Octavio Paz And The Loneliness Labyrinth

0 / 5. 0

Octavio Paz and the Loneliness Labyrinth

The Labyrinth of Soledad is a book published in 1950, by the Mexican writer Octavio Paz, the work is formed by a series of essays that reflect on the history of the country.  The essays presented below, distributed over nine sections, seek to explain different important events in the country and how these have influenced the personality and behavior of the Mexican, and the origin of various problems that society has faced throughout societyof the years, from the conquest to the present,

First of all, the author refers to a representative social group of the country, explains how it gave rise to the name they receive and its characteristics, as well as their ideological position, an ideology that makes them ashamed of their roots. The reasons that have led them to emigrate to another country are also exposed, to which, in the end they do not feel completely attached.

Subsequently, the author is responsible for exposing and describing a characteristic that can be observed within society until today, machismo. This attitude stripped the woman of any privilege, arguing that she was weak due to the "wound" with which his whole life lives, and for which he had to act and behave in a reserved and passive way.

Within the next section, the author details the folklore of the Mexican festivities, which turn out to be unusual compared to those of other places. To exemplify the above, the author mentions the celebration of "Day of the Dead", a date on which death is celebrated, a holiday that has traveled from generation to generation, the indigenous people being the first to celebrate it a consequence of their religious beliefs.

The author marks an emphasis on the loss of culture and identity of the Mexican indigenthrough an adaptation to establish a link between the image and the indigenous people.

El Pachuco and other extremes

From our birth we begin to know different feelings, according to this work, the main feeling we experience is loneliness.

The term "Pachuco" is conceived to represent a group of people of Mexican origin, mostly, but that denies such origins, and longs for being able to belong and form their life in the American environment. But despite all the denial they are going through, they cannot forget their origins, thus giving way to a crisis where their roots are conflicted with the new soil they step on, which they can never be felt completely belonging.

Mexican masks

The Mexican masks, explains how the man protects himself behind a wall that isolates him and protects him from any wound, where defense mechanisms attack who threatens, there is a time when the Mexican can bend to adversity,But it is never allowed to "crack", since this threatens its precious masculinity.

Masculinity that is transformed into machismo, this by denigrating women for the sex to which she belongs, arguing that the woman is weak due to the fact of having a wound that never hesates.

Todos Santos, Day of the Dead

At this point one of the most notable characteristics of the Mexican is highlighted, his love for the celebration, and although many times they are meaningless, there are many of our celebrations that have become a tradition/form of cultural, religious or political expression.

One of the peculiarities that most distinguishes Mexico from other places in the world, is the respect and tribute that is yielded to death, since, within culture, death is equally important as life, since withoutShe would not make sense to live, if she flees from one, she also flees to the other. The Mexican understands that death gives meaning and meaning to life.

THE CHILDREN OF THE MALINCHE

It is interesting as the text remarks the peculiarity of the Mexican being, since this is not only unique and exotic to others, with the traditions so out of the common and the incomprehensible attitude, but also within the same national territory the colorful language thatused.

And Mexico has endless words that, although they may sound offensively, many times its purpose differs greatly that of hurting, and language has been adopted so that it became an indispensable source of expression within theMexican vocabulary. It is interesting as the same word can be given a variable of meanings, depending, among other things, the context and intonation that is granted.

Conquest and colony

Undoubtedly one of the most notable moments in the history of Mexico was that of the conquest, as the author remarks. During that period, the country suffered a series of changes, which were mainly reflected in the culture and traditions that formed the peoples of that time.

The most notorious change, and that to date can be observed, is the imposition of the Spanish religion, Christianity, which, together with the language, to the indigenous people to forget their gods, those by whom they understood nature orany phenomenon that will experience. The Spaniards resorted to the image of the Virgin, who was assigned physical features similar to the indigenous people, in order to more easily control the population.

Of independence to the revolution

This work presents us different and important moments that have defined the history of the country, although without a doubt the most important moments are independence and revolution, and it is at this time that a dispute begins for autonomy against theboth Spanish and native authorities, this dispute originates from the fatigue that the people feel after years of regimes.

When the peoples are made with a certain level, a certain level is released because it was never achieved to everything, it is at that time when the country begins to cope with a series of changes in the law and norms for which it was governed, in addition to a reorganizationof states and leaders

Mexican "intelligence"

This section of the work refers to the importance of education in the country, and as José Vasconcelos was responsible for integrating modern education in the Mexican context. The foundation of education triggers the emergence of "intellectual" people, which were integrated into society in any possible field, either in the army or in any other branch, also demonstrating that intelligence is not specific knowledge,but knowing how to express and defend their ideals.

It is important to note that, for the author, the Mexican is not able to take advantage of his intelligence as a whole, since he is unable to originate of his own ideas and are based on those ideas born in past times.

Our days

Within this section, the author refers to the issue of the revolution, unlike this point where he exposes how the revolution initiated a process of change that has not concluded, since it was aimed at transforming and improvingto the country, something that until today cannot be observed.

It is due to the above, that, since past times, and until today the Mexican community has been involved in a layer of poverty, and not only economically speaking, but also the intellectual sphere and in the critical attitude.

Appendix. The dialectic of loneliness

Loneliness is a very complex term, which has different interpretations, which is why the car can determine that loneliness is a human condition derived from the independence of people and the routine that is created during the adult stage, in thewhich the person feels isolated from abroad.

The only thing that can make the feeling of loneliness disappear is another feeling, love, and this is the only one to establish a connection with reality, that is why individuals seek to establish relationships of couples and relatives, forBe able to shed the feeling of loneliness with which he has lived from the moment of his birth.

Final comments

After finishing the reading of "The Labyrinth of Loneliness" I have concluded that Mexico has gone through many stages that, although they have not been most rewarding, have shaped the country as we can see now. It is also interesting that with reading I knew different aspects of the history of Mexico, which I had not seen during the different kinds of history that they taught me in basic education.

Despite the interesting of reading, this type of books is not one that I would read in my free time, this because I do not have a taste for historical subjects, and the language that is handled in the work is somewhat complex, since it uses terms of the time in which it was written, which is why I had to resort to seeking the meaning in a dictionary.

The above does not eliminate that it is a good book, and if someone asked me for references to know a little more Mexican history and culture, I would undoubtedly recommend this book.    

Free Octavio Paz And The Loneliness Labyrinth Essay Sample

Related samples

Zika virus: Transmission form Introduction The Zika virus belongs to the Flaviviradae family, was found for the first time in a monkey called Rhesus febrile and in...

Zika virus: cases and prevention Introduction The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed that Zika is a virus caused through the mosquito bite which is...

Zeus The King of Greek mythology Introduction Zeus is the Olympic God of heaven and thunder, the king of all other gods and men and, consequently, the main figure...

Zeus's punishment to Prometheus Introduction Prometheus, punished by Zeus Prometheus, punished by Zeus. Prometheus is a ‘cousin’ of Zeus. He is the son of the...

Comments

Leave feedback

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *