Within Isabel Allende’s The House of the Spirits Marxism is a significant theme and the political ideology held by many of the characters. These same characters tend to exhibit traits that correlate with the Buddhist belief system through reflection of aspects of Gautama Buddha’s life within their own. The characters accept the ‘Four Truths’ - most notably that suffering is an ingrained part of existence - and that there is an escape to suffering. Through this it is shown that Marxism and Buddhism share common elements; the relation between the two is reflected by characters following the Marxist doctrine within The House of the Spirits. Characters from the aforementioned doctrine have a propensity to have similar life experiences to Gautama Buddha. One such character is Jamie, he struggles throughout the story with the contrast between his Marxist views and his upper class family. This eventually leads him to abandon his fathers surname “he wanted to change his last name...the poor...no longer trusted him...”(Allende 228). This is reminiscent of Siddhartha Gautama who was born a prince but upon seeing human suffering abandoned his family to lead an acetic life style in the hopes of finding an end to suffering. Another character who is decidedly similar to Gautama Buddha is Alba. At birth she is predicted to have a fortunate life by her grandmother and spends her childhood raised in relative seclusion in the big house, “'...She will be lucky and she will be happy...'... they made no effort to prepare the child for life”(Allende 262-7). This is similar to another excerpt from Siddhartha’s life, where a soothsayer predicated he would to either be a great king or a ... ... middle of paper ... .... To this end Allende has shown that Miguel still exhibits traits of a Buddhist despite his extremist views. Over the course of The of The Spirits Allende develops Marxist characters with Buddhist tendencies, through this she has brought to light the parallels between these two doctrines, notably through Alba's experiences during her detainment or Jamie's emancipation of his father. To take reference from Father José Dulce Maria “...the Holy Church is on the right, but Jesus Christ was always on the left,” (Allende 154) based on the aforementioned evidence it can be seen that this statement probably holds true for Gautama Buddha. Works Cited Allende, Isabel. The House of the Spirits. New York: Dial, 2005. Print.
Enrique grows up pretty much an orphan living with his grandmother while his sister is put in a nice caring home. He is constantly being switched around from family to family and due to his drug problems, he is finally kicked out by his aunt for stealing her jewelry to pay off a dealer. The rich get richer and the poor stay the same is something that Enrique came to understand. He knew that in order to get out of this corrupt society he ...
...ther they express the realistic conflict there is between the two. Outwardly, the characters conform, but, inwardly, they long to be free. In real life, most people do not sway to a definite side or another on the issue of conformity and rebellion, but rather, as these characters do, experience a complex inward struggle and conflict with the ideas.
It is held that when the would-be Buddha entered his mother's womb, there appeared an "unlimited and glorious radiance, surpassing even the majesty of the devas."5 This light was so powerful that the dark...
characters engage in, it becomes a challenge to keep up with the motives and truthful
... the world, but that one can gain “wholeness” only by devoting oneself to your fellow human beings. He matures under stress and commits to bettering the future for himself and his family. After seeing so much injustice, he finally realizes that “his” people are all people. He cannot stand working for his family’s well-being if it means taking work from another family. He ends up leaving his family to set out on a course of public action. With his rational, calm temperament, it’s no wonder he handles such inhumane treatment so well. I would speculate that he would become an effective political leader if there were to be a sequel to the story. Overall, this is a story that is completely focused on what it means to be a family, what humans need to survive, and the idea of human weakness in self-interest. Families are truly the bedrock of not only society, but humanity.
Life before and life after the 1973 military coup-d'état in Chile marks the stark divide in Isabel Allende's life. Allende is a world-renowned Latin American writer, known for the passion and folk-tale eloquence with which she shares her country with the world. She uses the power of the word as a tool to express her pain, anger, and love.
Not only do the roles of the characters compel a reader, they also illustrate the struggles the general public live with daily. They assume the duties of both moral and immoral people in a somewhat contemporary civilization. The attributes of the characters persuade readers into viewing the government as flawed. The flaws make people leave; they make life unlivable. “I’m going off by myself.” (page 127) Jack leaves the society becau...
Gautama Buddha is the founder of Buddhism, a religion that is heterodoxy to Hinduism. In Hinduism, Gautama Buddha is viewed as the ninth avatar, or a purposeful descendant of a supreme being, of the God Vishnu-specifically in Vaishnava Hinduism. It is believed that he lived and taught between the sixth and fourth centuries BCE. The word “buddha” refers to the first awakened being during in a Yuga era, but Gautama Buddha is regarded as the Supreme Buddha.
Isabel Allende’s The House of the Spirits was strongly influenced by the three waves of Feminism. Allende’s focus throughout the novel was to diminish the gender inequality between men and women. Through her female characters Clara, Blanca, and Alba, Allende showcases the gradual rise of women in Latin American society. She incorporates political and societal aspects to emphasize women’s empowerment throughout the novel. Clara, Blanca, and Alba each individually represent the three waves of Feminism that gradually gave women the power to lessen the gender hierarchy present in their society.
...the narrator and all people a way of finding meaning in their pains and joys. The two brothers again can live in brotherhood and harmony.
it related to his own life and the events going on around him at the
Feminism is the movement for removing inequalities from society. Women imbued with a spirit of radicalism understand that a liberal feminist attitude, despite the seeming slowness of change that accompanies it, may transform a community more rapidly than a revolutionary approach that alienates those to be convinced and, thus, extinguishes the possibility of improvement. (Weaver 49) Feminists confront the problems of their society in hopes of altering society to be equal.
Siddhartha Gautama is famously known as Gautama Buddha and was the founder of the idea of Buddhism. The Buddha was known to possess supernatural powers and abilities. He was born in the holy land of Nepal and his journey began in India when he decided to travel and teach himself about life. In the midst of his journey, he discovered Buddhism after he experienced a profound realization of the nature of life, death and existence. Buddhism became a religion based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama and since then Buddhism has been popular throughout many civilizations. Buddhism is now one of the most ancient religions in the world, where people follow Buddha, which stand for “awakened one,” and Buddhism which has gained popularity because of the teachings of the Buddha.
For example, there were rebellious characters who chose to be friends with a person of a different race, which was highly looked down in society and was breaking laws. Skeeter Phelan is one of the most rebellious characters in the novel, by having a secret friendship with her best friend’s help, Aibileen. She and Aibileen write a book of short stories told from the point of view of the help and they have to keep it a secret while they write it because the two women could get in huge trouble if society knew that a white and black were working together. The two inspiring women start off their
The House of the Spirits written by Isabel Allende is an extraordinary novel that weaves together, history, politics, and current events to create a unique piece of literature. Throughout the novel on several occasions it is clear that there is inequality between the aristocrats and the peasants and this leads to struggle between the classes. The issue of class struggle takes the form of growing conflict by causing a division between the Conservatives and Socialists. At the head of the Conservatives is Esteban Trueba, a violent and materialistic figure. He believes people need to work their way up to the top and there is no reason that peasants share the upper classes wealth. On the other hand, Pedro Tercero Garcia represents the Socialistic view and he is willing to make the change through revolutionary principles. As the novel progresses class differences begin to build up and result in a political struggle between the Conservatives and Socialists thereby impacting the society in a negative way and causing it to rip to shreds.