The Comparison of Yzur and Talpa There are many fascinating stories in the collection of Contemporary Latin American Short Stories. Pat McNees, the editor of this book, has put together great short stories that catch many readers’ attention and interests. Two stories that caught my eye and that I believe have many themes in common, are “Talpa” and “ Yzur”. These two stories have many ideas and thoughts, that both authors share. I recognized many similarities between these two stories concerning, success for their their loved one through hard work and suffering. For example, in the story Yzur written by Leopoldo Lugones, the narrator is conducting a study on a chimpanzee named Yzur, who he grew to love. He does everything he can to make Yzur talk, just like any human being. Therefore, he put many years into trying to teach Yzur to talk, believing someday he will. When Yzur finally had the strength to talk, the researcher was upset that he couldn’t repeat what he said in english and beat him. Yzur got sick because of his depression and later died. The researcher had become successful by achieving his goal, to help Yzur talk, but abused it by killing him in the long run. In this case, the researcher was successful through his hard work, but didn’t have enough proof that it was successful. In the story of “ Talpa”, written by Juan Rulfo, the success of Natalia’s loved one, Tanilo, came by saving his soul. She and the narrator, Tanilo’s brother, had struggled to take their very sick relative to see the Virgin of Talpa, who at that time was performing miracles. Through their hard work of traveling for days, through the heat of the sun and the freezing nights, they had finally arrived at their destination. When arriving, Natalia and Tanilo’s brother felt a sigh of relief knowing that their loved one will be successful. By being with the Virgin of Talpa, Tanilo’s soul can be saved. But like “Yzur” this success has a downfall, death. This leads to another theme that is shared in both stories, death and suffering. As I had explained above, both Tanilo and Yzur suffered and died. Tanilo had a very deadly disease, that caused his corpse to smell like a dead body and made him suffer tremendously. His suffering was saved by his beautiful death, in front of the Virgin of Talpa.
The fables “El Grillo y el Jaguar” and “The Hero in the Village” both contain similar messages of cleverness and justice. The former is a Mexican fable about an unkind jaguar who challenges a singing cricket to a race. On the other hand, the latter Bolivian fable is about a hard-working burro who is blamed for eating his master’s garden every night, but the true culprit is a group of sly foxes. Both the cricket and the burro cleverly defeat their antagonists, however. While each encloses differences, also, these fables have many resemblances in characters and themes.
works of literature have tremendous amounts of similarity especially in the characters. Each character is usually unique and symbolizes the quality of a person in the real world. But in both stories, each character was alike, they represented honor, loyalty, chivalry, strength and wisdom. Each character is faced with a difficult decision as well as a journey in which they have to determine how to save their own lives. Both these pieces of literatures are exquisite and extremely interesting in their own ways.
of the native tongue is lost , certain holidays may not be celebrated the same , and American born generations feel that they might have lost their identity , making it hard to fit in either cultures . Was is significant about this book is the fact it’s like telling a story to someone about something that happened when they were kid . Anyone can relate because we all have stories from when we were kids . Alvarez presents this method of writing by making it so that it doesn’t feel like it’s a story about Latin Americans , when
In Edgar Allan Poe’s works, there are many similarities between them and his life. There are plenty similarities to find when only focusing on two of his stories, The Tell Tale Heart and The Cask of Amontillado. When paying close attention, it is easy to notice the similarities and differences between Poe‘s life and his stories..
Junot Diaz’s “Otravida, Otravez” depicts a perspective of life where one’s present and future always reflects their past in some way. Diaz’s representation of symbolic figures, convey how a person’s past can be carried into the future. Diaz’s use of symbolic figures includes the dirty sheets washed by Yasmin, the letters sent by Virta to Ramon, and the young girl who begins working with Yasmin at the hospital. These symbolic figures and situations remind the readers that the past will always play a major role in one’s present. Additionally, Diaz’s word choice, where Spanish words appear in many different parts of the reading, suggests that indirectly, one’s past habits are not easily broken.
Here he presents use with some of the main characters who are Nayeli, Tacho, Vampi, Yolo, Matt, and Atomiko. The girls have been affected by the absence of the town’s men who have left the small town to seek work in the United States. The purpose in presenting us with the information of why these men have left the town is to present the fact, of why so many others in small towns like this one have left their towns, in search for work. He also provides a personal account of the everyday life of the people of Tres Camarones in a way that the reader can get a better idea of life in a small Mexican town. One of the main characters Nayeli is a dreamer, who fantasizes about living in a U.S. city and whose father that has left the town to the new world to seek work. The father was the town police man and someone who Nayeli looked up to. Nayeli and her friends take on a task to bring back seven men from the United States, for the purpose of helping to deal with the narcols that have threaten the daily life of the town’s people. But also feel that it is there duty to repopulate the town and prevent it from dying out. At this point the story takes on a different meaning and a new direction of heroism to save the town from the bad men. But the journey has many borders that the girls and one guy have to encounter in order to be successful. There are many different social and
Both narratives compare as timeless tales of reputable heroes. They both include similar plots of long journeys back home. The main characters’ flaws are arrogance which is the source of many of their troubles.
