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How Rulfo Uses Various Characters to Represent Aspects of the Mexican Revolution Pedro Paramo by Juan Rulfo is a Mexican novel that takes place in Comala, which is a representation of the purgatory all of the characters are stuck in. the novel revolves around the son of Pedro Paramo, named Juan Preciado, who has recently died and finds himself in purgatory. Along the way, he meets several characters that are also stuck in the cycle that is purgatory. These characters arguably represent different aspects of the Mexican Revolution. For example, the character Pedro Paramo represents how tyrants can lead their country into a terrible state. The character Father Renteria represents corruption and corrupt leaders in the revolution. And lastly,
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Father Renteria is the town’s priest that has the power to absolve the people’s sins. However, he becomes corrupted by money and allows people to pay him off for their sins. “‘These are Yours,’ he said. ‘He can afford to buy salvation. Only you know whether this is the price. As for me, Lord, I throw myself at your feet to ask for the justice or injustice that any of us may ask… For my part, I hope you damn him to hell’” (Rulfo 26). Here, Father Renteria is absolving Miguel Paramo after being bribed by Pedro Paramo. He very well knows that it is the wrong thing to do and that he has become corrupted, yet he still does it because he needs the money. He plays a very important role in allowing the people of Comala to either go to heaven or leave them to rot in the purgatory that is Comala. He represents all of the corruption that was going on during the Mexican Revolution and in the church. Over the course of Porfirio Diaz’s presidency, he established a systematic government with a strong military. He got rid of most of the current leadership until his legislature consisted of mostly his friends and people close to him, and he muffled the press and held a tight grip over the court. He came to power through means of catering to different groups, paying off others, and supplying some with political jobs (Britannica). Although the two are corrupt for different reasons, they are similar in that …show more content…
For example, the group discussed what was going on during the time period of the novel, which was the Cristero movement and the Mexican Revolution, and how this influenced Rulfo’s writing. The group also talked about religion and how Rulfo was criticizing the catholic church and how corrupt it was because people were able to pay off their sins, meaning that the poor were not able to absolve themselves. They also talked a bit about what was lost in translation. They discussed Rulfo’s style of writing which was colloquial language, and how he incorporates magic realism into his novels. When the novel was translated to English, it lost a lot of what made it Rulfo’s style, but it still managed to keep his ambiguity and complex structure that didn’t necessarily flow linearly. Overall, the group did a great job of explaining the culture and context of the novel in a creative way.
Works Cited
"The Catholic Church and the Mexican Revolution." (n.d.): n. pag. Saylor Academy. The Saylor Foundation. Web. 5 Feb. 2017.
The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. "Porfirio Diaz." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 19 Jan. 2011. Web. 5 Feb. 2017.
"Restored Republic 1867-76 MexicanHistory.org Mexican History from Ancient times to Today." Restored Republic 1867-76 MexicanHistory.org Mexican History from Ancient times to Today. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Feb.
Alfredo Corchado — is the author of the book named " Midnight in Mexico:A Reporter's Journey through a Country's Descent into Darkness”. We are, probably, all interested in finding out the facts, news, and gossips about Mexico. This country was always associated with something mysterious. For me personally, the title of the book seemed to be very gripping, I was interested in revealing the secrets of life in Mexico, thus I decided to read this book. I was really curious, what can Alfredo Corchado tell me about the life in this country, the country, where the constant massacre is the picture, people used to see. In his book, the author tells the reader about the real situations, which took place in Mexico, reveals the secrets of the people’s lives and tells the story from the “inside”. He describes the way he lives his life, and does his work. The " Midnight in Mexico: A Reporter's Journey through a Country's Descent into Darkness” is a memoir. Author tries to transform his own experience into the story line. Corchado shows the reader the darkest episodes of Mexican society, while relying on his own experience.
Teja, Jesus F. De La. A Revolution Remembered: The Memoirs and Selected Correspondence of Juan N. Seguin. Austin: State House Press, 1991.
