Blog 13: Concluding Thoughts

I have thoroughly enjoyed the works that we studied throughout this course and my appreciation for Latin American literature has grown immensely since reading Cumanda. I remember starting that novel thinking that Latin American literature was a bit hokey, with crafted situations and exaggerated characters. I'm sure that the story presented some early aspects of post-colonial South America, however, reading it once was enough, and I can only hope that the bookstore will so kindly buy it back from me.

The next works seemed to increase in complexity with more dynamic characters and intricate family stories as in Las memorias and Piedra Callada. Las Hortensias, as Niall pointed out in his blog, revealed the characters’ convoluted psychological issues while examining the impact of industrialism on family life. I found this short story particularly interesting because of this drastic change in focus from events and actions, to exploring the individuals’ thoughts, emotions and maniacal desires. I think that these aspects were also highlighted in Pablo Neruda’s poetry, where the madness and torment of love were the central themes.

Lastly, I think Gabriel's masterpiece is nearing lengendary status, as it details the creation and destuction of the entire Macondian world through the eyes of one remarkable family. Without a doubt, this was a tremendously difficult read that I found took some time to appreciate and become interested in. I was, by no means, immediately enthralled by this novel, and in fact, it wasn’t until I had read close to a hundred pages that I began to comprehend why it is such a highly regarded piece of literature. The countless issues that Marquez cleverly revealed throughout the novel can be linked to nearly any part of our modern society and fortunately, we had roughly a month to read Cien Anos de Soledad.

There are two important things that I have taken from this course, the first, a desire to further explore Latin American literature from the ‘BOOM’ period. The second, is my intent to continue using online blogs, which I find are a great way to openly express and discuss thoughts and ideas.

Disintegration of Macondo

After Colonel Aureliano Buendia dies, all of Macondo and the entire Buendia family begin spiraling downwards. The collapse of the family parallels the disintegration of the town, illustrating the link that exists between the household and the social and political surroundings. We basically see that there is only so long that a family can remain intact and stable within such a chaotic environment.

This once utopic community has been completely undermined by greedy foreign imperialists, the exact individuals and ideals that Colonel Aureliano Buendia had fought against for so very many years. These ruthless imperialists are responsible for Macondo’s most devastating event yet: the brutal massacre of the banana plantation workers. What is most fascinating regarding these events is how Jose Arcadio Segundo locks himself away in Melquiade’s room full of books, so he can forever preserve the wretched memory of this massacre in solitude. Like we discussed in class, the cruel authorities would strategically remove any evidence linked to these massacres, even if that meant permanently silencing witnesses and victims’ families. This makes the preservation of that memory even more important, because it is a struggle against government, imperialism and time.

The heavy rains that struck Macondo for nearly five years following the deadly massacre reveal the constant presence of nature and the effects of natural disaster. What is curious is that these rains lasted exactly 4 years, 11 months and 2 days, which is one of the only examples of ‘exact’ time in the entire novel. This destruction caused by nature surely has some biblical reference to it as well, where God flood the land in order to remove the evils that plagued it. This happened when Noah was sent with his arc to gather two of every animal and ultimately bring about a complete rebirth of civilization. Perhaps this flooding represents an opportunity to rebuild Macondo and continue the cycle over again, or perhaps it reveals something less optimistic, like that everything ends in chaos and destruction, essentially in anarchy.

civil war?

A fight for conservative or liberal ideals? Citizens’ rights, wealth or land ownership? For years this convoluted war, between ‘rebeldes’ and ‘militares’, has raged violently around Macondo, and still no side has emerged victorious. Colonel Aureliano Buendia persists relentlessly with his rebel troops, unsure of what exactly he is fighting for. He has been fighting for so long, that he does not remember why he started in the first place. He simply continues out of habit and pride.

Marquez illustrates the suffering caused by war through the number of lives lost, the collapse of Macondo, the dismantling of the Buendia family and the psychological pain Colonel Aureliano Buendia endures. With failed peace talks, complex political issues, land disputes and brutal executions, all that is missing in Marquez’s description of war is foreign involvement and drug trafficking, then, all of a sudden the Macondian world would be transformed into modern day Columbia.

