Pedro Paramo by Juan Rulfo - Essay Example

Thesis statement: The close examination of the novel Pedro Paramo proves that the writer’s diction is interconnected with his aim to portray the difference between past and present, symbolism is related to the symbols like rain and fertility, usage of imagery is related to air, water and stone, and figurative language is related to the development of magical realism as a specific genre in world literature. Plot summary The novel’s plot is related to the lives of the narrator (Juan Preciado), his father Pedro Paramo, and his (the narrator’s father’s) lover, Susana San Juan.

One can see that Comala, the imaginary town, is the background of the novel. In the beginning of the novel, the narrator decides to conduct an expedition to Comala to find out his father. But he did not try to stick on to his decision. Later, he was forced to start his journey to the town of Comala. Within this context, the narrator portrays the present situation in Comala. Now, the situation is different because most of the people who live in this town are spirits/ghosts. In the work by Rulfo, Sacabo, and Peden, the narrator made clear that “Nothing but abandoned houses, their empty doorways overgrown with weeds” (19). . In the end, the people of Comala were forced to die by starvation.

Examination: This section includes topics like diction, which portrays the difference between past and present, symbolism or the usage of symbols in the novel like rain and fertility, the usage of imagery like air, water and stone, and the usage of figurative language which represents the development of the genre of magical realism. A. Diction One can easily identify that the novelist’s ultimate aim in the novel is to make use of the story telling technique (first person and third person narrative technique) to portray the difference between past and present.

For instance, the opening of the novel deals with the present condition in Comala, which is described by the narrator. On the other side, after the narrator’s untimely death, the narration suddenly shifts from first person to third person. In this way, Juan Preciado becomes unimportant in the following sections of the novel. From a different angle of view, both the son and the father are no more and narration is handed over to the novelist. At the same time, this technique does not hinder the development of the plot because the same revolves around Pedro Paramo’s adventures.

In this way, the novelist fulfils his aim to portray the difference between past and present. B. Symbolism The symbols like rain and fertility are interconnected because rain is symbolic of life/fertility. In the novel, the element of rain is made use by the novelist to portray the problems faced by the people of Comala. To be specific, the present condition in Comala is related to the lack of rain and the negative attitude of the leader (Pedro Paramo). Here, the leader is symbolic of rain which provides all to the living world.

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