Horacio Quiroga, poems writer
Horacio Quiroga born on December 31, 1878 in Salto, Uruguay. He published his first collection of poems, coral reef in 1901 and for 30 years he wrote more than 200 stories which were inspired by the jungle. He suffered from severe depression and terminal stage cancer, Horacio committed suicide on February 19, 1937 at a hospital in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was a writer of stories of Uruguayan origin whose imaginative representation of the struggle of man and the animal to survive in the tropical jungle deserved recognition as a teacher of short history. He was a journalist, teacher and justice of the peace. Some of his works are the collection of prose and verse ¨The coral reefs. In its beginnings it was influenced by writers of the nineteenth century: from the United States of America, by the macabre and dark visions of Edgar Allan Poe, and in England, the stories of the Rudyard Kipling’s jungle. Quiroga described the primitive and the wild with exotic images as stories of the jungle and the slaughtered chicken and other stories. Anaconda, is to consider her masterpiece it was taken to the big screen and deals with the snakes in the tropical jungle, the non -poisonous anaconda stretching its prey are stealth and a large size. His writings reflected the overwhelming feeling of futility that led him to commit suicide.
Location of the work in historical-social context
It is acclimata in the year1912. All the events of the story develop continuously from day to night, the death time of the main character from the moment the snake bites until its end, his death in the canoe to drift. Author does not mention the time or time in which events happen, it only mentions that sunset is the symbolism that it acquires, which is approaching the end of life. As far as space is concerned, Quiroga gives us some aspects that could be indicators of the region in which the story takes place. He mentions the Brazilian coast, together with the Paraná River, so it is implied that the story is located on the triple border consisting of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay, the text indicates that its house is located in theArgentine side, where Quiroga lived most of his life. It follows that in the jungle and Panama River is the one located the development of the story to drift.
Title
The title is striking, because the canoe is drifting, and also has a tone of symbolism, because there is a man drifting by referring to his death when he is bitten by a poisonous snake. There is a man who is really struggling for his life and his desin against possible death. It is also symbolic because Paulino’s loneliness speaks to see him only heading to his death. The drift title shows us the loneliness of a helpless man, hoping if he lives or dies.
Affair
It drifting- tells the fate of a man who is bitten by a poisonous snake and shows us the effects caused by poison in his body and experiences. When bitten by a Paulino snake, a tourniquete is made with a handkerchief so that the poison did not spread to reach his ranch and seek help. When you realize the severity of your situation, you go to Canoa to seek the help of your compadre alves. It is not known if the compadre was at home or simply did not want to open because they had been annoying for a long time, so he decides to get on his canoe again and continue in search of help. Throughout his trip he remembered his acquaintances from the town, this began to give him peace and tranquility, but shortly before arriving at the town he died leaving the Canoa Rio below to drift. The story tells Paulino’s journey before his death when he got on his canoe in search of help in vain because he dies without getting help.
Central theme
The central theme of this story is the survival struggle of a man.
Characters
- Paulino – main character or protagonist, presented by the author indirectly, as the man bitten by the snake, classified as character.
- Dorotea – Secondary character, presented by the author directly as Paulino’s wife, classified as character.
- Lorenzo Cubilla – Person with a comparsa category, presented by the author directly as the Dougald hall and classified as Comparsa.
- Dougald – character with a silhouette category, presented by the author directly as the former patron of Paulino and classified as silhouette.
- Alves – character with a silhouette category, presented by the author directly as the compadre of Paulino and classified as silhouette.
Ambient
In the story it develops in a jungle, its landscape is described by great beauty, but very dangerous. It is also developed in the river. There is no description of the time or the time of the events, nor are the characters present in the story.
Atmosphere
The atmosphere through the story is fear and concern. Paulino feels afraid of dying and makes the risky decision to ride in his Canoa Río Down trying to get to the town to be able to save themselves, although he fails to do it.
Conflict
The conflict begins at the beginning of the story by being bitten by a poisonous snake. The character has constant pain due to the snake bite. But his desire to live is so strong that he makes him forget pain to try to save himself. It is mounted in your canoe in search of help. Decides to continue downstream to try to get to the town because his compadre did not answer him when he called him with despair.
Structure
- EXHIBITION – The character and his problems are presented, until the yearning for the aid his compadre alves.
- Development – When the problem appears and when the narrator says, but the man did not want to die.
- The protagonist had been bitten by a poisonous and, desperate snake, is mounted in his canoe, in search of his compadre, but since he did not find it he remears again in his canoe in search of someone who can help him.
- Outcome – already downstream in search of saving your life, begins to ram.
Style
The author uses kinetic visual images (the man made a fast look at his foot. The viper saw the threat and sank his head in the very center of his spiral;But the machete fell from the back.¨ ¨The man looked at salt.) The physical description (the whole leg, to half thigh, was already a block to me and very hard that burst the clothes). Use several similes (three stitching stories like lightning. Overflowing meat as a monstrous black pudding) chromatic visual (the river had also colored. Acute pain born from the violet dots.) Tactile vision (the somewhat soft floor man.¨ ¨With large and terribly painful spots.¨ ¨ Of soon he felt he was frozen to his chest.¨ ¨The man had a violent chill.) Gustatory vision, (the man sipped in three drinks the cane flavor but had not felt any pleasure.) The dynamic description (the woman ran again with the Damajuana.)
Personal assessment
I am impressed by the author’s determination because it reflects the intensity in which I wanted to capture in this story. It was commissioned that it was a short story, but with great intensity which makes us transport you to Paulino’s journey. It does not endure your breath to know that it was bitten by a poisonous snake to the point of feeling a tickle by the leg. Then see how desperately becomes a torniquete in the leg and at that time your ordeal begins. The bother to see that his compadre did not help him because I did not answer his call being the determining piece that would have saved his life. Suffer with Paulino his way Rio below in search of getting to the town to get help until he ends up dying without getting to drift. Horacio took care of the story was a roller coaster of emotions and gives us a great message that is, that regardless of how ugly the situation we have in front of us cannot give up and we must continue fighting until we go forward. Personally, I really liked the story, but if I had written it, I would have made someone in the town managed to save it and that their journey would have been a teaching for the rest of the town because I did not like it in the way he died removing drift inI forget.
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