For decades, an equally complex civil war, with leftist rebels pitted against violent paramilitaries and foreign backed rightwing government forces, has ravaged throughout Colombia. The armed leftist rebel groups, such as FARC and ELN, rely heavily on lucrative drug trafficking and kidnapping operations, which have largely replaced their original political and ideological motivations. Powerful drug cartels and wealthy landowners finance heavily armed and ruthless paramilitary groups to counteract the rebel armies. And finally, US backed rightwing Colombian military forces invade FARC territory, cleverly disguised as a war on drugs executing the notorious ‘Plan Columbia’, when actual motivations can be linked to seizing control of mineral resources and untapped oil reserves.

There is no doubt that the devastation caused by civil war in Colombia is portrayed by the similar events in Marquez’s Macondo. However, what is most interesting, is the fact that Cien Anos de Soledad was not published until 1967, which is two years after the establishment of ELN, one year after the establishment of FARC, and nearly 10 years since the end of another bloody civil war where between 250 000 and 300 000 Colombians died. The cyclic nature of war is revealed in Marquez’s novel, where the intensity of the war continually rises and falls, consuming the lives of thousands of young men and women. Even today, 40 years later, the cycle of war continues in Colombia.

Macondian Family

Marquez brilliantly creates a picture where every action and every event is strongly contrasted. We see sadness and tragedy pitted against success, laughter and joy, death and mourning compared to birth and celebration. Marquez does not simply detail everything that occurs, he animates these events and makes them come to life. Dreadful and upsetting moments are exaggerated with elaborate descriptions and even transformed into disgustingly hilarious performances. For instance Melquiades virtually disintegrates with old age, he forgets his teeth, cannot be understood by anyone, rambles on about ‘the good old days’, and begins to smell awful. This old man is rotting away right in front of the rest of the family, which unfortunately occurs even today, where elderly family members are hidden in seniors homes until they die.

Rebeca, for example, has suffered a brutal upbringing and severe loneliness, which are both warped into her fanatical habit of dirt eating, thumb sucking and vomiting. Marquez even goes as far as carefully twisting events like death such that they are comical in a sick sort of way. First, the delinquent Iguana cousin bleeds to death because his tail is savagely chopped off. Then, we witness the trivialization of Prudencia Aguilar’s murder when Jose Arcadio Buendia engages in heated sex with his wife directly after killing this man.

Marquez also portrays the irony in Aureliano’s revolting obsession over significantly younger Remedios, because after they are married, we see that this extremely young women is in fact very happy with this man and that she loves him very much. Marquez also proposes peculiar solutions to the characters’ many difficulties. For example, is Rebeca’s only cure for her maniacal habits an intensely sexual relationship with her older brother that she has never met? Or maybe having carpenters tear her parents remains out of the walls so they can be laid to rest properly will help ease her suffering? Is the only way to contain Jose Arcadio Buendia’s lunacy by tying him up to a chestnut tree in the backyard? And can Ursula only cope with this chaos around her by allowing herself to be seduced by Pietro Crespi?

Gabriel Garcia Marquez is celebrated for his innovative literary style of magic realism, but he also delivers extremely dark humor and a shocking portrayal of reality in this novel. I was initially going to describe this Macondian family as dysfunctional, however there is actually a great deal of truth to these events. Convoluted sexual relationships, hateful conflicts and jealousy between sisters, a father’s decline into madness, an oblivious mother wooed by a foreigner, an adventurous and risk-taking son, the tragic loss of life and surroundings laden with social and political turmoil, are all aspects, to name a few, that are too familiar in the lives of many individuals. It is very likely that at least one of the traits presented by Marquez is present in virtually every family in our society.

HIELO: el gran invento

José Arcadio Buendía learns quickly enough that gypsies cannot be trusted. However, if you are isolated in the middle of the Columbian Jungle like José, then no price is too high to pay to look at, touch or purchase simple artifacts from the civilized world.

Despite his awful deals with Melquíades (a goat and a sheep for two ‘gold digging’ tools, a bunch of money for a magnifying glass, etc…) José proves that he is no fool. He discovers that the earth is round in a remarkably short amount of time, using the appropriate tools, which took philosophers, astronomers and explorers centuries to learn and prove before him. He also develops and improves his small village of Macundo by turning it into one of the “aldea(s) mas ordenada y laboriosa que cualquiera de las conocidas” (19). However, not all is accomplished without some errors, primarily his short-lived interest in alchemy, which saw the family fortune melted away into a steaming cauldron of molten metals.

The first chapter of this novel reveals José Arcadio Buendía’s struggles within this primitive village. He so greatly wishes to learn and discover anything new and amazing about the world. He even expresses his extreme desire to move away from Macundo with his entire family, unfortunately, his wife does not approve. José is also incredibly fascinated with Melquíades, who is essentially José’s only link to the outside world.

