This week’s book, The Underdogs, by Mariano Azuela is vitally important in trying to understand  how the Mexican revolution was lived by revolutionists and those who crossed their path.

The book is heavily dialogue driven, revealing the intended nature of the characters while historical events guided the book’s plot. I was regularly enthralled, horrified, and contempt throughout the reading of the book, but most of all, I appreciate the significance of the book as an honest attempt in detailing a bit of the revolutionary culture created by its acting agents.

For me, the book always brought up the themes of crime, punishment, justice, machismo, brutality, innocence, honour or lack of, tradition, greed, and justification. There are probably many more to mention but these are the ones that come to mind for now. Though many of the ideas formally mentioned could be combined, I do feel that they all deserve their own consideration.

There is a phrase about insanity that says it is insane to attempt to something that always yields the same results, but on the next attempt, the insane expects different. This comes to mind when I romanticize about a revolution. This book once again demonstrates that a revolution can  and may corrupt more than reform a man’s intentions, as the temptation of power remains  while the revolutionist attempts to overthrow the idea of irresponsible power.

This book is horrifying as it is romantic. I guess that could be a part of the revolutionary nature. It is horrifying because of the way the innocent are treated. My wife, as a Mexican woman, despises Pancho Villa for the machismo rapist he is known to be, while my father, being a Mexican man, has a sense of idolatry for the controversial man. The romantic aspect could be displayed by which the books ends. The general Demetrio Macias, as almost the last man, shots and hits his enemy while the raining inevitability of his defeat thunders on. To the last man, in a revolutionary way, is romanticism in its mortal finding.

Overall, I highly appreciate the book and find it empowering, especially for those of us who have Mexican heritage, since it acts as an honest attempt in educating us, the future, of what it may have been like in the years well before our own. The empowering part for me is first understanding the extent of the revolutions consequences, as the revolutionary party of PRI has failed its ideal and the Mexican people, but also understanding that the act of the revolution was not just for the people of its time. Though it had good intentions of fair distribution of land and wealth, the actions deplored to achieve this is detestable. But when it war, as the book mentions at the end, it seems that every man is for himself.

It pains me to know the extent us men, or people in general, are wiling to go just to justify our actions or to feel righteous about them. This melancholy I feel is what always happens to me when I read about revolutions because it makes me wonder that maybe revolution is to pure of an ideal for us mortal beings to uphold.

What do you think? Do you think a revolution, with its new moral standards and intention to be fair and equal to all, is to high of an order to ask of us, the people that just want to live however we want to live?