The Underdogs by Mariano Azuela tells the story of a group of commoners who were dragged into the Mexican Revolution and how their mindsets change throughout the course of the war. I think it was based off of the author’s own experiences during the war, so that adds a level of authenticity to the whole story. I quite enjoyed the story and seeing how the once average person slowly transformed into the ones they originally despised.

The lecture about the book brought up interesting points that I hadn’t explicitly noticed, specifically the moments of glory and the moments of melancholy. The story will go from Demetrio and his compatriots mowing down soldiers to him dejectedly riding his horse. I thought the switches between the two moods shows the horrors and stress of war, where one feels like a hero in the midst of battle, but after the events are over, you don’t really know what else to do.

The portrayal of women in the story was not great, but treatment of women has never been great. I assume some of what was described was inspired by real events. Situations with Camila were hard to read in general, but especially those when she refused to work alongside War Paint. In those scenarios, I always believe in women helping each other because no one else will. Seeing Camila just reject help from War Paint at every instance was painful, especially because she was genuinely trying to help. The treatment of women throughout the story was horrible, but adds to the overall commentary on war. Civilians, women, and children are often the unfortunate souls caught in the crossfire and aftermath of war, reinforcing to the “underdogs” theme of the story.

The story starts with Demetrio fighting with rebels in the Mexican revolution and follows his character arc as he raids and sacks civilian houses. He and the rebels became those that they were fighting against and it was sad to read about. The evolution of the characters throughout the story was interesting to read about, as it didn’t follow the normal character arcs. Instead, the characters became more and more like the enemies they were fighting and it was harder to condone the actions they partook in.

The last few moments of Demetrio’s life show how he took pride in his own individual ability instead of thinking about he’s fighting for the people. At the end of the day, The Underdogs focuses on how war affects the general population as well as the individual. War changed Demetrio from a man who cared about his family to ditching them when he is reunited.

The title itself is in reference to how the people of Mexico will always be the “underdogs” and they’re the ones who end up suffering at the hands of those that rule the country.

Question:
What do you think the portrayal of women does for the story? Does it show a woman’s place in the revolution or does it serve as something more for the story?