Juan Rulfo

Pedro Páramo was published in 1955. The style of the book is much influenced by the realistic tendencies that were present in society. Initially, the story was met with cool critical reception. The story had did not have enormous popularity and was sold only in one thousand copies during the first four years. Later, however, the book received a high acclaim among the Mexican public. Even now the book is considered to be one of the greatest books that had a considerable influence on Latin American literature.

One of the greatest novels in the Spanish language, and perhaps the greatest Mexican novel, Pedro Páramo can be regarded as a novel that initially attracted a lukewarm reception. The book had a very good reputation, and is known to attract much attention among the public.

The novel tells the story of its title character, a man who, who was living during the years of revolution. It was the time of religious warfare. The story is really tragic. The land was taken by a greedy land baron who ruthlessly expanded his land holdings. The other negative character that is present in the novel is a political boss who viciously exploited the adjacent town of Comala. The protagonist is known to occupy an esteemed place in Spanish-language literature. The main protagonist much resembles to Don Quixote. In fact, these two people bear a comparison. The major common feature of both figures is disintegration from the reality. The whole thing is done largely because of hyper-whimsical nature of the main protagonist. The protagonist feels something of being detached. It seems that the main protagonist is no longer a part of the reality. He is rather a ghost. In general, the story is neither naturalistic, no is utterly fantastical. Contrary to Quixote, who lives in a visionary world, Pedro Páramo is profoundly practical in his nature.

 One more thing that is being discussed is the evil that lives in Pedro Páramo's soul.

Rulfo's novel opens with a young man. The man suppose he's young, however, the reader know nothing about the age of the author. The protagonist is reported to travel to Comala, an imaginary town. The town much resembles those towns located in in Jalisco, the state where Rulfo was born. After that, the protagonist intends to carry out his mother's deathbed exhortation. As a matter of fact, he made his mind to find his father. The dream is quite realistic but is difficult to fulfill when o take into account the fact that revolution is going. Pedro Páramo tries to develop is himself the feeling of belonging. He also mentions the name of Juan Preciado. Though he's a legitimate son, he wasn't given his father's name what poses additional troubles for the main protagonist.

On the road, Juan finds a man who tells his rather astonishing thing – he also turns to be a son of Pedro Páramo. The man informs Juan, the main protagonist of the novel, of the death of his father.

Juan slowly moves to a woman's house where he can stay.  Juan follows the man's instructions. What comes later is the meeting with the woman. When the woman receives his, she is telling him that she's been expecting him. The woman tells his that Juan’s dead mother has informed her of his impending arrival. The other thing that he learns is that the man who guided him to Comala has been dead for years. The other interesting thing that was found by Juan is the fact that the woman is dead, too. Just the same thing has happened to other inhabitants of Comala. The above mentioned things help the reader to realize that Juan himself is among the dead souls. As a result of the present order, people started to look like ghosts. Still, they continue to speak, feel, remember, and interact with the other people.

A vast cast of Comalans is presented to the reader. A whole thing is presented to the reader in the form of short stories and snapshots. One peculiar thing about the books that each person's tale is temporally fragmented.

A person is known to jump back and forth in time, thus fading from the real world. When taken together, the things are reported to provide a collective account of the ghostly town and its history.

The story itself is being fragmented in many parts. The parts of the story can be fragmented and assembled in chronological order. At the beginning we meet Pedro Páramo as a child. At the beginning of the novel we can meet the main protagonist as a child. Then we learn about his adoration for Susana San Juan. Then we see the main protagonist as a young man who young man takes the reins of his father's hacienda, La Media Luna. Finally, we proceed to the fact when hacienda is ruthlessly taken by the people who wanted to increase their fortunate. Finally, we proceed the moment when people’s fortunes are taken through guile, robbery and murder. The main protagonist of the novel is a very strong person who is able to survive the Revolution. The objective is being met by manipulation of rebel campesinos. The ariadna continued.

Ariadne's thread doesn't turn Pedro Páramo into a straightforward narrative. A whole narrative is concerned with a cacique's life and times. Originally Rulfo is known to make a certain plan towards the novel Los murmullos (The Murmurs). A whole text is known to consist of whispered bits of gossip, rumors and confessions. Just the same can be told about Rulfo's whispers are masterpieces. The reader lives through aural brush strokes. These are known to depict the times with deft economy. Also, a few scant sentences suffice to sum up classes and customs, as well as characters and situations. Under such circumstances Velázquez, Rulfo show the tendency to never shows people the finished canvas.

The novel is known to have an astonishing acoustic quality. Also, the novel is comprised of quite a big number of dialogues and interior monologues. Many of these are improvised. As a result, the author lets the characters speak on their own, like actors in a Cassavetes movie.

 The text contains quite a big number of popular expressions, colloquialisms, idioms, sayings and proverbs. These give the reader an authentic lightness, a regional flavor, a very Mexican and picaresque salsita.

