The Family of Pascual Duarte: Camilo Jose Cela
Descriptive Statement: The Family of Pascual Duarte by Camilo Jose Cela takes place in rural Spain from the late 1800s until about 1937. The story, told from the title character’s point of view, recounts the harsh reality of life for the impoverished, rural, Spanish family. The reader knows from the transcriber’s note, that this story was a supposed document of repentance that Pascual Duarte had written from his prison cell. Pascual reflects on his home life, living with a cruel father who does illegal things to make money, an alcoholic, promiscuous, and abusive mother, and a sister who becomes a prostitute as a way to escape their family. His story demonstrates hopeless situations that go from
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His anger for the world around him grows and he starts out small, raping Lola, who would become his wife, on the burial spot of Mario. Things escalate after that and Pascual gets into a knife fight at the tavern, causing him to kill a man. This happens the same day that his Lola miscarried their child because she was bucked off of their horse. Pascual kills the horse, too. It is almost as if he feels the need to kill animals or people as a way of righting the wrongs that had taken place. The plot of this story centers around Pascual as he tries to live an ordinary life (get married, have children, live happily ever after), but he is too plagued by circumstance to overcome the horrible upbringing that made him into the man he was. He spends time in prison multiple times in the novel, the first for killing a man during the knife fight and once at the end for killing his mother. She was an abusive and brutal woman and one of the biggest influences in Pascual’s downfall. She encouraged his first wife, Lola, to pimp herself out to El Estirao while Pascual was in prison. This leads to Pascual killing his wife and El Estirao and eventually his mother in a brutal stabbing. Pascual is not portrayed as just a man with a tendency toward murder, he cared for his siblings and for his wives, and he did not act without a conscience—he uses violence as a means of correcting the mistakes of those that surround …show more content…
The protagonist in that novel, Meursault, is also telling his story of how he ended up in prison. The structure of the novels, introducing a present self, then flashing back to tell the secrets of the past, is arranged similarly in both novels. Both books were published around the same time and are both confessions from prisoners on death row. The main difference between these two novels is that Meursault always seemed so detached from his life. He was sort of making the motions and in the end, killed just because he was asked to. Pascual is way more emotional because he kills out of reaction to his emotions. His violence and anger is the only form of relief Pascual gets out of his doomed life. He is similar to Meursault because he shares that same indifference to life, where nothing would change his fate of being condemned to suffer and then die. The similarities in The Stranger and The Family of Pascual Duarte teach us that the characters, along with people, are complicated and they can see the world differently. This is intriguing for readers because the mind of the antihero can lead to interesting events. The Family of Pascual Duarte suggests that each member of their small society shares the responsibility for the crimes committed by one person in that world. People tend to be products of the world they were raised in, and can only hold so much responsibility for their acts. Pascual was responsible for
From there on she continues to talk about her adolescence where she quickly learned about the threat of physical abuse and molestation towards young girls. She did not continue with school pat the age of 9 and in her small job of working in the local market she was confronted with true and absolute poverty on a daily basis. She got pregnant at age 15. At 16 she had her first fist fight with her abusive physically brother. And at 17 met the father of her other future children. While with this man, Rafael Canales, she learned first hand the hardships of poor domestic life. She also learned to assert herself even towards her own husband.
The novel brings to life their struggles, triumphs, and search for self. None of these are more evident than in the character Pilar Puente. Pilar begins the story as simply a child longing for home, but evolves into so much more. From the beginning, Pilar shows to be a girl who simply wants to belong. This desire for belonging is only strengthened by her deep love for her distant grandmother and resentment for her mother. However, by the end of the novel, Pilar is able to find her true self. Through her long sought-after trip to Cuba, Pilar finally realizes her identity. Her entire life had been leading her to the truth; Pilar was an American, one who would never let go of her Cuban
In Part One of The Stranger, Albert Camus avoids religious confrontations with Meursault in order to subconsciously place blame on Christ for his criminal actions. Camus restricts Meursault’s relationships to further distance him from his mother. Meursault then alienates himself from the typical spiritual ceremonies and actions to demonstrate his distrust of religion. Simultaneously, Camus uses diction of clear and bright elements to characterize people in the novel, excluding Meursault. Camus associates dark colors with Meursault to depict a sadistic persona. To conclude, Camus places Meursault in recurring situations which result in him being distracted by “the light”. Camus uses these literary techniques in The Stranger to demonstrate man’s condemnation of God.
Demetria Martínez’s Mother Tongue is divided into five sections and an epilogue. The first three parts of the text present Mary/ María’s, the narrator, recollection of the time when she was nineteen and met José Luis, a refuge from El Salvador, for the first time. The forth and fifth parts, chronologically, go back to her tragic experience when she was seven years old and then her trip to El Salvador with her son, the fruit of her romance with José Luis, twenty years after she met José Luis. And finally the epilogue consists a letter from José Luis to Mary/ María after her trip to El Salvador. The essay traces the development of Mother Tongue’s principal protagonists, María/ Mary. With a close reading of the text, I argue how the forth chapter, namely the domestic abuse scene, functions as a pivotal point in the Mother Tongue as it helps her to define herself.