José expresses his frustration and negative view regarding the backwardness of his village, and the primitive men who surround him when he exclaims: “Aqui nos hemos de pudrir en vida sin recibir los beneficios de la ciencia” (23). I found the ending of this chapter quite touching in a way, because for the first time in his life, José sees ice. Sadly he is once again ripped off by the gypsies, and pays far too much simply to touch it.

Exploring the First Half

Half way through the term, and I’d say that we have accomplished quite a bit: two novels, 20 poems and two short stories. With one important novel remaining, there is no doubt that I have read more Spanish since second week of January than in all the years prior to the start of this term. So far, I really think the online blogs are an excellent way to communicate ideas regarding the literature. Before this course I had never used an online blog, and now I think that it is a great educational tool and an effective way to practice writing.

There is a noticeable transition from Spanish 364, where we studied mostly historical documents from colonial America, to Spanish 365, where the language is more sophisticated and also more open to interpretation. This progression and development in Spanish literature can also be seen within the works studied in this class, with significant changes in the language from Cumanda to Las memorias de Mama Blanca to Piedra Callada and Las Hortensias. From what I can tell, it seems that not only the language, but also the overall stories have increased in complexity and examine in more depth the emotional and social aspects of events. For instance, in Piedra Callada and Las Hortensias, the two most recent stories that we have interpreted, and also my favorite so far, controversial and somewhat twisted themes are revealed.

In all of the works that we have studied so far a variety of key themes arise. La Familia and everything to do with family is visited in most of the works, especially in Las Memorias de Mama Blanca and Piedra Callada (we also wrote our first blog about family). Even Las Hortensias examined a warped and convoluted idea of a family, where the dolls can be treated as the desperate couple’s very own children, or possibly where the lack of a family is considered. However, it is hard to argue that Neruda’s poems are concerned with the workings of family.

The role of women could also be an overlying theme of these works. In all the literature that we have interpreted to date, female characters have played different roles, where they have been treated differently and where different social attitudes are presented. Cumanda, for instance, illustrated how a young ‘indigenous’ woman was the link between two cultures, until she was dramatically sacrificed to the gods. In Pablo Neruda’s poetry, he suffered continuously from his intense passion and his fierce desire for women. Las memorias de Mama Blanca examined the life of a young girl who grew up in a very feminine world and Piedra Callada shocked us with the violent actions of the mother, where her strength, determination and conniving behaviour are emphasized when she murdered Bernabe. And finally, Las Hortensias could be seen as a story where women are presented as physical objects that can be easily manipulated by their ‘owner’.

There is without a doubt a wide variety of individual themes examined within each of the novels or short stories, and there most likely are many other overall themes connecting all the works. At any rate, these stories are, as always, open to a multitude of interpretations.

Survival of the Fittest

I can only imagine how controversial Brunet’s story must have been when it was written. The slightest notion that Eufrasia, an old woman could undermine Bernabe, the father and rightful ‘master’ of the household, and successfully seize control of his children, brings about a multitude of social issues regarding gender and class.

One must realize that this most likely would not have occurred at that time period. It is possible that the mother could even be viewed as some sort of twisted heroin, rather than the father as I previously mentioned, because she was capable of dominating the family in a paternal society. Even murdering Bernabe could be considered a victory for women, because this reflects exactly what we discussed in class, where Bernabe and Eufrasia were pitted against each other in a battle of survival of the fittest.

Darwin, no doubt, would have agreed with the events of this story, had the characters been replaced with insects. It is a completely natural occurrence, where the mother praying mantis devours the father in order to protect the young. However, it is somewhat unlikely that Darwin, and other men from a male dominated society, would accept the fact that Bernabe was essentially ‘devoured’ by Mother Eufrasia.

PIEDRA CALLADA

I suppose Esperanza’s mother was right after all; Bernabé would have been an awful husband. At least this is the initial feeling I had after witnessing Bernabé’s atrocious behaviour and violent actions. However, were these the reasons why Eufrasia did not want Bernabé to marry Esperanza, or were the reason more to do with social class and money?

Esperanza, the ‘hijuela Primera’, was essentially a new hope for this depressed family. She had the potential, according to her mother, to turn things around by finding a good man with ‘mayores posibilidades’ than the average peasant or labourer. Esperanza’s mother threatened to disown her if she should marry this brutish man. Then, quite suddenly, Esperanza fell terribly ill and died. With this poor family left in shock, Bernabé transformed into a monster and physically attacked both the grandmother and Venancia. This angry rampage is cut short, when Bernabé is struck dead with a stone to the head by the mother.

