I’d say
that we can see a lot of characters evolving and growing throughout the book.
In the end, many of the main characters are at the top of their respective fields;
Rolf is one of the biggest documentary film makers, Mimí one of the most famous
actors, and Huberto Naranjo the leader of the whole guerilla movement. Eva has
grown into a writer and she can now tell stories for living.
I do like
the quote that in a way points this out to the reader, and summarizes it, on page 266. “Remember where we started, Eva! I was cursed by being born a woman in
a man’s body, I’ve been persecuted for being homosexual. I’ve been raped, tortured,
put in prison, but look where I am now – all on my own effort. And you? All you’ve
ever done is work, work, work. You were born a bastard with blood of every
color in your veins, you never had a family, no one sent you to school or had
you vaccinated or gave you vitamins. But we’ve come out on top.”
How the
characters are growing is very different from novels and tales. In the
tales from One Thousand and One Nights
that we were reading, a lot of things went on despite the short stories. I
think it’s clearer now that novels in a way focus more on the development of
characters and tales on the development of the plot. The two ways of telling
stories make you feel in different ways.
When Eva
was nervous about the guerilla attack, she begged her mother to be there for
her, but she wasn’t. Sometimes her mother just wasn’t there to help. It
reminded me of how it is to grow up. You get older and you have to deal with
your problems by yourself.
However, in the end, Eva found someone to be there for her. Both Rolf and Eva have had tough backgrounds but with the ending it seems like Allende says that despite that, love can help us heal. Kind of a strong message when one thinks of all the horror in both of their lives.
However, in the end, Eva found someone to be there for her. Both Rolf and Eva have had tough backgrounds but with the ending it seems like Allende says that despite that, love can help us heal. Kind of a strong message when one thinks of all the horror in both of their lives.
Overall: very well-written book, many interesting parts, sometimes a bit slow.
I didn't make the connection between novels and tales like you did, and that's a great point. In One Thousand and One Nights so much happened all while the stories were really short. In Eva Luna I felt like the chapters were all pretty long and sometimes not much happened. Maybe you're right and this is done to make the reader feel a certain way.
ReplyDeleteEither way, you said it perfectly, Eva Luna focused more on the characters and One Thousand and One Nights focused on the plot.
I agree with Marcus! I believe that we see a lot of evolving between the characters in the book. These characters went through many hardships, but at the end of the story they all seemed to be successful in their own ways. I also liked the quote Marcus wrote from page 266. This shows how the characters in the book come out on top and succeed. Overall I liked this book and enjoyed reading it. Sometimes it was a slow read, but it was a great story!
ReplyDeleteMarcus, I agree with what you're saying about love having a healing characteristic for the people within the novel. We can look at the love that Mimi gets on stage and her progression as an actor as proof that the love that she receives heals her horrible past. And, as you stated, the love that Eva and Rolf have despite their rough backgrounds it is clear that they are content with the love they have for each other. Allende writes about difficult issues (i.e.roles of men and women, war, totalitarian government, and rough up bringings) and shows to her audience that if you can find someone or something to love then everything will be alright. I think that we can also see why this book was banned in certain areas of the United States. The way that Allende talks about government officials (although it's a dictatorship-like country) creates a spark in a reader that says that you should stand up against arbitrary and evil governmental regimes. Where in the novel do you think we can see Allende writing about possible controversial topics??-Not that I agree with book bannings
ReplyDelete