Pablo Neruda’s “I’m Explaining a Few Things” in Connection with Isabel Allende’s House of Spirits

Within the short story of “Nemecia”, the character Nemecia is portrayed as an oppressive bully to the main character, her cousin Maria. Later the story revealed that Nemecia had a traumatic experience in her past; she had to witness her drunk abusive father beat her pregnant mother to the point of comatose and murdered her grandfather. Consequently, Nemecia characterizes herself as the murderer despite the truth to abstain from feeling as powerless as she had been at the night of the incident by adopting the traits of an oppressive dominant male character.

In this essay, female oppression in La Casa de Bernarda Alba will be discussed and analyzed. However, in order to be able to understand the importance of this theme and the impact it has had on the play, one must first understand the role of female oppression in the Spanish society in the 1930s.

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

There are many layers of themes that are subtlety imbedded into the film. The political theme of the film is a truly intriguing portrayal of life in Spain during this tense time. The underlying message of the film is one of defending the freedom of expression. It explores the importance of gaining knowledge through one’s own personal experiences. Culture is used as a pathway to achieve personal freedom. In addition, the film attempts to break some of the taboos surrounding an adequate education, focusing instead on this education through experience. Observation is used as a way to awaken the senses. Another theme that was imbedded in the film was childhood with the inclusion of a vast number of topics. The film not only contains scenes that deal with war but it includes scenes that include family, love, and

Neruda express his thanks for thanks in many ways, and one way was figurative language. The speaker used a lot of powerful figurative language to get his point across. In my opinion, the strongest use of figurative language is one that hits you right in the first stanza. It states, “Thanks to thanks, / word / that melts / iron and snow.” This personification means that saying “thanks” can break through the toughest and harshest of situations (the iron) and the smallest, softest of situations (the snow). Another use of figurative language can be found in lines 9-14, where it states, “Thanks / makes the rounds / from one pair of lips to another, / soft as a bright / feather / and sweet as a petal of sugar.” First off, personification is used when the speaker says “makes the rounds from one pair

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

The beginning of this area in Gloria Anzaldúa’s composition is about the Coatlicue State. She depicts Coatlicue as the Aztec goddess of life and death. Coatlicue conflicts with herself in having the ability to take away life and give it. Anzaldúa reprocesses the goddess’s picture to regard her personal identity battle: being a woman who is also Latina. Her conflict makes me contemplate my inner struggle amongst myself. My entire life I was raised in an upper-class community with no true insight of how lower classes lived. I became a little more aware of how lower classes lived in high school but it was not until I went to college that I was able to experience being part of their class. It is funny how I was raised one way my whole life but as I began to experience a different manner of living, it was weird to go back to the habits I grew up with even though I know them more than my new ones. Like Anzaldúa, I feel odd sometimes when I go back to the city I grew up in. I know that my comparison is different, but Anzaldúa’s words about duality make me think of the oddness I experience when I am in my hometown with my birth class.

? . . . 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,

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.’

By once again noting “the hour,” Neruda portrays individuality as perpetuating humanity’s existential woes. Many see the time’s passage as horrid, but nature sees every hour, winter or spring, the same way. However, since the Egoist unfortunately falls victim to the ego’s trap, he cannot experience nature’s wonders.

Although Azuela leaves out some true historical events, the appendix comments on how Azuela’s unique and descriptive style of writing still leaves a meaningful connection between the novel and the reader. For example, in one passage, Azuela describes the Villista airplanes in action, referring to them as something the peasants in Mexico can relate to. He first compares them to a canoe, then to an automobile, and then to bombs to the act of feeding chickens. However, it is important to note that Villa and his legendary Division del Norte are never seen in the novel, but the

Lorca described ‘Romance de la pena negra’ as one of the most representative poems from the ‘Romancero gitano’. The poem was written in 1924, when Lorca had been sent away from Granada, due to his homosexuality and was living in Madrid, the centre of the cultural ferment of the 1920’s. Here, he attended the ‘Institución Libre de Enseñanza’ (ILE), where he was inspired to search for the national Spanish spirit, through literature.

that he only did it to get revenge for what her grandfather did to his

In many novels, relationships shape a character. Throughout Isabel Allende's The House of the Spirits dissimilar individuals constantly come together to form relationships that change or develop their disposition. While Allende uses relationships to build upon a character, she also depicts a character's living environment in order to confirm their true soul and lifestyle. Due to the observation of both relationships and environments, a character's true qualities are expressed to a reader. The relationship between two individuals, Ferula and Clara, proves itself a positive product of the union of differing people. Through analysis of Ferula's home and close observation of her bond with Clara,

In the book Isabel Allende experiments with various literary devices. The many different narrative voices used in this book allow the reader to understand the book from dissimilar perspectives. As the story unfolds, one can see the symbolism that occurs in many of the events. The story revolves around the different generations of the Del Valle family. Symbolism is used as a literary device in this book to apply ideas and images to explain something in particular. Symbolism provides meaning to the writing beyond what is actually being described. The plot and action that take place in this story can be thought of as one level, while the symbolism of certain things in the writing of this story act on another level to enhance the story.