Pablo Neruda: Veinte poemas de amor y una cancion desesperada

I definitely enjoyed reading “Veinte poemas de amor y una cancion desesperada” by Neruda as I found it romantic and enjoyed the storyline of the poems. I liked how the poems progressed and really showed the change of the author’s feelings towards his love. The first demonstrates his strong physical attraction towards this women; Neruda states, “cuerpo de mujer, blancas colinas, muslos blancos” (31). The first few poems seem to show his passion towards her mystery, allure and beauty. The feeling of the author seems to slowly shift from passion and intrigue to love and sadness. At the very end, I found his style of writing to be very effective, using repetion and word choice, to make the reader (at least for me) feel sorry for him and better understand his sorrow.

This last poem (page 109) was my favorite because of the repetition (“puedo escribir los versos mas tristes esta noche…”) and his dramatic change in mood to sadness, frustration and loss. “Ya no la quiero, es cierto, pero tal vez la quiero…aunque este sea el ultimo dolor que ella me causa, y estos sean los últimos versos que yo le escribo” (110-110). I also noted that this was quite a dramatic switch from his mood in poem 18 when he says “y como yo te amo, los pinos en el viento”.

I also liked reading the poems because they showed how infatuated and intrigued he was with this woman by his words, which in turn showed how well he can express his feelings and make the reader sympathize with him.

After reading the poems, I feel that perhaps he was infatuated with the woman and adored the excitement and secrecy of their relationship opposed to the actual woman . Page 67 states, “nadie nos vio esta tarde con las manos unidas” and page 32 , “me sed, mi ansia sin limite.”

Spanish 365: The Second Half of Cumanda

The second half of Cumanda, in my point of view, was much more eventful than the first. There were many more elements of suspense, for example at the end of chapter 11 when “Cumanda contuvo el lloro por atender y observar,” intriguing the reader to continue. Moreover, I found myself wondering how the novel would end and knew something tragic would result with the constant references to death and the several attempts made on Carlos.

The theme of relations among different cultures was a main focus of “Cumanda.” It was interesting that the love between Carlos and Cumanda was an exchange and sharing of different cultures, for example the sharing of the Christian faith and cultures of the indigenous people (for example, during the Fiesta). At the same time, this novel portrays the difficulty of mixing different cultures together and the problems they face to be accepted by the other, and moreover by society. Mera showed, through this novel, the Indian societal norms and views at that period and how the intrusion of “el blanco” was shunned upon and not accepted.

The second half of the book continued to portray Carlos’ poetic and romantic nature of speech, for example on page 190 (“jamas abandona al que pena y llora…fiemos en sus manos nuestra suerte, y vamos, vamos, Cumanda”) and on page 267. Although nice to read at times, I found it a bit tedious to read through. Futhermore, I found the events around the brother/sister or incestuous relationship between Cumanda and Carlos a rather surprising development to the storyline.

This book was a typical romantic-tragedy, but I did enjoy it since it revolved around main characters, an interesting plot, and personal matters such as the family and ethnic relations. In this sense, it was much different that previous novels I have read in Spanish 364, for example “Brevisima relacion de la destruction de las Indias” by Las Casas, which took on a completely different point of view.

Spanish 365: Cumanda, Chapters 1 to 10

Cumanda, by Juan Leon Mera seems to be a very interesting, descriptive and informative novel which is based around a love story between an Indian girl, Cumanda, and a European, Carlos. After reading the first ten chapters, I have gained more knowledge about the lifestyles, scenery and nature which the indigenous people flourished in. The author does a great job of describing the scenery and portraying it not only as miraculous, but foreign to the Europeans inflicting “peligrosos y sopresas” (Mera, 89). He uses a lot of exaggeration to get across his point, for example “millones de millones de arboles” and “palmas que parecen gigantes” (Mera, 90).

I appreciate Juan Leon Mera’s use of poetic devices in his descriptions, such as metaphors, and detailed descriptions of customs, towns (such as Andoas) and nature (the rivers and the forests) because I am able to imagine what it would be like for the European explorers. From his descriptions, I can imagine the scenery as heavenly since he emphasises the abundance and diversity of flowers and scents found in the area. Chapter three was interesting in that he describes the Tongana family as harmonious and mutually cooperative, enabling readers to understand the indigenous lifestyle and culture better. Furthermore, Leon Mera does a great job in describing his observation of the different nomadic tribes, and how travelling among them can be dangerous and necessary precautions must be taken.

My favourite part thus far would be the exchange of words between Cumanda and Carlos when they profess their love for one another due to the romanticism; “tu presencia me transforma” (Mera, 111). I like Carlos’s poetic nature as he has a “corazon de poeta” (Mera, 136). I also liked Chapter ten's use of poems and events around Cumanda y “el blanco.”

Overall, I have enjoyed the first ten chapters, since they are interesting and descriptive in my opinion, and I am fond of Leon Mera’s style of writing.

Spanish 365: Assignment 1

Spanish 365: Assignment 1
The Relationship between Literature and Family

Literature is a principal method of expressing ones feelings and insights, but it also reflects society and culture by the stories or accounts the author documents. Authors may write about stories of family interactions and what is the norm for the family structure in the given time period and culture. Furthermore, we may also use literature of different time periods to infer what the typical family structure of the past was or how society and culture played a role on the family system. In a cultural sense, families differ from region to region; they may be groups tied by genetics or just by a common area, such as a town, and literature portrays their existence and illustrates their differences. Many stories describe everyday routines a family faces and the roles of the family members.

Moreover, literature often tells stories of extraordinary families to spark interest to readers and make the piece interesting in order for it to be successful. It may describe struggles the family faces in life in order to develop the story and make it of interest. Families in literature may be compared to one’s own to determine what makes a happy, dysfunctional, strange or exceptional family according to the author, and it enables the classification of one’s family.

Literature can describe the relationship between the genders, such as between husband and wife, and therefore, reflect societal views and norms in that given period. It also describes cultural differences of family types and norms; for example, various pieces demonstrate relationships between members of a community, such as a town, as a family system. In this type of family, each member of the community plays a different role (such as the income earners and caretakers). In this sense, readers gain knowledge of how different family systems function and exist.