The Deterioration of Romero in El Tonto Del Barrio
After reading Jose Armas’s story, "El Tonto Del Barrio," I was greatly touched by this simple yet effective story of how the village idiot is used to teach a lesson to the audience. However, after researching the topic, I found that there had been no literary discussion concerning Armas or "El Tonto del Barrio." I was shocked to find this out, and I believe this is an interesting and important story which should be looked into. "El Tonto del Barrio" is not just a story about a college-bound young man named Seferino who tries to help the community "idiot" Romero, but it is also a story about a man who slowly deteriorates when his pride is taken away and his dignity not acknowledged.
First, to understand how Romero deteriorates, we must look at how life for Romero was before Seferino tried to pay him wages for sweeping. Romero seemed happy, and he was always whistling and singing. In the first line of the story Armas even states, "Romero Estrado was called El Cotoro (The Parrot) because he was always whistling and singing" (1137). Armas at first makes no obvious remarks that Romero was a moron who should be avoided; in fact, the story discusses only the respect that people of the town had for Romero. Romero is even called "a respected citizen" (1138). It is interesting to note that Armas mentions that "Not even the kids made fun of him. It just was not permitted" (1138). This point lets the audience know that Romero was respected enough that even parents taught their children to respect him despite his faults. It is apparent that the town knew Romero was a little "touchy" (1138), but the citizens choose to overlook his faults.
The citizens of the town and Romero...
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