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Arguedas Blogs Inequality

new character unlocked: a middle-class man

To start off this post, I really appreciated how easy the words of this novel was to read; AND ONLY THE WORDS, this book was also a emotionally hard to get through due to the emphasis on the unfortunate discrimination towards marginalized racial and social groups. The descriptions in the book also never overwhelmed me like some of the previous pieces we read, rather, every detail seemed extremely relevant to Arguedas’ world. Despite my categorization of an “easy read,” I had some difficulty focusing on the novel due to the mix of plenty of description AND lots of conversation. After my initial confusion, I realized that the conversations itself with another piece of detail the author was giving us (I know this seems super obvious TT, but I found that the previous novels we read in this course did not use spoken word like this).

 

I would first like to discuss Arguedas’ use of description and imagery and how Arguedas utilizes these literary tools as a lens into his surrounding world. Description is an incredibly effective world-building tool, while imagery seems more effective to explain current events in the novel. The descriptions given in the book, particularly the discrimination indigenous people within and outside of school, gives us insight about the society during Ernesto’s time.

 

It seemed like Ernesto exhibited a lot of character growth over the course of the novel: he realized that financial gain does not amount to ethical and emotional liberty. I thought this shift was strengthened by the following quote that connects such theoretical ideas into reality through him crossing a bridge: “on the hanging bridge at Auquibamba, I crossed over the river in the afternoon” (233).

 

One theme I noticed between all the novels up to this point, is that the main character has consistently been a member of the upper class. Deep Rivers, however, tells the story from a different perspective. We clearly see the levels of social inequality (and power dynamics) in his school, between the Indigenous people, the middle class and upper class students, told from the perspective of a middle class boy.

 

Finally, this novel brought me to question the backgrounds of the authors of the previous novels. Books are often reflections of larger societies and the author. Most novels were written by members of the upper class due to their perceived “larger” amount of free time. As a result, it makes sense for these authors wanting to elucidate their personal experience. However, this also adds a large amount of uncertainty to the books, especially when considering the lack of representation and erasure of the experiences of the broader population. So, I will now leave you with a question:  do you think an upper class author can truly represent the lived experiences of the broader population? Is it actually necessary to discuss the experiences of most of a population?

 

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Blogs Moravia

and the Grammy goes to … Agostino for the most Freudian MC!

This book was unsatisfying in so many ways: the novel felt extremely unfinished by the end due to Agostino’s glaringly evident “mommy issues,” self-centered personality and the lack of character development.

 

Agostino’s Oedipus complex has got to be a primary source for Freud’s central psychoanalytic theory TT. He beings being utterly infatuated with his mother (1-3), and then becomes jealous about Renzo’s relationship with his mother.” Somewhere along the line, this jealousy towards Renzo, manifests into a combination of adoration and hatred towards his mother.

 

Agostino, to me, was a very bland and self-centered main character that lacks any sense of self-awareness. Agostino’s blatant lack of self-awareness became apparent during the scene where he was almost “cosplaying” a boat boy. The following quote: “this small incident left Agostino with the feeling once and for all that he no longer belonged to the world of the children with the soccer ball, and that, anyway, he has sunk so low that he could not live without deceit and vexation” (78) showcases that Agostino believed that he was somewhere between being an elite and member of the working class. However, I would argue that his smugness after receiving his payment showcased how his actions were a cheap caricature of the poverty he was attempting to portray.

 

Agostino exhibits ZERO character development or growth. Firstly, Agostino states that he “want[s] to leave tomorrow” (101) after getting utterly deceived by Tortima. But honestly, can we even call it deceit, rather than naivety? At the start of the novel, a similar occurrence occurred where Berto assaulted Augustino after receiving cigarettes. Since that instance, I would say that none of the group acted any nicer to him, rather he was blind sighted by being “liberated” from his aristocratic world. His final humiliation was nothing but pure foolishness, rather than the deceit he described.

 

Moreover, his skewed perception of his mother as a “woman” or a “mother” that lasted throughout the novel did not get resolved. The main character believed that a woman he saw “had somehow confirmed the mother’s womanhood” (102) however, this revelation is really nothing new, from the start of the novel (1-3) the MC thought about his mother in these ways, just without overtly stating it. This showcases how he is unable to see the fact that “womanhood” and “motherhood” can exist concurrently, and how those terms are more nuanced than the MC’s disgustingly lustful portrayals of women. Therefore, I conclude that Agostino is a stale, privileged character that doesn’t learn from his experiences.