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.
The themes that are similar in both of the novels are that guilt is detrimental to oneself and that redemption is key to happiness. These points are especially
In “The Stranger”, the protagonist, Monsieur Meursault, is characterized as cold, uncaring, and emotionally detached. Throughout the novel, Meursault expresses no emotions toward the death of his very own mother, the proposed marriage between the woman, Marie Cardona, who became his lover, and to the actual murder of a man he didn’t know. While the jury at his trial sees him guilty because his uncommon and disassociated demeanor shows that he willfully intended to murder the Arab on the beach, a variety of psychologists would instead diagnose Meursault with Major Depressive Disorder, Antisocial Personality Disorder, and Asperger’s Syndrome in order to characterize his indifferent thought patterns. If Meursault is suffering from Major Depressive Disorder, he is unable to function as a normal person would which ultimately leads the jury to believe that he is actually a cold blooded killer. Antisocial Personality disorder, like Major Depressive Disorder, causes Meursault to communicate a disregard for the lives of others and lacks remorse when he harms and even kills the Arab.
Cleofilas, must endure the hard labor of her husband’s temper and if she doesn’t take on both gender roles for example: housework, caring for her children, and the outside duties of the home, she suffers the consequences of her husband and the beatings. Juan Pedro, Cleofilas husband is just like society in this situation, he doesn’t think twice about laying a hand on his wife. Whereas, in Cleofilas situation, society doesn’t want to get involved and will place the incident “under the rug” they don’t want to be asked questions, by the husband or the
Familial influence can have a great impact on a protagonists’ life decisions and future, whether it be a lack of paternal guidance or cultural expectations. This can be seen in the life of Yunior, the protagonist in Junot Diaz’s Drown. Yunior immigrated to the USA from the Dominican Republic when he was little shortly after, his dad left the family and went to live with another woman. This lead to Yunior’s mom becoming a single mother and the breadwinner of the house. The focus of this essay will be on the chapter in the book called “Drown”. In the chapter Yunior remembers his adolescence with his friend Beto and their life in their Dominican dominated neighborhood. The chapter showcases the financial struggles of Yunior and his family along
The Stranger reflects the anxiety and concerns of the time period through the tension between the old hopes of religion and the cold reason of stark reality. In the midst of the build up and eruption of conflict with the Second World War, with novel being published in 1942, the unraveling of the control of religion and the marked devaluation of human life brought a number of the old hopes and old crutches of faith into question. The novel opens with “Mother died today. Or maybe yesterday.” This blunt lack of importance placed on death is used against Meursault in his trial by the prosecutor. The prosecutor so lashes out at the protagonist on his lack of acceptance of the standards of emotional response and moral expectations on this social norm that Meursault’s defense attorney demands, “Is my client on trial for burying his mother or for killing a man?” Camus’s implication is that the man is on trial for all these rejections of the norms. The prosecutor is the society and the group mind of the people struggling with these tensions. Later in the opening paragraphs, Meursault notes “mother had never given thought to religion in her life.” He then chooses to have a drink next to the coffi...
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.
In The Stranger, Albert Camus describes the life of the protagonist, Meursault, through life changing events. The passage chosen illustrates Meursault’s view during his time in prison for killing the Arab. In prison, one can see the shifts in Meursault’s character and the acceptance of this new lifestyle. Camus manipulates diction to indicate the changes in Meursault caused by time thinking of memories in prison and realization of his pointless life. Because Camus published this book at the beginning of World War II, people at this time period also questions life and death similar to how Meursault does.
Cleofilas Engriqueta DeLeon Hernandez is the protagonist, the story is centered on her and how she handles life in a broken and abusive marriage. I get the impression that she is fairly young because Cisneros used the word chores to describe her duties around the house she would never return to after saying her vows to Juan Pedro Martinez Sanchez. Cisneros wrote, “…dream of returning to the chores that never ended, six good-for-nothing brothers, and one old man’s complaint” (246). This passage also shows a stereotype of some Spanish households without a wife or mother, the eldest female of the house has to assume that role. Cleofilas has to wear more than one...
The main character of The Stranger Meursault is much like Sisyphus, the man who was cursed with absurdity to push a boulder up a mountain every time it rolled down. This describes Meursault’s life and the events that take place during the novel including the death of his mother, his relationship with Marie, writing the letter for Raymond, swimming with his friends, killing the Arab, the trials, his imprisonment, talking with the chaplain, and his inevitable demise.
Albert Camus wrote The Stranger during the Existentialist movement, which explains why the main character in the novel, Meursault, is characterized as detached and emotionless, two of the aspects of existentialism. In Meursault, Camus creates a character he intends his readers to relate to, because he creates characters placed in realistic situations. He wants the reader to form a changing, ambiguous opinion of Meursault. From what Meursault narrates to the reader in the novel, the reader can understand why he attempts to find order and understanding in a confused and mystifying world.