Leyendas de Guatemala: Difference between revisions
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=Literary Analysis= |
=Literary Analysis= |
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Rene Prieto classifies Asturias fiction as neo-Indigenista. His work is an evolution from Indigenista literature; literature defined by its critical stance against the European domination of Indians however literature that is still bound to an exotic, stereotypical portrayal of Indians that either leaves the Indians hopeless and dependent on Europeans or advocates change by becoming culturally mestizo (Prieto, 38). In contrast, Asturias rethinks his stance and depicts native culture as an continuing, and integral facet of Guatemala (Prieto, 42). To do this, Asturia tries to provide an accurate representation of Indian culture and thus bases his work on traditions and legends of his ancestors (Prieto, 40). Prieto argues that Asturias takes elements from the traditional Indian culture “to demonstrate that the future of his country depends on the recognition and validation of the indigenous heritage” (Prieto, 34). His writing style is unique because he incorporates both Western techniques with thematic and stylistic elements from naïve American literature (Prieto, 40). |
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=Themes= |
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Revision as of 19:03, 21 March 2010
Leyendas de Guatemala ("Legends of Guatemala," 1930) was the first book to be published by Nobel-prizewinning author Miguel Ángel Asturias. The book is a re-telling of Maya stories from Asturias's homeland of Guatemala, and reflects the author's study of anthropology, and Central American indigenous civilizations, undertaken in France, at the Sorbonne.
In critic Jean Franco's description, the book "gave lyrical recreations of Guatemalan folklore many of which drew their inspiration from pre-Columbian and colonial sources."[1]
Plot Summary
Guatemala
Presents Guatemala as a palimpsest, in which the duality of past vs. present and the Mayan-Quiché vs. the Spanish becomes prominent. [2] This story serves as a first introduction. [3]
Ahora me acuerdo
Introduces creation as an inseparable element of destruction. [4] This story serves as a second introduction. [5]
Leyenda del Volcán
Teaches that destruction is always followed by rebirth. [6]
Leyenda del Cadejo
Illustrates how humanity is capable of overcoming oppression.[7]
Leyenda de la Tatuana
Describes ways in which humanity can and will regain its freedom. [8]
Leyenda del Sombreron
In this legend, Asturias takes the idea of the child/ demon and explores it through a lens of magic; he creates a ball which appears and disappears, in which he encloses a Sombreron/ devil. [9]
Leyenda del tesoro del Lugar Florido
This legend takes place at the time when the Spanish conquistadors arrive to Guatemala, while the natives celebrate the end of a war. [10]
Literary Analysis
Rene Prieto classifies Asturias fiction as neo-Indigenista. His work is an evolution from Indigenista literature; literature defined by its critical stance against the European domination of Indians however literature that is still bound to an exotic, stereotypical portrayal of Indians that either leaves the Indians hopeless and dependent on Europeans or advocates change by becoming culturally mestizo (Prieto, 38). In contrast, Asturias rethinks his stance and depicts native culture as an continuing, and integral facet of Guatemala (Prieto, 42). To do this, Asturia tries to provide an accurate representation of Indian culture and thus bases his work on traditions and legends of his ancestors (Prieto, 40). Prieto argues that Asturias takes elements from the traditional Indian culture “to demonstrate that the future of his country depends on the recognition and validation of the indigenous heritage” (Prieto, 34). His writing style is unique because he incorporates both Western techniques with thematic and stylistic elements from naïve American literature (Prieto, 40).
