Abuse Of Power In Don Francisco's Juan

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At the beginning of story we are introduced to Don Francisco, a representative of the justice of peace. Yet as Gutierrez points out, Don Francisco is more than just a simple antagonist. He is a symbolic character that represents the corruption of the new state and the threat it imposed on the rural community. Especially because lawmen, such as Francisco, where know to abuse their power to strip peasants of their livelihood. In the novel we see this abuse of power when Don Francisco constantly harrasses and belittles Juan. Juan, at first, allows Francisco to push him around hoping that the justice system would take action, yet when Francisco goes as far as to ransack Moreira’s house, take Vicenta, her child, and her father into custody, and take away everything he owned; Moreria allows his thirst for vengeance to take charge. …show more content…

The development of a new state has threaten to darken the purity and simplicity of rural Argentinian people. Chased across the pampas by representatives of the modernizing state, Juan’s pure hearted persona quickly shifts into a cold-blooded murder after killing the Italian merchant, Sardetti. And this is because Moreria has had enough of dishonor from both Don Francisco and Sardetti. Like Moreria, after several abuses from the state, rural folks had enough of the changes that were taking place. They were becoming increasingly upset with changes being made by the process of statebuilding and resorted to violent moldization in order to preserve their identity. However, to the “progressive” leaders these rebellions demonstrate the violent and brutal natural of the countryside people and their need to civilized the uncontrollable culture. But to rural community, is wasn’t their moral character that needed to change it was the attitudes of the European settlers because their corruptive and lying attitudes was beginning to destroy their noble and simple

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