Final Thoughts on Dialectic of Solitude

"It is during [adolescence] that we become aware of our singularity for the first time. But the dialectic of emotions intervenes once more: since adolescence is extreme self-consciousness, it can only be transcended by self-forgetfulness, by self-surrender. Therefore, solitude is not only a time of solitude but also of great romances, of heroism and sacrifice."(Paz, Octavio. Labyrinth of Solitude, 198.)

       Octavio Paz's essay "Dialectic of Solitude," was easily one of my favorite readings from this semester.  Paz's thoughts on loneliness and man's search for commonality were profound. He was accurate to the point that I was disturbed--does Octavio Paz know me? It sure seems like it. I recognized his descriptions on such a personal level, and because of that they resonated deeply with me.  I quickly felt like I trusted Paz, and he pulled me into his essay where he could teach me about myself and my fellow man. This essay was not written to inspire, I see it more as a detailed commentary on a singular aspect in the plight of mankind. The power in this essay comes from its effect in helping readers recognize our similarities. There is something powerful about coming to understand our universal need for validation, for acknowledgement, for communion.

         In closing, let me just say that the content we covered in IHUM260 was exceptional. I don't think that the purpose of this course was to give us a complete understanding of the humanities of Latin America. I do believe, however, that we were given an opportunity to experience a taste of Latin America through its media and recognize common themes. "Dialectic of Solitude" was just a snippet from this course, but it played an important role in helping me recognize that cultural elements, however different from region to region, stem from common human experience.

Becoming a Man Gives Life Meaning

"What makes a man a man?" (Hellboy, Dir. Guillermo del Toro, 2004.)

              Taking the story of a demon conjured by and rescued from nazis, director Guillermo del Toro successfully leveraged the ridiculous with the real in Hellboy. However fantastic and stylized, viewers can comfortably suspend their disbelief through Hellboy's journey because of the humanity Del Toro instilled in this character. Hellboy is magnetic, his story compelling and his actions believable because his "coming-of-age" process is consistent with Viktor Frankl's "will-to-meaning" theory.

       According to Frankl, an individual's primary motivational force is to find a purpose in life, directly opposing Freud's will-to pleasure theory and Adler's will-to-power theory. Frankl suggests that man needs meaning, and can discover it in the following ways:

1. by doing a deed
2. by encountering someone
3. by defining our attitude toward life

       The experiences that guide Hellboy to manhood fit Frankl's descriptions of experiences that guide one to meaning, man's ultimate purpose. Experiences that fit Frankl’s requirements and help Hellboy become a man include developing a relationship with Liz, overcoming Rasputin and the forces of darkness, and defining his attitude towards life (described in the words of Agent Myers as, "What makes a man a man? It’s the choices he makes--not how he starts them, but how he chooses to end them." 01:58:41.)

        Frankl suggests that when we find meaning in life by any of the three ways described, we can overcome depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, OCD, etc. Similarly, the process of becoming a man/finding purpose transforms Hellboy. His extreme self-consciousness in the beginning (evidenced by Agent Clay’s warning, "Don't stare at him, you'll make him angry... His horns! He files them to fit in!" 00:24:57.) is replaced with  self-assurance (evidenced by Hellboy telling Liz, "I wish I could do something about this *points to face* I can't,  but I can promise you two things: One, I'll always look this good, and two, I'll never give up on you." 01:29:39.) However absurd the premise, Hellboy’s journey to manhood and meaning harmonizes with reality. Having the experiences prescribed by Frankl transformed Hellboy in the ways they would any man, and thereby make a man out of Hellboy.

Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca in Bless Me, Ultima

"'Take the llano and the river valley, the moon and the sea, God and the golden carp-and make something new,' I said to myself" (Rudolpho Anaya, Bless Me, Ultima, 247.)

         Bless Me, Ultima, details Antonio's search for balance in his life. Living in a world of conflicting religious beliefs, family expectations, and the hopes of his mother and father, Antonio must reconcile the differences that confront him. Eventually, Antonio creates for himself a harmonious set of beliefs and balances the competing influences that make him who he is.

         For Antonio, the main source of internal conflict stems from his diverse heritage. His mother is of the Luna family--the people of the moon, religious farmers destined to homestead and till the land. Antonio's father is of the Marez clan--descendants of the sea, restless vaqueros who roam the llanos seeking adventure. These separate and opposing influences are effectively balanced by the end of the novel, much like the opposing mythical Aztec gods Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca.