Themes
Influences
Asturias studied in Paris from 1924 until 1933, which enabled him to observe Guatemala, his home country, from a distance. [11] Here he also studied Mayan culture with Georges Raynaud, who, as his director, had a significant influence over his literary development. [12]
The book “La tierra del faisán y del venado” (in English: The Land of the Pheasant and the Deer) by Antonio Mediz Bolio is considered to be the most direct antecedent of Leyendas de Guatemala. Bolio fabricated an imagined country using fictive literature in which he mixed Mayan folk tales with elements of Hispanic modernism, much like what Asturias did later in 1930. [13]
Leyendas de Guatemala is largely based on Popol Vuh, an ancient text containing Mayan folklore tales. [14] In 1927, Asturias, in collaboration with José María Gonzáles de Mendoza, worked on the translation of Popol Vuh, and as such became immersed in its legends. [15] For example, “La leyenda de Tatuana” is based on the Quiché legend of Chimalmat, but re-written to incorporate the pre-Hispanic myth with the new anecdotes and characters of the Colonial era. [16]
However some scholars argue that what really inspired Asturias is the evolvement of a hybrid, mixed-race nation, which needed a set of new and revised creation stories. [17] This can be supported by the fact that he dedicated the book to his mother, who was also of mixed ancestry. [18]
Criticism and Reception
Asturias received much criticism for his earlier essay "El problema social del indio" (1923), which saw no future for a Guatemalan identity based on its Mayan heritage, and encouraged a progressive ideology to take over. [19] The criticism comes from the complete change of attitude which Leyendas de Guatemala seems to convey. Martin Lienhard argues that this former essay has become a dark spot in Asturias' past, which everyone seems to have forgotten once the author received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1967. [20] He goes on to argue that the young Asturias made undeniably racist claims in this essay, which cannot be deleted, and Leyendas de Guatemala does not entirely break from such an attitude either. [21] Lienhard compares the way in which Asturias re-wrote the creation myths of Guatemala to Soviet educational propaganda, claiming that he progressively manipulated the culture and the collective memory of a people to serve the interest of a State. [22]
Notes
- ^ Jean Franco, 1994, p. 250.
- ^ Rene Prieto, 2000, p. 623)
- ^ José Mejia, 2000, p.710
- ^ Rene Prieto, 2000, p. 624)
- ^ José Mejia, 2000, p.710
- ^ Rene Prieto, 2000, p. 624)
- ^ Rene Prieto, 2000, p. 624)
- ^ Rene Prieto, 2000, p. 624)
- ^ Isabel Arredondo, 2000, p. 645)
- ^ Rene Prieto, 2000, p. 830)
- ^ Gordon Brotherson, 2000, p. 512
- ^ Martin Lienhard, 2000, p. 534
- ^ Martin Lienhard, 2000, p. 533
- ^ Martin Lienhard, 2000, p. 542
- ^ Rene Prieto, 2000, p. 611)
- ^ José Mejia, 2000, p.710
- ^ José Mejia, 2000, p.708
- ^ Gordon Brotherson, 2000, p.513
- ^ Gordon Brotherson, 2000, p.511
- ^ Martin Lienhard, 2000, p. 525
- ^ Martin Lienhard, 2000, p. 526
- ^ Martin Lienhard, 2000, p. 530
References
- Franco, Jean (1994). An Introduction to Spanish-American Literature (third ed. ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
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- Brotherson, Gordon (2000). "La herencia maya y mesoamericana en Leyendas de Guatemala." In Cuentos y leyendas. Barcelona: Coleccion Archivos.
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- Lienhard, Martin (2000). "Nacionalismo, modernismo y primitivismo tropical en las Leyendas de 1930." In Cuentos y leyendas. Barcelona: Coleccion Archivos.
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- Prieto, Rene (2000). "La figuracion del surrealismo en las Leyendas de Guatemala." In Cuentos y leyendas. Barcelona: Coleccion Archivos.
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- Mejía, José (2000). . "Complejidad y riqueza cultural del mundo mestizo en la obra de Asturias." In Cuentos y leyendas. Barcelona: Coleccion Archivos.
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- Arredondo, Isabel (2000). . "¡Abróchense los cinturones!: el viaje inconsciente en las Leyendas de Migues Angel Asturias." In Cuentos y leyendas. Barcelona: Coleccion Archivos.
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- Prieto, Rene (2000). . "The tales that now no one believes: Leyendas de Guatemala." In Cuentos y leyendas. Barcelona: Coleccion Archivos.
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