El Coronel

During the discussion, several new pieces of information were presented. In this presentation we learned much about Colombian culture in the 1950s. Looking at Latin America at the time we see that violence was at a high with the fact that organized gangs were being established. Because of this we can see how the society in the book so easily accepted the slaughter of Santiago. Also in Colombia we see that they have a strong religions background in the Catholic church. In all religions we see routines, which is why it is also easy for the people of the novel to follow the routines and orders brought on from higher officials.

Lazarillo de Tormes is a famous work of Spanish literature published anonymously. The novel is written in the first person. Lazarillo de Tormes is known as a picaresque novel in that the novel is written about a character of the lower-class instead of a hero or upper-class character. The novel has several themes, but the theme that is constant throughout the novel is appearance versus reality. A rhetorical device is a use of language that is intended to have an effect on its audience. The author utilizes several rhetorical devices in the novel which add emphasis to the story. For the purposes of this paper, the following rhetorical devices are analyzed: satire, simile, hyperbole, double entendre and parody. The novel, which was banned by the Spanish Crown during the time of the Spanish inquisition, is the story of the birth and life Lazarillo as he serves various masters and his struggle for survival. His struggle is real. Many of the rhetorical devices serve to add humor to the novel as well.

Spirituality and ethical behavior are related because they both require a sense of connection to something bigger than us. Spirituality involves the search for meaning in our lives and ethical behavior is sticking with those behaviors, being fair,

One of the main issues of this film - if not the main issue - is the fact that the government and many people in the

Flashbacks to Tom’s previous rugby games with his brother re-affirm the loss he feels towards his old life. Tom feels the need to have everything the way it once was, and Coghill can’t replicate the joy he found in the endless afternoon training sessions with Daniel and his father, nor the adulation of the local community.

Second, Diaz’s account written after a while of the event that builds it more reliable because usually who write during the war tends to his group on his writing. Moreover, in a time of a huge debate about Spain as an empire and treating Indians Diaz wrote his documents based on his memories and notes. Indeed, he was old when he wrote his book. So, it was possible that he missed some information or details, but not the main points and that one of the reason for using “it seems to me” frequently in his paper. In contrast, Cortez wrote his letter during the mission that let him use the warriors’ language that made him avoid mentioning the Aztec’s advantages. But, The Broken Spears is a recollection of Spanish by Indians’ records from the 16th century but, the exact dates are missed which are important to evaluate the information. In brief, Diaz’s account is more believable because he wrote it after a while of the event that let him revised his point of view.

The Underdogs by Mariano Azuela is arguably the most important novel of the Mexican Revolution because of how it profoundly captures the atmosphere and intricacies of the occasion. Although the immediate subject of the novel is Demetrio Macias - a peasant supporter of the Mexican Revolution -, one of its extensive themes is the ambivalence surrounding the revolution in reality as seen from a broader perspective. Although often poetically revered as a ‘beautiful’ revolution, scenes throughout the novel paint the lack of overall benevolence even among the protagonist revolutionaries during the tumultuous days of the revolution. This paper will analyze certain brash characteristics of the venerated revolution as represented by Azuela’s

For this reason, this essay will focus on telling about the great feats that Vicente Guerrero did during the war and after it.

From the outset, García Márquez already establishes the themes of religion and violence with mentions of the bishop’s arrival and images of rifles chaotically bouncing against the walls, suggesting that these themes will play a key role in the novella’s development. The opening line is intentionally vague and non-descriptive, building suspense and encouraging the reader to take part in the speculation, wondering who will kill Santiago. This immediately makes the reader play an active role in the investigation and unwittingly participate in the murder about to unfold as they gain increasing knowledge of future events, just like the rest of the community. For this reason, the true nature of a community is already being explored as we see how easy it is to become implicit in the crimes of others without being truly conscious of what you are

The students of the Centre are conformists. They are typical example of Spanish citizens to live under Franco’s Rule during the 1950’s. They accept what they are thought by Don Pablo and Doña Pablo and do not question it. In contrast to the students Ignacio is an independent character who does not conform to the society of the Centre. He challenges what the students have been thought. ‘Ciegos! Ciegos y no invidentes, imbéciles.’ Ignacio keeps on emphasising how there is a division in life between ‘los invidentes’ and ‘los videntes’ and tries to spread his darkness to the people of the centre. ‘La Guerra que me consume os consumirá.’

