This novel talks about one Mexican farmer Demetrio from the countryside participating in the Revolution . We could see his travels and interactions with different characters from various backgrounds. The protagonist returned to his town Limon, but was skeptical of the Revolution outcomes. He do not end his fight even the official social movement was ended.
After reading this novel, I would like to raise a question of gender roles back in the 1910s. Many narrations have violent components of those male characters through the story. The writer described a scene of the husband talking as a powerful figure to his wife, showing off how many people they have killed and drinking tequila. Apparently, male dominance and machismo was a widely accepted norms. Women’s presence in the story seemed to reflect “la feminidad” and being caring people.
For instance, at the start of the novel, the wife was yelling at the protagonist from dog braking and told that it must be a man invading. She showed a more caring figure as she told the husband where the rifle was at. Later in the first part, they lady was presented as a weaker figure when the intruders approached. Those men told her to prepare food, as it enforced the idea that women were the ones to prepare food. The wife also acted terrified and emotional to the dog’s death.
From the very first scene of the story, we could see the portrayals of gender roles that reinforce the patriarchy. The wife is more a fragile and emotional figure as expected in society while the men are acting strong and violent, as well as alcoholic.
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