challenging my own reading of the story. In reexamining the “you,” I found a transitional moment between perspectives that perhaps could bring some clarity. On page 106, the narrator states that “we finished rounding out the plan… but now that clever one has disappeared again,  she’s slipped away,” creating a sense that “she” refers to the escape plan. This would be an interesting lens through which to view the story; the narrator is chasing his plan to escape, which is escaping him in itself. The lizard, or this plan, represents a desire to survive and live. The “you” remains more ambiguous but is involved in the desire to escape nonetheless.