Azuela

My discussion question is: What motivated Demetrio and his men to join the revolutionary cause?

Throughout the novel, Demetrio and his men offer several different reasons to explain their motivations behind deciding to fight for the revolution. In Demetrio’s case, he claims he joined the revolution because he was involved in a conflict with Don Monico and needed to flee Moyahua to avoid attacks from the federal government (Azuela 40). However, Luis Cervantes, who Demetrio revealed his motivations to, refused to believe Demetrios’ reasoning and instead insisted that Demetrio joined the revolution to fight against the malicious government that controls Mexico (Azuela 42). Similarly, Cervantes declares that he joined the revolution to fight against the tyrannical government and even proclaims that all of Demetrios men are fighting for this same purpose as well (Azuela 42). Despite the different explanations offered by Demetrio and his men to explain their reasons for joining the revolution, Cervantes’ statement provides an explanation that seeks to connect all the mens’ motivation into one cause: the destruction of the unjust government.