 

I realize that my critique on Agostino’s character development may come out as harsh, which is why I want to ask: do you think the storyline actually progressed enough for Agostino to reflect on himself and grow as a character?

 

Finally, in honor of the Grammy’s occurring right now, Agostino absolutely swept past Proust to get the award for the most Freudian MC (congrats, I guess?). Seriously, if I could summarize Agostino in one word, it would literally be Freud.

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Blogs Bombal

Bombal + Perspectives = A Mysterious Work!

I CHEERED when I realized this novel was in the third person, solely because I certainly prefer the distance that comes with an outside perspective. However, I have definitely learned that first person perspective can add that extra layer of depth through the wonderful works I have read so far in this class.

 

Well, my happy thoughts lasted until I reached chapter three (i.e. not very long), where I was suddenly hit with the transition to the first person perspective. After briefly accepting the change in viewpoint, the narrator then began using the second person perspective combined with the first person perspective. Such confusing changes in narration and perspective forced me to reflect on the previous scenes: I felt like I could only fully understand the scenes I read earlier AFTER having read a number of pages more (Proust: the sequel??). As a result, I can say, with some confidence, that Bombal almost weaponizes perspective to force us, the reader, to feel the emotions her former lovers caused our main character.

 

In addition of utilizing perspective to tell the story, Bombal uses a fragmented story approach to tell this retrospective tale. It is important we consider that the main character has already passed away, and the events of these memories have transpired a good amount of time before they were recounted. Therefore, by drawing on the subjectivity and emotion in the work, this piece can more accurately be called a reflection.

 

Furthermore, as I briefly discussed earlier on, I noticed quite a few similarities to Proust in both the organization of the story and the narration. When it comes to organization, this story was also modelled in a somewhat circular fashion like Combray was. I noticed this when the main character was talking about Ricardo at the start of this novel: she first talked about how he wronged her, and followed this information with the steps leading up to this event. This progression of events really made me see the similarities to Proust. Moreover, this story, like that of Proust, is retrospective and contains a lot of speculation. In that regard, I believe it is fair for us to cast some doubt on the validity of the main character’s story. Additionally, the constantly shifting perspectives makes it difficult for us as readers to accurately interpret her memories, which further makes the work more interesting to interpret.

 

Alas, I leave you all with a question that I was asking myself: what makes a novel, like the Shrouded Woman or Combray, a strong reflective piece? Is it the amount of raw emotion displayed by the author, providing a large sum of description to the reader or even forming a connection with the reader? I find these qualities to almost be on a spectrum, but I’m excited to hear your thoughts!

 

Side Note: I will be re-reading this work prior to attending the discussion. I definitely struggled with analyzing it at first and want to look at it a few more times.

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Blogs Uncategorized

Mad Toy, a well executed coming of age story?

I want to begin by mentioning that I found this novel much easier to read than Proust. I was constantly engaged and interested in learning more about the main character. The amount of dialogue and the rate of story progression almost made Mad Toy seem like a playwright. As a result, I feel like the chapters can be considered as “Acts” of the work, with each section being a region of key character development.

 

One thing that Arlt did exceptionally well is demonstrate how a person is a product of their environment, but only to an extent. Each action performed or role undertaken by Silvio was clearly influenced by the people around him. For example, there was a slight group polarization effect when he assembled his “gang” in the first chapter, where all members pushed each other to enact their actions. Moreover, in the second and third chapters, the main character did his best to fit into the jobs imposed on him (at the bookshop or in the army), which he ultimately could not. The fact that he was unable to acclimatize to these roles may be attributed to the type of person he was; he was someone that enjoyed literature and logic, he always had an opinion. These inherent, unique traits are what prevented him from just following orders or being forever disrespected at his workplace.

 

This work really felt like an authentic coming of age story due to the apparent changes in the main characters thought processes, actions and morals. The development in Silvio’s character was solidified at the end of each chapter where he made a major, somewhat spontaneous decision. For example, he threw the piece of coal at the bookshelf at the end of the second chapter or chose to turn his friend in for this robbery attempt. Both these actions demonstrate how he is has changed from his previous self in various aspects, with a full circle moment at the end of the last chapter: at the beginning of the work, Silvio was a thief, but at the end he reported a robbery. This action really showcases how much Silvio had changed as a character throughout his adolescence.