C. W. Hackett, ed., Historical Documents relating to New Mexico, Nueva Vizcaya, and Approaches Thereto, to 1773, vol. III (Washington: Carnegie Institution of Washington, 1937), 327-35.
8. Meyer, Michael C., et al. The Course of Mexican History, 7th ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.
"Amazon." Encyclopædia Briticanna. Ed. The Editors of The Encyclopædia Britannica. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Dec. 2013. .
Bowden’s idea of why this happened focused mainly on the old misunderstood traditions of the tribes living in Mexico. He shows how the friars, churches and icons took the blunt of the revolts force. Bowden points out the religious differences and similarities be...
Rosales, F. Arturo. Lecture 2/14 Film The US-Mexican War Prelude. Weber, David J. - "The 'Path of the World'" Foreigners in Their Native Land: The Historical Roots of Mexican Americans.
The oppression from the Spanish born was so hated, that when the new country of Mexico created its Constitution, they decided to outlaw slavery completely in their new country. This was not a foreign idea. Some of the countries of Europe had already begun to do the same. Now along with the idea of no slavery, the Mexican people decided to adopt the Catholic Religion as their national faith. This is because their mother country, Spain, which had created them, was a Catholic Country and it was what they knew and practiced.
Henderson, T. "Modern Latin American History Lecture." Auburn University Montgomery, Montgomery, AL. Sept. 2011. Lecture.
In today’s time, the Catholic Church actually has an appropriate relationship between the government and the Mexican people. Unfortunately, this was not always the case for the Catholic Church a long time ago. In 1492, Mexico had its first encounter with the Catholic Church in their country. It all started when Pope Alexander VI ordered that natives of the new lands that were discovered by Columbus, to be instructed in Catholicism for the "salvation of their souls". In this context, the Catholic Church embedded the religion of Catholicism in the minds of those who already had their own religion. Some might have converted to Catholicism because it was what they now truly believe, while others only “converted” to not create any more problems
Judas at the Jockey Club, written by William H. Beezley, is used as a tool for those observing Mexico’s history during the Porfirian Era. This supplemental text addresses the social and political issues that were prominent during the Porfirian Era under the dictatorship of Porfirio Diaz; whose goal was to lead the modernization of Mexico. Porfirio Diaz was the president of Mexico in 1876; he made a false promise to resign in the Creelman interview in 1908 but did not officially resign until 1911. Beezley displays an analysis of the segregation between the common people and how they attempted to deal with an oppressive government. Judas at the Jockey Club is important to this Latin American course because of the extensive background Beezley provides to shed light on the tensions that allowed the socioeconomic gap to exist.
Preston, Paul. The Spanish Civil War: Reaction, Revolution and Revenge. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2007. Print.
The history of political instability in Mexico and its need for revolution is very complex and dates back to the colonization of Mexico by the Spaniards in the 1500s. However, many aspects of the social situation of Mexico when the Revolution broke out can be attributed to the thirty-year dictatorship of President Porfrio Diaz, prior to 1911. The Revolution began in November of 1910 in an effort to overthrow the Diaz dictatorship. Under the Diaz presidency, a small minority of people, primarily relatives and friends, were in ...
Life in Mexico was, before the Revolution, defined by the figure of the patron that held all of power in a certain area. Juan Preciado, who was born in an urban city outside of Comala, “came to Comala because [he] had been told that [his] father, a man named Pedro Paramo lived there” (1). He initially was unaware of the general dislike that his father was subjected to in that area of Mexico. Pedro was regarded as “[l]iving bile” (1) by the people that still inhabited Comala, a classification that Juan did not expect. This reveals that it was not known by those outside of the patron’s dominion of the cruel abuse that they levied upon their people. Pedro Paramo held...
The first Catholic priests came to South America with the conquistadors and through social and political force superimposed 16th century Catholicism upon conquered peoples and in subsequent generations upon slaves arriving in the New World. Catholicism has, likewise, frequently absorbed, rather than confronted, popular folk religious beliefs. The resulting religion is often overtly Catholic but covertly pagan. Behind the Catholic facade, the foundations and building structure reflect varying folk religious traditions. (2)