It is somewhat hard to determine whom we should sympathize with in this tragic series of events. We discussed this in class, looking at both Esperanza and her mother as victims. Esperanza, who was not permitted to marry Bernabé, is removed from the story so quickly, that I do not see her as that important a character. Mother Eufrasia, on the other hand, has worked so hard her entire life, and wanted nothing more than to see her eldest daughter succeed, is sadly left in the same pathetic place as she started. Venancia and the children are also victims, of poverty and of abuse.

This leaves only Bernabé, who is the absolute least likely person one would sympathize with. I would never attempt to argue that he behaved in a reasonable way, nor would I defend his actions, however, Bernabé is what I consider a tragic hero. He desired only to live happily with Esperanza, whom he evidently loved, and to have children of his own. Bernabé was clearly not an educated fellow, nor did he have a promising job, and Esperanza’s mother surely did not respect him. Esperanza’s death left Bernabé in ruins and with nothing worth living for. At this point, Bernabé resorted to the type of behaviour he knew best, that of a savage animal and most likely the product of a rough childhood. Bernabé sought to control the family, possibly in a desperate attempt to have his own family in the void left by Esperanza’s passing.

Regardless of his motives, this ruthless tyrant portrays men as cruel beasts, which might not be that far from the truth in many cases. Bernabé’s death unfortunately provokes a sigh of relief from the reader (at least I was relieved when the stone hit his skull) because the family was saved. However, one cannot help but pity this pitiful creature.

Vicente Cochocho

Vicente Cochocho, una figura masculina en este cosmos feminino de Blanca Nieves, era un zambo, de sangre indigena y negra. Su espiritu hermano era “fuerte por la experiencia” y estaba “adornado de conocimientos” en filosofia y en ciencias naturales, que refletaban su inteligencia de profesor. Vicente hablaba de una manera differente de los otros, porque se usaba una lenguaje antigua con palabras del siglo XVI. Esta lenguaje demuestra su rusticidad y su posicion baja en la sociedad. Tambien, cuando hablaba a las ninas, que eran las princesas de Piedra Azul, Vicente les trataba de tu. Las ninas eran tan interesada de Vicente, y le gustaban mucho.

Podemos ver en la tercera parte del capitulo sobre Vicente Cochocho, una lista de todas las habilidades de este hombre. Por ejemplo, “a mas de ser maestro en filosfia y ciencias naturales… de ser tocador de maracas, paleador de la acequia, emburrador del trapiche y deshierbador de lajas, Vicente era el medico, el boticario y el agente de las pompas funebres en Piedra Azul”. Aunque Vicente era tan importante en la haciende, Evelyn se prohibia a las ninitas hablar con o ver Vicente por varias razones. Evelyn era una mulata inglesa de la isla de Trinidad que tenia tres cuartos de sangre blanca, y desafortunadamente según ella, un cuarto de sangre negra. Es importante que preguntemos porque Evelyn era tan contra la presencia de Vicente?

Primero, la descriminacion contra Vicente a causa de su raza representa la complejidad de las relaciones entre los varios grupos en la epoca. Como pueden recordar, hemos hablado en clase sobre las diferencias sociales entre cada grupo basada sobre la sangre. En este ejemplo, Vicente, un zambo, seria sin duda consideraba inferior a Evelyn, una mulata.

Hay tambien otra razon para explicar el maltratamiento de Vicente. En este mundo feminino de Blanca Nieves, los hombres eran pohibidos. Este idea representa los sentimientos de Teresa de la Parra en casi toda la novela, donde los hombros no estaban incluidos en este mundo exclusivo de las mujeres.

El papel de este hombre inteligencia y habil en las vidas de las ninitas se terminaba tristamente despues de un argumento acalorado con Don Juan Manuel. Vicente fue insultado severamente que reletaba todavia la ausencia de respecta. Es interesante que Vicente fuera tan importante en las vidas de las ninas, porque es como Vicente era una mejor figura paternal que Don Juan Manuel. Es posible que Teresa de la Parra incluyera este hombre para ilustrar las descriminaciones racistas.