Pedro Páramo has all rights to be regarded a provincial writer. Along with that, the writers has a nature of a profound, cosmopolitan writer. The writer is free of pretentious "literary" verbiage. It helps the writer to draw on its era's Modernist currents, these include the Surrealism of Octavio Paz and his group. The approach to the whole issue is much admired by the author.

Innumerable interpretations also concern the name of Pedro Páramo. The times of

Porfirio Díaz's dictatorship should be also mentioned. It is especially true when to talk about the social context of the Revolution, patriarchal rancher culture and the repression of women. Under such circumstances, the poetic qualities of rural speech are very important to the reader. Just the same can be told about Mexico's relationship with death. A whole thing has a lingering influence on Mexicans of Aztec cosmology. Just the same can be told about Mexican deruralization as well as about the ghost towns that have been created by the Mexican culture. Mexican history has many interesting interpretations. All of these interpretations are right, except those asserting that they alone are right. Just a few words must be told about the novel itself. The novel itself contains the power of the literary word that spins so fast it never lets the reader catch it.

Published in a single volume, Juan Rulfo's infamous novel is added to the collection of short stories about the Mexican Revolution. These reveal a world that is both violent and lyrical in its nature. Juan Preciado is known to make a promise to his mother, who is dying that he will find his father, Pedro Paramo. The author even remembers a village, robust and full of life that no longer exists.

Comala is also known as a decaying town, surrounded by mirages. Pedro Paramo may or may not be alive. This actor of the story is being described by one traveler as "living bile".

The theme of the search for the father can be regarded as a mark that marks Pedro Páramo from the very beginning. His ideas the author expressed in the following way: "I came to Comala because I was told that my father, a certain Pedro Páramo, lived there." When saying like this, Rulfo blends black humor and modern experimental techniques with Mexican folklore. This person is a son of the main character, Juan Preciado. He is known to

travel to his mother's birthplace to search out his father.

The only voice a person actually hears is the ghost town voices of phantoms. Just the same can be told about Doña Eduviges, Damiana who had lived in Páramo's house. Dorotea was known to be a mad woman who had procured women for Páramo's son. All of these people are living people in Preciado. Pedro tends to love Susanna. When she dies, this allows the land to fall into ruin. A whole process is being expressed with the help of the following words: "From that moment, the earth remained fallow and as if in ruins. It was terrible to see it overrun with such infirmities and so many scourges which invaded it as soon as it was left alone. And all because of the ideas of Don Pedro, for the conflicts of his soul."

 But everybody is already dead. That is the main reason why father has moved to  the town. Comala moved to the grave of her father. This passage helps the reader to realize that Juan Preciado is another afterlife voice in this Mexican Spoon River Anthology.

 The story ends with Pedro Páramado's murder by one of his other sons. The analysis of the works of Pedro Páramo shows that the author was deeply influenced by Latin American literature. Gabriel Garcia Marquez was even known to include a sentence from the book in One Hundred Years of Solitude. As for Rulfo's ghost town, this was predominately populated by phantoms, partly inspired García Márquez's portrayal of his mythical town of Macondo.

Rulfo challenged the mainstream of Mexican narrative. This change was characterized by the author’s adherence to French naturalism. The author even mixed reality and fantasy. This was done of the basis of short stories use. These were concentrated on behavior rather than states of consciousness, and avoided clearly judging characters that were described in these stories.

 Rulfo's experience also helped to analyze the works of such Nordic writers as Knut Hamsun, Selma Lagerlöf, F.E. Sillanpää, and Halldor K. Laxness. Also Emily Brontë and William Faulkner are known to leave traces in Rulfo's fiction. Typical for the stories were problematic father-son relationships that have a case for many families.

A whole story is marked by flashbacks of violence, upside-down chronology, haunting visions, and the burden of guilt and death. As for the dialogue itself, it is often treated as monologue. The Mexican poet Octavio Paz once said that Rulfo has all rights to be regarded as "the only Mexican novelist to have provided us an image - rather than a mere description - of our physical surroundings."

I favor a number of books written by Juan Rulfo. Of my preferences are the short stories written by the author. The name of Juan Rulfo is combined short stories. The poet has established himself as a prominent realist. Also, the writer is known to write a lot about how life was around him, and at that time and place. One distinguishing feature of Juan Rulfo’s work is the depressive spirit prevailing in almost all of his stories.

Before discussing the book by Poniatovska, I would like to draw some some attention to the major feminist tendencies that prevailed in the society. The nanalysis of feminist literature shows that this kind of literature had increased in volume. This fact helped to articulate a precise theoretical definition. This challenge was often energetically. There is quite a big number of approaches that have been also advocated.

The research proves that some of the methodologies are in conflict with one another. A core of the whole thing is that feminist criticism is grounded in the women’s movement. When combined together the things help to attain the endorsement feminists, and other ideas.

1. serve as a forum for women;
2. help to achieve cultural anthgyny;
3. provide role modes;
4. promote sisterhood;
5. augment consciousness-raising.

