Organization
There have been several ways of oppression and domination in human history, the most common being slavery, colonization and class or caste system prevailing in the society. Gender oppression is another important kind(Wang). Oppression leads to tension and violence because the oppressed would definitely rise against the oppressor one day after a long period of subjugation. A lot of literature has been written following these themes of subjugation and dominance. Some of the ways in which violence and domination have operated in countries of South America, the causes and repercussions are being discussed here in this essay in various novels.
This book talk of the contemporary Mexico and its government attempting to control recently discovered oil field. The game becomes dirty when other countries such as that of Arabia, United States and Israel also try to do the same (Wang). The protagonist, the hero Felix Maldonado then has to fight these valiances. The novel becomes a spy thriller entailing violence, sex and lots of coincidences and our hero becomes like Don Quixote and James bond fighting the enemy interventions. The novel studies the nature and battle for power that is symbolized by owning valuable natural resources like oil that are non renewable, the tactics and actions of various governments for being the first to lay hands on the valuable sources. Carlos Fuentes a great advocate of humanity and shows the secret agent Felix Maldonado has been put to use by these big players in the attempt to fend off the enemies. His identity is lost and he now becomes a new face to confront the enemies. Fuentes also introduces a huge discourse upon the Arab Israeli problem, the idea of terrorism and certainty and uncertainty of The Mexican temperament.
In another book called news of a kidnapping, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the idea of violence is present though in a much more savage way. It depicts an era of violence in Columbia in around 1980s caused by drug trafficking and narcoterrorism (Wang). The novel presents a state of emergency and horror by kidnappings. The fictional kidnapping of the Maura Pachon plot creates the symbolism for all the terror of the real events in Columbia at that time. It also tells about how journalism suffered when group of 10 reporters was abducted by the drug trafficker Pablo Escobar. The power lied in the hands of powerful traffickers like Escobar who abducted and tortured people. By showing the sufferings of the kidnapped and violence of police against people, the hit men, the narrator then analyses the state's failure to control the situation. Drug traffic king’s terror almost creates war in the history of the Columbian state creating repression. (Vergara)
Mario Vargas llosa's who killed Palomino Molero exhibits a tragedy of brutally tortured corpse of Palomino Molero. The novel is a detective story aiming to find the murderers of the protagonist, Molero. It also depicts the state of Latin culture in 1950s, the machismo attitude of men treating women as sex objects (how desperate is Silva to sleep with a married woman Dona Adrianna. The brothels, the character of tiger lily and physical sexual abuse are examples of this. Class oppression and corrupted governments went simultaneously in which the poor people suffered. Cover-ups and scapegoats were used prominently misusing their authority and laws. Lower classes were stumped by the upper classes and were denied equal rights. In this background gets crushed the angelic character of molero who is murdered by Silva and his partner lituma. Apart from being a typical murder mystery, the novel is able to depict the corrupt government and class oppression.
In taker and other stories by Rubem Fonseca, the Brazilian author Rubem Fonseca examines death in various forms and ways like murder, suicide, accident, old age and sickness. Featuring various causes and ways in which death can occur, the depiction is macabre and horrific. For instance in Betsy, the dog dies in the most horrific way. Then in Night Drive, the businessman runs his car over a woman in the most brutal way thus making it ''a perfect hit''. In both night drive and the other, the protagonist takes on committing crime for the sake of sanity. (Vergara). In The taker the protagonist feel to be entitling everything and feels justified as a criminal because the society denies them or owes them their presence. This collection of stories thus establishes ways in which the criminal’s minday function in committing crimes and murders evoking certain themes of class inequality and justice.
In bel canto by Ann Patchett, excluding the first and the last scene, we have a novel full of violence and repression though just figuratively. The story is set in a large house where a party is being held to hear a celebrated opera singer called Roxanne. However, they are high jacked and kept by a group of kidnappers and the action changes. A series of changes occur. The consciousness of the kidnappers changes and they start to melt. A very utopist situation though but well executed by patched. The novel almost becomes an implausible fable when we see how the kidnappers start realizing the affection that they have for each other. Roxanne’s beauty of her voice almost intoxicates them, followed by a game of chess, going into the garden and suddenly discovering a new approach to life, appreciation of nature that entails joy and love. The novel is popularly associated with what is known as the Stockholm syndrome where the kidnappers start connecting and relating with the captors (Vergara). They start appreciating the natural condition and feelings of their hostages as human beings, mutual respect and affection for each other making them realize the value if humanity creating a bond that binds them with much larger concerns than the politics of the situation that they have. At last there are no enemies and the kidnappers are transformed. Hierarchy breaks down and the vice president appreciates the effort of his servants in this.
Works Cited
Vergara, Isabel. "NEWS OF A KIDNAPPING: HISTORY AS APOCALYPTIC HORROR." . N.p.. Web. 12 Dec 2013. <http://www.educoas.org/Portal/bdigital/contenido/interamer/interamer_34/verg64_cp6.aspx?culture=en>. (Vergara)
Wang, Yuxing. "Book Report: Who Killed Palomino Molero?." . N.p., 19 june 2012. Web. 12 Dec 2013. <http://yuxingwlast211.blogspot.in/2012/06/book-analysis_5222.html>. (Wang)