           The god Quetzalcoatl is associated with priests, the acquisition of knowledge, and farming. In many ways, the equally powerful god, Tezcatlipoca, is seen as Quetzalcoatl’s counterpart. Tezcatlipoca is associated with the night winds, hurricanes, strife, and night. Constantly at odds, the rivalry between Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca, as they jointly rule, mirrors the conflict between the Lunas and the Marez described in the novel. Not only can clear associations be made between both Quetzalcoatl and the Lunas and Tezcatlipoca and the Marez family, but their competition over the ownership of the world is comparative to the developing rift between the Lunas and Marez over who will “govern” Antonio’s future. Additionally, myth dictates that Tezcatlipoca and Quetzalcoatl eventually decided to rule the world in a partnership, accepting shared responsibility. The return to balance that results in their universe matches the peace that Antonio experiences, as demonstrated in the above quote, when he is finally able to reconcile the conflicting powers within himself.

The Ripening of Life

"I knew the earth was fruitful...but I never realized it could be like this! The ground was soft to walk on. The fragrance of sun-dazzling flowers was deep, and soft, and beautiful." --Bless me, Ultima Rudolpho Anaya (Pg. 108-109)

Narciso's garden?

In this scene Antonio was guided to the garden of Narciso, the town drunk. He was amazed by the beauty of the garden; the tastes, the smells. Against his better judgment, he eats a carrot from the garden at the request of Cico his friend. After their visit to the garden, Cico shows Antonio the Golden Carp, a pagan god. Later in the book, Narciso is killed and with him perishes the garden. "Now his house was deserted and his garden withered away." (pg. ??)

In the Senses Still by Nadia Seremetakis, the word ‘nostalgia’ is compared to a journey in which one is changed by sensory experiences; it is a longing for the past that also influences the present.  According to Seremetakis, Americans view the past as an isolatable unit of time whereas the Greeks see the past as a catalyst that influences the present.  Although these experiences are sometimes painful, they are important because they bring meaning into life, just like an unripened fruit is tastless and through maturation it becomes sweet.

Antonio has such an experience in the garden.   This garden is like the Garden of Eden for him and prepares him for the knowledge that he gains of the Golden Carp; which leads him to question everything he knows.  When Narciso died and his garden withered away, it is as if Antonio was kicked out of the garden because of the knowledge and experiences he gained. Antonio’s relationship with the past is both very separate from his present self as well as a fundamental building block of who he has become. Although his memories of Narciso dictate his current perception of the world, the garden is gone and he will never be able to relive those experiences. As Seremetakis explained and Antoinio came to understand, our experiences need ripening to gain meaning and become a part of who we are. 

Tenorio's Lost Eye

"A man does not flee from the truth." (Rudolfo Anaya, Bless Me, Ultima, 129.)

         The process of leaving childhood behind as adult knowledge is acquired is described in Bless Me, Ultima through the experiences of young Antonio. In one such learning experience,  the malicious saloon-keeper and barber in El Puerto, Tenorio, attacks Ultima, claiming that she is a witch. Antonio and his family must defend her. but before any advances are made Ultima's owl/spiritual guardian attacks Tenorio, pulling out one of his eyes. In the context of Antonio’s coming-of-age, the details of this experience cannot be overlooked.

Tenorio and his eyepatch after the owl attack

       Tenorio’s gouged eye becomes an interesting symbol as a product of this scene. Ultima's owl  could have gone for his heart, ears, scalp... but there is significance in the fact that the owl took the eye from this hate-filled man. Injured eyes symbolize a person’s refusal to confront the truth. Tenorio refuses to accept that in the death of his daughter, it was her own involvement in witchcraft and the black mass that cursed Lucas that would have played a role, not Ultima’s healing powers. Piercing the window of Tenorio’s soul, the owl symbolically demonstrated the harmful effects of refusing to acknowledge truth on one’s body and spirit. Additionally, Tenorio’s jaded and stubborn way of thinking was made obvious to everyone in the community.