Las obras de Neruda

La mayoria de las poemas de Neruda en este paquete refletan las ideas tradicionales del amor. Neruda asocia el amor con la tristeza, la obsession, la necessidad, el sufrimiento y la dolor infinito. Estos aspectos de amor existían también en la poesia de Europa. En general, hay algunos elementos que se incluyen en casi todas las poemas de Neruda. Por ejemplo, la naturaleza y la tierra son temas importantes. Hay palabras de naturaleza con similaridades como huracane, viento, y brisa, o, gaviota, pajaro, y mariposa. También, hay una variedad de descripciones relacionados a la tierra, como colinas, musgo, rosas, yedras, cerros, y pasto.

Tengo dificultad a identificar una estructura distinta en estas poemas. Creo, que la majoria del tiempo, Neruda usa una estructura muy libre. Otro aspecto interesante del estructura, es que no hay títulos para cada poema. No entiendo exactamente porque Neruda omita los títulos, pero es possible que según el, los títulos no sean importantes. Por ejemplo, el titulo del libro de poemas, Veinte poemas de amor y una canción desesperada, es muy simple, muy exacto y sin mucha significancia literaria.

Entre la selección de poemas, mi favorita es la octava, a la pagina 101. En esta poema, hay varias imágenes del mar que se presentan con el uso de palabras como vela, barco o ancla. Me encanta la idea de ilustrar el amor con descripciones del mar. Me gusta tambien la oscuridad que se cree en la sexta poema a la pagina 93, con descripciones de los sueños y el ambiente al crepúsculo. En La canción desesperada, Neruda incluye mucho puntuación y repeticiones para poner enfásis en algunos versos. Por ejemplo, se repite cinco veces que “todo en ti fue naufragio!”, que representa la devastación de perder su amante.

Cuando leo estas poemas, no tengo mucho dificultad para entender las palabras. El vocabulario de Neruda no es tan complejo, pero, como la poesia en otros idiomas, el sentimiento es un verdadero reto a entender. ¡Es esencial que lea y relea entre cada verso!

El poder de la religion

¡Que cuenta interesante y poderosa! Con una enormidad de detallas, este libro explora las relaciones entre familias indigenas, los sentimientos que tienien los indigenas contra los espanoles, la importancia de la naturaleza en la vida ecuatoriano y sobre todo la complejidad de una relacion passionante entre una ‘salvaje’ y un ‘blanco’. Pero, un de los temas mas importante en esta novela es la influencia y la importancia de las creecias spirituales y la religion. La ideologica religiosa de los indigenas fue comparada con la religion catolica de los espanoles. El punto interesante de este comparacion es el opinion del autor.

Es posible que Juan Leon Mera este en contra de cualquiera tipo de religion. En el segundo capitulo, hay una lista de descripciones de las atrocidades que hacian los sacerdotes espanoles contra los indios en Ecuador. Por ejemplo se dice a la pagina 97, que la sangre de los indios, “bendecidas por Dios como testimonios de la santa verdad y del amor al hombre, no podian ser esteriles y produjeron la ganancia de millares de almas para el cielo”. Cerca del fin de la novela, podemos ver aspectos chocante de las creecias de los indios, sobre todo el sacrificio brutal de Cumanda. Las palabras de Yahuarmaqui, en la pagina 288, explican que Cumanda “ha muerto arrebatada por una heroica generosidad, por una pasion nobilisima y santa. ¡Encantadora virgen de las selvas que leccion tan sublime encierra tu volunatrio sacrificio!”. El tono y la idea de morir a causa de sus creecias absolutos parecen muy semejantes en estos dos ejemplos.

La imagen que cree Mera sobre la religion esta abierta a la interpretacion. En todo la cuenta, hay referencias a la religion. Por ejemplo, el padre verdadero de Cumanda, que llamaba fray Domingo, era un misionero enlazado a la religion catolico. En el ultimo capitulo, hay una escena disgustando, donde el misionero, fray Domingo, tormentaba el viejo padre Tongana, que estaba muy patetico y tambien cerca de la muerte. Al fin de este escena, el misionero exclamaba: “¡He salvado tal vez un alma a costa de la vida de mi hija!” (285) Esta exclamacion reforza la influencia de la religion en esta epoca.

Un laberinto de la vegetacion

"En este laberinto de la vegetacion mas gigante de la tierra", dijo Juan Leon Mera en sus descripciones habiles de las selvas misteriosos de Sudamerica. Me encanta esta metaphor de la complejidad y del extento de la selva sudamericana y tambien no tengo dudas que Mera tiene una habilidad increible de construir imagenes vivientes. Por un lado las descripciones de Mera son de un nivel extraordinario, pero al mismo tiempo, tengo mucho dificultad para entender todo. Es seguro que la lenguaje que usa Mera excede mis conocimientos limitados de esta idioma.

