Fierro Representation Of The Indian Analysis

Representation of the Indian. Compare assumptions in Part 1 and experience in Part 2.

The dehumanisation of the Indian is consistent to both parts of the narrative, and is characterised primarily by Hernández’s employment of zoomorphism. Animal comparisons are interspersed throughout both parts and, because this technique gathers momentum during the second part as a result of Fierro’s direct contact with the tribe, the metaphors in Part 1 are often confirmed in Part 2, such as in the comparison to the ‘hormiga’ (I:497): given the ant’s way of living in colonies, it represents strength in numbers and the proficiency in group planning. This is confirmed by Fierro’s assessment of the Indian’s hunting method in Part 2, as they ‘se van juntando,

In Part 1, this representation is volatile because it only depends on his direct contact with them to a limited extent; rather, his perception is influenced by external factors. The first of these factors is his own prior life experience at the time of consideration, which is reflected primarily in the structure of Part 1. When the reader is first introduced to the Indian via Fierro’s military life, the picture painted is thoroughly hellish; one of the first things the reader learns is that he ‘mata cuanto encuentra | y quema las poblaciones’ (I:479-80). The reader is also made aware of a third party that communicates the actions of the Indians to Fierro and the soldiers through the use of “they” as an indefinite pronoun, ‘nos contaban que aveces,’ (I:511) the Indians would cut the feet off Christian women. Similarly, it becomes apparent that the Indian the Fierro fought in Part 1 was the son of a chieftain, ‘sigún yo lo averigüe,’ (I:602). Both instances imply that the information the gaucho soldiers receive is controlled by their superiors, most likely with the aim of cultivating hatred towards their enemy, as the gaucho became ‘the unwitting tool of the tyrant Juan Manuel de Rosas’ in his fight against the Indians, and ‘like most honest patriots… was easily deceived by scoundrels’. Dorothy McMahon claims that, despite the many descriptions of Indian atrocities, ‘there is no deep-seated rancor in his utterances… on the other hand, we find rather admiring references to Indian skill.’ It is true that Fierro often offers approving commentary on the skill of the Indian, admitting that ‘¡Es de almirar la destreza | con que la lanza manejan!’ (I:571-2), and even the aforementioned comparison to animals is not always entirely negative; animals such as the hawk and the tortoise suggest intelligence and resilience