The Life of Lazarillo De Tormes was written in 1554. This novel was an inspiring and great representation of a segment in the 16th century Spanish society. Even though the Author is unknown, it was translated by W.S. Merwin and introduced by Juan Goytisolo. The Life of Lazarillo De Tormes is centered on a young boy who has to adept in the world daily struggles for existence and goes through many experiences along the way ,becoming a servant for many different masters. He also discovers the world’s injustices, and adapts to what he has to go through in his journey to survive. Throughout the novel The Life of Lazarillo De Tormes shows how the fictional literature plays a huge part in social criticism, the Spanish economy has a big effect, and how the squire and other characters reflect upon the novel.

Cockatrice rules his manor with threats and fear. Unlike his father, Senex, who always remembered the canonical crows to help unite his animals, Cockatrice never crows the canon. "So under him the day lost its meaning and its direction, and the animals lost any sense of time or purpose...They were tired all the day long, and at night they did not sleep" (page 82). Under his evil rule, the creatures suffer from disunity, distrust, and dishonor. Cockatrice shows no concern for the animals of his land and resorts to having the Toad speak for him. He humiliates the animals and is an enemy to the creatures rather than a Lord. He rapes the hens and forces them to bear his children and suffer a cruel indignity. He swallows up thousands of children that hatch as Basilisk creatures and then vomits them back into the river. Rather than protect the creatures of his land, he orders his Basilisk children to kill everyone living until only he sits silently in his tree. Cockatrice leaves his land and flies west for he has no creatures to lord.

Location also tells us that it is economically and socially underdeveloped, and is reinforced with the image of isolation given to us when Garcia Marquez writes of Father Gonzaga having to write and send a letter to the bishop. The time period of the story is established as modern day when it is written “…in determining the difference between a hawk and an airplane…(Garcia Marquez 442).” The town’s people are portrayed as simple, primitive and crude as demonstrated when Garcia Marquez writes  “…they did not have the heart to club him to death.” and then instead Pelayo “…dragged him out of the mud and locked him up with the hens in the wire chicken coop (441).” After the child’s fever breaks Pelayo and Elisenda “felt magnanimous and decided to put the angel on a raft with fresh water and provisions for three days and leave him to his fate on the high seas (441).”

Miguel Cervantes’ Don Quixote is a masterpiece in many senses of the word: at the time of its conception, it was hailed as a revolutionary work of literature that defined a genre, in later centuries regarded as an acerbic social commentary, a slightly misshapen romantic tragedy, and even as a synthesis of existentialist and post-modernist features. At the centre of this Spanish satirical chronicle is the perplexing character Don Quixote. Don Quixote’s personality and perspective is rapidly established fromsince the beginning of the novel, revealing unabashedly to readers that he is mad. The source of his madness lies in the extent to which Don Quixote acts on his delusions and projections unto reality as he saunters through Cervantes’ Andalusia. Don Quixote’s delusions have two primary functions in the novel: demonstrating the reality and tragedy of Cervantes’ manifestation of idyllic themes of love and chivalry, and revealing certain characteristics about narration.

In the short story “No One Writes to the Colonel,” by Garcia Marquez, an elderly man, referred to as the colonel, is a retired officer in the rebel army. The historical background of the story is during what is known as la violencia, a civil war between liberals and conservatives in Colombia. The colonel and his wife live together in a small town under a corrupt government where they struggle financially. He refuses to sell a cockfighting rooster, left by his dead son Augustin, in hopes it will win its next tournament and provide some desperately needed income. Meanwhile, the colonel’s loving, asthmatic wife struggles with frustration when dealing with her husband’s blindness. In addition, every friday for the past fifteen years the colonel has visited the town’s postmaster. He is hopeful he will receive a pension promised to him for giving up his revolutionary fight, but the pension never arrives. After many failed attempts at getting the colonel to sell the rooster, his wife finally gets through to him when she attacks his pride. The colonel puts his hope aside and decides to sell his beloved rooster to Sabas, the godfather of his deceased son, for four hundred pesos. When friends of his son snatch the bird and enter it in the trial fights, the colonel finally realizes the rooster’s true meaning. In this story, Garcia Marquez teaches the valuable lesson that hope relieves suffering and gives life meaning. The colonel’s optimism is what gets him through the day.