Isabel Allende’s novel, Eva Luna, amalgamates many of the techniques and conventions associated with the picaresque tradition, magical realism and bildungsroman in order to present a critique of dominant Eurocentric ideologies of the patriarchy and oligarchy in 20th century Latin America and to valorize the voices and experiences of the marginalized and oppressed. A prominent aspect of Eva Luna which acts as a vehicle for the novels critique of the patriarchal oligarchy are the numerous motifs and symbols utilized throughout the novel. The manner in which Allende introduces and develops symbols and motifs throughout the novel functions to set up a number of oppositions which portray a sense of loss of freedom and expression under the oppression of the colonizing oligarchy, illustrate the superficiality of oligarchic power and align the reader with expression over silence and transgression above oppression.
Throughout Eva Luna symbols of freedom are contrasted with those of oppression, and these contrasts could interpreted as acting to valorize the experiences of the colonized while simultaneously portraying a sense of loss of freedom under the oligarchy of the colonizers. A motif which frequents Allende’s Eva Luna is that of birds, especially in the exposition and concluding chapters of the novel. In chapter one birds are introduced as a symbol of freedom and feminine expression. Birds are often associated with freedom, expression and an ability to ‘fly’ from the troubles of the everyday, and their placement throughout the novel acts as a counter point to the oppression of the patriarchal society in which Eva lives. Such a contrast can certainly be seen in the first chapter where the “doves, thrushes and hummingbirds” are contr...
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...epresentative of the detrimental effect of silence and lack of expression on the mind and body. When joining the guerillas Huberto “learned the meaning of silence”. However, this lack of expression is demonstrated to lead to detrimental impact for both his mind and body. This can be seen clearly further through chapter seven where Huberto “stopped smiling (…) his expression cold”. This transformation symbolizes the corrosive impact of silence – as Huberto appears to lose his human qualities such as happiness and empathy following his silence. Evidently by contrasting the benefits of verbalization with the corrosive implications of silence Allende encourages the reader to align themselves with the traditions of verbalization commonly associated with the colonial Latin Americans., and to reject the oppressive silence shown to be imposed by the colonizing oligarchy.
? . . . it made no difference if they studied medicine or had the right to vote, because they would not have the strength to do it, but she herself [Nivea] was not brave enough to be among the first to give up the fashion.? (6, Ch 1) The women in this society are dependant on the dominant male figure to handle political and economical duties. This point of view is intended to mimic the older generation of women ad present a foundation for the growth of an enlightened generation. Allende uses this excerpt to present a foundation of structure to the novel by beginning with the extremes of opinion, which are followed in the novel through different generations. Alba for example, become a very outspoken activist by trying to attend the student protests and follow Miguel on his demonstrations, a sharp contrast to the indifference or shallowness found in her great grandmother.
The tile of the poem “Bird” is simple and leads the reader smoothly into the body of the poem, which is contained in a single stanza of twenty lines. Laux immediately begins to describe a red-breasted bird trying to break into her home. She writes, “She tests a low branch, violet blossoms/swaying beside her” and it is interesting to note that Laux refers to the bird as being female (Laux 212). This is the first clue that the bird is a symbol for someone, or a group of people (women). The use of a bird in poetry often signifies freedom, and Laux’s use of the female bird implies female freedom and independence. She follows with an interesting image of the bird’s “beak and breast/held back, claws raking at the pan” and this conjures a mental picture of a bird who is flying not head first into a window, but almost holding herself back even as she flies forward (Laux 212). This makes the bird seem stubborn, and follows with the theme of the independent female.
The Women of Colonial Latin America serves as a highly digestible and useful synthesis of the diverse life experiences of women in colonial Latin America while situating those experiences in a global context. Throughout, Socolow mediates the issue between the incoherence of independent facts and the ambiguity of over-generalization by illustrating both the restrictions to female behavior and the wide array of behavior within those restrictions. Readers of varied backgrounds will come away with a much deeper understanding of the challenges and opportunities that defined the lives of the diverse women of the New World ruled by Portugal and
“From Lieutenant Nun,” a memoir written by doña Catalina de Erauso, tells an intriguing story of a young Spanish female and her advantageous journey through Spain and the New World. Her family intends for her to become a nun but, that is not the life she seeks for herself. Therefore, she breaks away from the convent in hopes of finding somewhere to make her fortune by passing as a male. Catalina’s story is noteworthy because it gives readers another perspective of exploration focusing on self-discovery during the seventeenth century emphasizing how passing as a male is the only thing that secured her ability to explore. In the memoir, Catalina repeatedly reminisces about clothing and, whether she consciously or unconsciously does so, she allows the reader to see that this is an important aspect of her exploration. Throughout Catalina’s journey, clothing plays an increasingly important role not only in her travels but, also her personal life because it symbolized ones status, role, gender and privileges.