 

Overall, I really appreciated how this work demonstrated the role of the environment in shaping people and portrayed “coming of age” in a more “circular” light. At the end of this work, I felt like Arlt wrapped up the “loose ends” by making connections to earlier on in the story (by either bringing characters back or referencing certain events). Doing so, made the Silvio’s development feel more rewarding as it seems like he learned from the past. To wrap up my post, a question I have for you all is whether you think this is a well done coming of age story?

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Proust Uncategorized

Proust, can we really trust our MC?

Before I begin this post, I want to preface that I enrolled in this class late and read up to the end of the first chapter (like the syllabus suggested). As a result, the thoughts I will be sharing are preliminary (until I finish the entire work by the Wednesday discussion). Upon reading, a number of ideas stood out to me (which I will elaborate throughout this post): the distinct writing style and static textual progression. These themes made me question the validity of the narration by the main character (MC). By validity, I mean whether the version of the story written is actually what transpired during, what seems to be, the MC’s childhood.

 

The best way I would describe the narration of this work is “descriptive yet unclear.” It is this quality that makes the narrator feel alive and thereby represent the human experience. Our thoughts (no matter how simple) make up who we are as people since they guide how we interact with the surrounding world. This is evidently observed in the case of MC where he tends to go on tangents, making multiple revelations before making a conclusion about the actual circumstances. Such is demonstrated when MC was explaining a time when he was in trouble (37-39). He clearly detailed his mother’s, father’s and grandmother’s actions while providing many options for why they occurred. In a way, these options make their intentions ambiguous, despite all the detail.

 

Combray is a retrospective, memory-based reflection hidden under the guise of a story written partially in the present tense. The uncertainty in the series of events in the memory is clearly demonstrated by the narrator talking in circles. The circular, almost unrelated themes, make it seem like the MC is trying to recollect the memory as he describes it. For example, MC attempts to deduce the time he wakes by describing the lack of light in the room (3) or by imagining how a traveller may act in such darkness (4). This leads to an almost stagnant story where the only timely advancement occurs when MC has decided he himself has “appropriately” recollected the scene.

 

Ultimately, the uncertainty in the work and the perceived temporal distortion has led me to believe that our MC is considered an “unreliable narrator.” His version of events, albeit interesting, is laced with so many questions to the point where MC even takes a step back and says that he “no longer recognized” the location the story transpired (9). This moment of doubt encouraged me to start thinking of the MC in such a way. As a result, I end my blog with some food for thought: do you think MC is an unreliable narrator and why? I am interested in hearing your thoughts!

 

Side note: I can’t wait to continue and really hope that my interpretation up to this point appropriately discusses the text haha!

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Uncategorized

A Sort-of Short Introduction!

Hi everyone! My name is Zara, and I am a third year student in the Faculty of Science. I am from White Rock, BC. As a result of living near the ocean, I enjoy taking long walks by the beach while listening to music! I am a huge fan of all genres of music (some of my top artists this year were Frank Ocean, Tame Impala and Beach Weather) and love discovering new music. Feel free to reach out if you have any recommendations, I would be honored to exchange playlists haha.

My decision to take this course was guided by my interest in literature and my desire to take an intriguing, contrasting elective (since most of my courses this semester are heavily science-based). Moreover, I am especially excited to be able to enhance my critical analysis skills through reading various new literary works. I hope that by analyzing these works, I will be able to learn more about society during the author’s time period and respective location. I realize that art often acts as a lens for the real world: literature can be a mimesis. I am interested in making these real-world connections and hope that doing so will improve my understanding of the text and society at the time. If time permits, I also am interested in exploring the influence of a specific work in shaping our literary scene today.

I look forward to having a great time reading these novels; and who knows, I may even add some new favourites to my tier list. I am also incredibly excited about the “book club” aspect of this course in the discussion sections and can’t wait to share our interpretations of the novels with each other. It will be incredibly interesting to hear all your thoughts and synthesize our ideas. I love engaging in constructive discussion that allows us to broaden our outlook and deepen our textual understanding.

However, like many of you, I have one concern: novel selection. I am genuinely excited to read each work I choose and designed a schedule, in response, to keep me on track until the “weekly routine” fully sets in. I will refine this schedule according to the books I select so that I can make the most out of my time in this course.

Overall, I am really looking forward to learning more about literature in roman-based languaged. Cheers to a great semester!

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