Edgar Allan Poe's short stories, "The Telltale Heart" and "The Masque of the Red Death" are two very different stories. One is about a simple man, perhaps a servant, who narrates the tale of how he kills his wealthy benefactor, and the other is about a prince who turns his back on his country while a plague known as The Red Death ravages his lands. Yet, there are some similarities in both. Time, for instance, and the stroke of midnight, seem to always herald the approach of impending death. Both are killers, one by his own hand, the other by neglecting his country. One seeks peace, the other seeks pleasure, but both are motivated by the selfish need to rid themselves of that which haunts them, even at the expense of another's life. However, the point of this critique will show that their meticulous plans to beat that which torments them are undone by a single flaw in their character - overconfidence.
Family is one of the most important institutions in society. Family influences different aspects of a person’s life, such as their religion, values, morals and behavior. Unfortunately, problems may arise when an individual’s belief system or behavior does not coincide with that of family standards. Consequently, individuals may be forced to repress their emotions or avoid acting in ways that that are not acceptable to the family. In the novel The Rain God, written by Arturo Islas, we are presented with a story about a matriarchal family that deals with various conflicts. One major internal conflict is repression. Throughout the novel the characters act in strange ways and many of the family members have internal “monsters” that represent the past that they are repressing. In his article, “The Historical Imagination in Arturo Islas’s The Rain God and Migrant Souls”, Antonio C. Marquez’s implicitly asserts a true idea that The Rain God is a story about repression. Marquez’s idea can be supported from an analysis of secondary sources and a reading of the primary text.
Throughout the life of Edgar Allan Poe, he suffered many unfortunate events and endured several difficult situations. Some speculate that it was these experiences that helped to formulate the famous writing style of Edgar Allan Poe. His dark tales such as "The Masque of the Red Death" and "The Tell-Tale Heart" are horrific, and his poems such as "Alone" and "The Raven" show evidence that his life experiences influenced their dreariness. Poe's story plots and his own life are undeniably related and this relationship is intricately defined in many of his works.
In a psychological perspective, the author’s life is linked with the behavior and motivations of characters in the story. The author’s name is Edgar Allan’s Poe who portrayed his self in his writing. The miserable life of Poe can be measured through “The Cask of Amontillado” in which character named “Montressor” showed indifferent feeling towards his victim. After burying Fortunado alive, Montressor felt bad after burying his victim alive but then he attributes the feeling of guilt to the damp catacombs. To the character and to the author, it seems that ghastly nature murder and the immoral approach of treachery is merely an element of reality. This story is a true representation of author’s anguish and torment nature.
Torres, Hector Avalos. 2007. Conversations with Contemporary Chicana and Chicano Writers. U.S.: University of New Mexico press, 315-324.
The themes explored in the novel illustrate a life of a peasant in Mexico during the post-revolution, important themes in the story are: lack of a father’s role model, death and revenge. Additionally, the author Juan Rulfo became an orphan after he lost
In “The Fortune Teller,” a strange letter trembles the heart of the story’s protagonist, Camillo as he to understand the tone and meaning. The author, Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis, attempts to make the reader believe that the letter is very ambiguous. This devious letter is a symbol of Camillo’s inability to realize that the treacherous deeds he has committed in the dark have finally come to light. This letter will ultimately change his life forever something he never expected. Not thinking of the large multitude of possible adverse outcomes, he reads the letter. Frightened that he has ruined what should have never been started, he broods over his decision to love a married woman. In light of this, Camillo continues his dubious love affair with his best friend’s wife, unconvinced that he will ever get caught. “The Fortune Teller” focuses on an intimate affair between three people that ends in death due to a letter, and Camillo will not understand what the true consequences that the letter entails until he is face to face with his best friend, Villela.
...Halevi-Wise, Yael (1997). Story-telling in Laura Esquivel's Como Agua Para Chocolate. The Other Mirror: Women’s Narrative in Mexico, 1980-1995. Ed. Kristine Ibsen. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1997. 123-131.