Mera usa una gran lista de adjectivos para ilustrar y presentar esta continente misteriosa. El autor impieza su libro con descripciones detalladas y maravillosas de la tierra salvaje de Sudamerica. En el primero capitulo, hay muchas palabras descriptivas que yo he apredido solamente despues de leerlas, como medroso, amenaza, soberbio, extasiados, prodigiosa, bulliciosos, caido, caudalosos, penascosas, y bueno, la lista se continua. Despues de leer el primero capitulo, tengo un imagen detallada de la magnificencia de las montanas y de las selvas y tambien de la complejidad de los rios y de todo la vida en las orillas. En los siguientes capitulos, he aprendido un poco sobre las diferentes tribus, de un lado los indios que viven en lugares fijas y del otro, los indos nomados, que viajen por la tierra. Fue un poco sorprendido cuando Mera explico que todos los indos de esta region no son cannibales, pienso que era como un metodo que uso Mera para eliminar esta idea absurda. Tambien podemos ver las referencias a las influencias de los catolicos con imagenes del "cruz plantada por el sacerdote". Despues, hay descripciones de la importancia de la familia y la introduccion de Cumanda y su amante Carlos.

Como puedes ver, no estoy terminado toda la lectura de los primeros diez capitulos, y por esta razon, no tengo mucho mas para decir sobre estas dos personajes. Pero, todavia tengo un opinion que yo puedo incluir. En el ultimo semestre, tuvo un curso de literatura francesa donde el tema principal fue el amor. He leido algunas novelas sobre el amor de los siglos deciseis, decisiete y deciocho. Bueno en estas novelas, todas las vidas de las personajes terminaron en tragedia. Ahora, estoy muy interesado en una cuenta de amor escrito con un diferente punto de vista, especialmente un punto de vista sudamericano. Espero que hay un contraste distinctiva entre Cumanda y las novelas de amor de Francia.

La importancia de la familia en la literatura

Es posible que la familia sea el parte más complejo de toda la sociedad. Cada familia es completamente única, y es casi seguro que no existe dos familias idénticas en todo el mundo. Todas las personas tienen una familia, pero son familias diferentes, como una familia terrible o disfuncional o normal. En la mayoría de las familias, hay un gran nombre de conflictos que existen entre hermanos o entre los padres y los hijos o entre los tíos y los sobrinos. Esos conflictos son muy interesantes y complejos y muchas personas son familiaridades con los sentimientos de esos conflictos. Los conflictos presente en las familias son aspectos universales de las familias en nuestra sociedad, pero hay solamente diferencias en la severidad y la cuantidad de esos conflictos entre cada familia. Gracias a la complejidad de la familia y a todos los aspectos controversiales, la familia es un sujeto excelente de la literatura. Hay muchas obras de literatura, donde algunos son muy famosos, que retratan esos conflictos y tensiones presente dentro de la familia para contar una historia importante. La literatura es un método eficaz de presentar e ilustrar la gran variedad entre todas las familias. Por un lado, hay libros que revelan la severidad de las atrocidades que existen en algunas familias pero por el otro lado hay obras que representan los aspectos increíbles y maravillosos que son presentes en otras familias. La mayoría de las familias no son tan polarizadas con solamente cualidades abominables o con solamente cualidades estupendas, pero en realidad, las familias tienen una combinación de aspectos buenos y de aspectos malos. Una mezcla de estas cualidades es común en la mayoría de las familias que son representadas en la literatura. Por ejemplo un libro puede ilustrar los aspectos negativos y también los aspectos positivos de la familia de un personaje principal. La razón porque la familia es un sujeto tan importante en la literatura es simplemente a causa de la influencia que tienen las familias en la sociedad. Las vidas de muchas personas son dirigidas por sus relaciones con sus familias a causa de la autoridad paternal y la respecta de tradiciones culturales. Por ejemplo, en algunas culturas, la familia tiene una autoridad tan poderosa y absoluta sobre los hijos, que no exista ninguna oportunidad o posibilidad por los hijos de determinar sus propios futuros. La literatura, en general, es un método increíble que se usa para exprimir las tensiones, las frustraciones, el aborrecimiento y el cariño que existen entre las familias a través las experiencias de los personajes principales.