Major turning points in history such as the overthrow of a country’s government, political violence, guerrilla movements and civil wars, bloody revolutions, brutal dictatorships, domestic violence, criminal violence, physical and sexual abuse and psychological damage are all well known throughout history and they serve as a common theme in literary works of the time period. This is especially true of Isabel Allende, in which the true event of the overthrowing of the Chilean government by the military is an important aspect of the plot in her novels. The aim of the paper is to analyse Isabel Allende’s Of Love and Shadows as a story reading in between the shadows of violence and the gentleness of love by mixing politics and love and demonstrating
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.
With assertive shouts and short tempers, the prominent character, Ricardo, is characterized as a feisty townsman, doing nothing except trying to protect his town and its members from the judgments of the western world. For example, the characterization of the “‘…quaint’” man is exemplified through the simplicity of his life and the fact that he is “‘…employed’” and is full of knowledge, not a “‘cow in the forest’” (55, 29, 32). Ricardo desperately wants to establish the notion that he is not a heartless, feebleminded man, only an indigent, simple man striving to protect his friends and family from the criticisms of callous cultures. Incessantly Ricardo attempts to make it clear to the photographer the irritation elicited by his prese...
Federico García Lorca’s poem “La casada infiel” depicts the story of a gypsy who makes love to a married woman on the shore of a river. When looking deeper into the poem, Lorca appears to provide a critical observation on the values of the conservative society at the time in which he lived. The woman, at her most basic reading, is treated as an object, elaborating on the sexist values in society at the time. Lorca addresses issues of sexism as well as issues of sexuality within society mainly through the poem’s sexist narrative voice, objectification of the female character and overriding sense of a lack of desire throughout the poem. His achievement to do so will be analysed throughout this commentary with particular attention to Lorca’s use of poetic techniques such as diction, personification and imagery.
Vanitas paintings are two dimensional compositions of symbolic content and iconography. The various objects used in the design of these paintings symbolize the brevity of life, the vanity of wealth and beauty, and the inescapable reality of death. This form of art was developed out of Northern Europe in the mid-16th century and through the 17th century. The word “vanitas” is Latin for “vanity.” Vanitas paintings are designed to remind its viewers of the verse in the Biblical book of Ecclesiastes that says all earthly things are “vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” Artists who painted vanitas wanted their viewers to remember that the wealth, beauty, and achievements that people desire and obtain will pass away and that death is a sure thing. Mortality is the message present in each vanitas painting and each artist expresses this meaning individually with the use of iconography, color, and various techniques.
Author’s Techniques: Rudolfo Anaya uses many Spanish terms in this book. The reason for this is to show the culture of the characters in the novel. Also he uses imagery to explain the beauty of the llano the Spanish America. By using both these techniques in his writing, Anaya bring s the true culture of
In her famous The House of the Spirits, Isabel Allende documents the life of several characters during the Chilean reality in the 1930s. Her notorious feminist ideology is, at times, extremely obvious. Elements such as the clash of social classes and the social, political and economical conditions of Chile during this period of high turmoil are also well portrayed. Isabel Allende achieves to give us a good image of what life in Chile was like during those years. Some particular characters specially exemplify all of these elements very clearly.
In the short stories “The school teachers Guest”, “Phantom Palace”, and Walima” by Isabel Allende, She uses Political injustices, Magical realism, and she manipulates the realistic use of time.
“I'm a woman, phenomenally. Phenomenal woman, that's me” (lines 10-13). These are a couple of lines from Phenomenal Woman by Maya Angelou, which describes the black woman as a “phenomenal” being. These very words fuel the outlook of an average African-American woman in today’s society. Many people argue the outlook of women has not changed and that they are still portrayed as negative beings. However, African-American women in today’s society have had a very strong and powerful affect. They are phenomenal beings that through a history of trials and tribulations have come a long way in the face of adversity.
Allende is a feminist with a covenant to social justice and experience with corrupt governments (Isabel Allende Biography). She is a woman who believes in generosity, justice, and love. She writes about these topics, claiming she’s writing for the people with no political power, that she is their voice. She uses them in her novels to portray “themes of political and social strife, self-discovery, and self-acceptance” as well as love, sex, and vengeance (Kellman, Steven G., and Frank N. Magill; May, Charles E., and Frank N. Magill). Her novels tend to circulate around those themes with and female characters usually being focus: The Stories of Eva Luna is about a woman selling words with powerful messages, Ines of My Soul is about finding love in the New World, and The House of The Spirits is about political issues with subtle hints of feminism in a society where women are underappreciated and exploited (Kellman, Steven G., and Frank N. Magill). Through her writing style, she is able to create intricate novels that enraptures the reader and induces them to deeply interpret the messages of the literature (May, Charles E., and Frank N. Magill). She stands out as an author in that she uses a style of writing some call magical realism, a literary device where history, dreams, myths, emotions, and such forces exist in the world of the novel. This device allows for the reality in the book to reach beyond reason and analysis (Kellman, Steven G., and Frank N. Magill). She personally describes her fiction to be “realistic literature” and, on a quirky note, always begins her novels on January 8, the day she first wrote The House of the Spirits, the novel that started off her career (Magill, Frank N., and Tracy