            The owl attack was not included as a part of Antonio’s story merely to give explanation for the later assaults on Ultima and her owl--Tenorio was malicious enough to attack Ultima without justification anyway. Tenorio’s gouged eye indicated to the community that he justified his violent behavior through something other than fact. Ultima foreshadowed that  harmful effects of stubbornly ignoring truth would be made plainly manifest when she said, “A man does not flee from the truth." Refusing to acknowledge truth,  no matter how painful,  will only harm the soul. As a part of Antonio’s coming-of-age, this lesson is significant because it is  soon after that he himself is forced to confront some uncomfortable truths of his own, truths that would  only harm his soul if ignored. 

The River

"I had been afraid of the awful presence of the river, which was the soul of the river, but through [Ultima] I learned that my spirit shared in the spirit of all things." (Rudolfo Anaya, Bless Me, Ultima, 15.)

          Bless Me, Ultima is the coming-of-age story of Antonio Marez.  With the guidance of his mentor and protector, Ultima, Antonio explores the family ties that both shape and plague him, and ultimately discovers his unique identity and destiny. Antonio is a very serious and thoughtful 6-year-old, one prone to moral questioning. His coming-of-age is shaped as he is repeatedly forced to confront difficult issues that blur the lines between right and wrong. Ultima guides his progression. For example, she teaches Antonio early on "that there is peace in the river." (15.) Soon after, Antonio's witnesses the death of a man in the river.

          The timing and significance of the river lesson for young Antonio cannot be ignored. What can Antonio gain from being at peace with the river, recognizing in it his own "spirit"? In the book Jung And The Story Of Our Time, Laurens van der Post notes that a river is the image of "water already in movement, finding its own way through great ravines, carrying all over cataract and rapid through conditions of external danger, to emerge intact and triumphant for union with the sea out of which it rose as vapour at the beginning." Rivers disregard straight lines or short cuts as they confront the physical impediments before them. Not ignoring but fully acknowledging all that surrounds them, rivers do not let outside forces hinder their path towards the sea.

          Ultima seems to know everything before it happens, (see page 24 if you don't believe me). She knew that Antonio, before the life-altering experience of witnessing Lupito's death, needed to come to terms with the river. Not only was Lupito killed in the river, but understanding "the soul of the river" meant moving on. As Ultima taught him, he must follow the example of the river by allowing his experiences to shape his progression, not incapacitate or "dam" it. Because he chose to learn from the "physical impediment" that confronted him, rather than stalling his coming-of-age, this experience propelled it.

Lord of Poison and Two-Face

"Macandal, the one-armed, now a houngan of the Rada rite, invested with superhuman powers as the result of his possession by the major gods on several occasions, was the Lord of Poison." (Carpentier, Alejo. The Kingdom of This World, 30.)

         Carpentier's Macandal in The Kingdom of This World is a character described as being a leader among his fellow slaves. Able to win the hearts of both men and women with his engaging stories and captivating personality, he plays a major influence on the novel's main character, Ti Noel. When Macandal loses his arm in an accident, he loses value as a slave.  His workload is lightened as a result, which takes him away from the other slaves to relative isolation. He eventually runs away, but his owner puts little effort into searching for him. After all,  "A one-armed slave was a trifling thing." (21) As a renegade, Macandal harnesses the poisonous qualities of plants and animals around him, and becomes "Lord of Poison."

             Macandal and Harvey Dent from the Batman comics share similar stories. Harvey grew up poor with an instinctive mistrust and dislike for the upper-class, much like Macandal. He developed a repressed mental illness as a result of the harsh circumstances under which he was raised. To overcome his illness he devoted himself to working hard--he became good-looking and successful as a result.  After his face and hand were disfigured by an acid attack, however, his mental illness took over and he became a super-villain.

           Macandal's injury was a major blow, but that was not what caused him to become "Lord of Poison". Macandal was of the Mandingue--"it was common knowledge that every Mandingue was a potential fugitive. Mandingue was a synonym for intractable, rebellious, a devil." (21) The obedient slave before, Macandal's injury triggered the manifestation of the Mandigue within him, just as the acid spill unleashed the schizophrenia within Harvey. Macandal was able to repress the Mandingue until his injury limited his value and forced him away from the other slaves, into isolation. Similarly, Harvey was able to repress his schizophrenia/bi-polar disorder until his injury deformed him, destroying his very public career.  Harvey and Macandal responded to their life-altering mutilations by wreaking havoc-- not in revenge, but because they lost control of the one thing that gave them control over that which inhabited them.