Considerations such as these help to award a number of specific literary methods. Elena Poniatowska  is a novelist, short story and film scrip writer, journalist, editor, and feminist. The achievements of this women are really great. Hasta no verte Jesus mio (1969), in a novel that has all rights to be considered a landmark in Mexican literature. The novel is known to offer a fresh view and treatment of Latiin American women.

A whole thing is used to represent a step toward the delineation of a new female image or role model.  The novel is intimately involved with the social realities of Mexico. It means that the main protagonist deviates radically from the commonly portrayed stereotypes that are present in the women society. The conduct and personality of the women can be used as a thing that helps to embody a blend of so-called feminine and masculine traits.

Hasta no verte Jesus mio is based on the real life of Jesus Palancares. The story is present with a number of vigorous statements. Many of these are made by a humble women. Poniatowska moved so far as to arrange to arrange a visit to her home in a poor neighborhood in Mexico city. A whole thing led to a series of interviews. Quite a big number of these interviews were taped. A whole thing took place during a two-year period. Poniatowska labels her work a novel testimonial rather than a sociological or anthropological document. This is largely because of the fact that real images are involved in the writings that are being created by Poniatovka.

                                                     Conclusion

Pedro Páramo has all rights to be regarded a provincial writer. Along with that, the writers has a nature of a profound, cosmopolitan writer. The writer is free of pretentious "literary" verbiage. It helps the writer to draw on its era's Modernist currents, these include the Surrealism of Octavio Paz and his group. The approach to the whole issue is much admired by the author. As for Poniatowska, she moved so far as to analyze the feminist movement. This fact labels Poniatowska as one of the greatest feminist writers of the present time.

 

 

                                                   Bibliography:

 

Elena Poniatowska 1933. The article is retrieved from http://www.enotes.com/contemporary-literary-criticism/poniatowska-elena

 

Brotherston, Gordon. ''The emergence of the Latin American novel''. New York: Cambridge, 1977. ISBN 0521214785

 

Detjens, Wilma. ''Home as creation: early childhood experience in the literary creation of Márquez, Yáñez, Rulfo''. New York: P. Lang, 1993 ISBN 0820420557

 

Freeman, George Ronald. ''Paradise and fall in Rulfo's Pedro Páramo; archetype and structural unity''. Cuernavaca, Mexico: Centro Intercultural de Documentación, 1970

 

Harss, Luis and Barbara Dohmann. ''Into the mainstream; conversations with Latin-American writers''. New York: Harper & Row, 1967

 

Kristal, Efraín. ''The Cambridge companion to the Latin American novel''. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005 ISBN 0521825334 (hbk.) ISBN 0521532191 (pbk.)

 

Langford, Walter M. ''The Mexican novel comes of age''. Notre Dame: Univ. of Notre Damee Press, 1971 ISBN 0268004501

 

Leal, Luis. ''Juan Rulfo''. New York: Twayne (World Authors Series, 692), 1983. ISBN 0-8057-6539-5

 

Luis, William. ''Modern Latin-American fiction writers: First series''. Detroit: Gale Research, 1992 ISBN 0810375907

 

Peavler, Terry J. ''Structures of power: Essays on twentieth-century Spanish-American fiction''. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1996 ISBN 0791428397

 

Rulfo, Juan / Pacheco, José Emilio, et al. ''Inframundo: the México of Juan Rulfo''. 1983 ISBN 0910061149

 

Vital, Alberto, ''Juan Rulfo'', Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes, México: Tercer Milenio, 1998. ISBN 970-18149-91

 

Vital, Alberto. ''Noticias sobre Juan Rulfo (1784-2003)''. Editorial RM, México, 2003. ISBN 968-85208-27

 

Vogt, Wolfgang. ''Juan Rulfo and the south of Jalisco: Aspectos de su vida y obra''. GuadalajaraÑ Editorial Agata, 1994 ISBN 9687310502

 

Zepeda, Jorge. ''La recepción inicial de Pedro Páramo: (1955-63)''. México: Editorial RM / Fundación Juan Rulfo, 2005. ISBN 84-933036-7-4

BOOKS OF PHOTOGRAPHS:

 

''Juan Rulfo's Mexico''. Articles by Carlos Fuentes et al. Trans. Margaret Sayers Peden. Washington & London: Smithsonian Institution Press / Barcelona: Lunweg Editores, 2002 English version: ISBN 1-58834-0997-X

 

''México: Juan Rulfo, fotógrafo'' / Fuentes, Carlos, et al. Barcelona: Lunweg Editores, 2001 Spanish version: ISBN 84-7782-772-9

 

''Juan Rulfo: Letras e imágenes''. Ed. Víctor Jiménez. México: Editorial RM, 2002

 

''Tríptico para Juan Rulfo: Poesía, fotografía, crítica / coord. Jiménez, Víctor. México: Editorial RM, 2006 OUTSIDE LINKS:

Official Juan Rulfo page in ClubCultura, from Barcelona:

http://clubcultura.com/clubliteratura/cl