Latin American Short Stories

Bolívar & Lastarria

Record three key sentences from Bolívar’s text and three from Lastarria’s text. Bring your selections to class and be prepared to read them aloud.

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11 responses so far ↓

  •   chicasi // Aug 31st 2014 at 4:18 pm

    My Delirium on Chimborazo, Simon Bolivar

    – It was the God of Columbia taking possession of me.
    – “Do you think that your Universe matters?”
    – “Draw for the eyes of those like you the image of a physical Universe, the moral Universe.”

    Rosa, Jose Victorino Lastarria

    – “My father is determined; he detests you because you fight for independence.”
    – “I prefer to die of grief and to have Carlos also die with honor for his country, for his cause. I could not love him if he were dishonored.”
    – She tries to revive him with her breath… freezes with horror… trembles and falls to her knees… an iron hand lifts her, it is the Marques who with a tremulous voice and tear-filled eyes tells her: “Accept the will of God.”

  •   Madeleine // Aug 31st 2014 at 4:55 pm

    Bolívar-
    1. “So why should I hesitate to tread on the ice-white hair of this giant of the earth?”

    2. “Compared to my brother, Infinity, everything is less than the tiniest point.”

    3. “I stand high above the earth with my feet, I grasp the eternal with my hands; I feel the infernal prisons boiling beneath my footsteps; I stand gazing at the glittering stars beside me, the infinite suns; I measure without astonishment the space that encloses all matter, and in your face I read the History of the past and the thoughts of Destiny.”

    Lastarria-
    1. “We tremble without realizing it; the buzz of an insect, the flight of a nocturnal bird freeze us with terror and seem to forecast some sinister, horrible unknown.”

    2. “I prefer to die of grief and to have Carlos also die with honor for his country, for his cause.”

    3. “She tries to revive him with her breath…freezes with horror…trembles and falls to her knees…an iron hand lifts her, it is the Marqués who with a tremulous voice and tear-filled eyes tells her: ‘Accept the will of God.’ “

  •   applegsa // Aug 31st 2014 at 11:28 pm

    Bolivar:

    1. “Suddenly, Time appears to me as an ancient figure weighed down by the clutter of the ages: scowling, bent over bald, his skin lined, scythe in hand…”
    2. “There is no tomb for me, because I am more powerful than Death.”
    3. “I stand high above the earth with my feet; I grasp the eternal with my hands; I feel the infernal prisons boiling beneath my footsteps…”

    Lastarria

    1. “The night was somber. A stifling heat made the atmosphere oppressive.”

    2. “The darkness of the night was already conquering the twilight that makes all visible things appear hazy and vague.”

    3. “The country is free, praise to the heroes who in a hundred battles victoriously waved the tricolor flag.”

  •   jacobsoh // Sep 1st 2014 at 12:05 am

    Bolivar’s text- “My Delirium on Chimborazo”

    (1) “No human foot had ever blemished the diamond crown placed by Eternity’s hands on the sublime temples of this lofty Andean peak.”
    (2) “That you exalt yourself merely by scaling one of the atoms of creation?”
    (3) “Do not conceal the secrets heaven has revealed to you.”

    Lastarria’s text- Rosa

    (1) “We tremble without realizing it; the buzz of an insect, the flight of a nocturnal bird freeze us with terror and seem to forecast some sinister, horrible unknown.”
    (2) “Forever? Isn’t that a dream?”
    (3)I prefer to die of grief and to have Carlos also die with honor for his country, for his cause.”

  •   grandam // Sep 1st 2014 at 1:07 am

    Bolivar-

    “No human foot had ever blemished the diamond crown placed by Eternity’s hands on the sublime temples of this lofty Andean peak.”

    “At my feet the threshold of the abyss beckons.”

    “Oh, child, man, ancient, hero, why such vanity?”

    Lastarria-

    “Yet neither dared to reveal its fears, since even the slightest indication might prove fatal.”

    “He quickly disappears, then returns with armed men who secure the entries of the building; confused cried of alarm, of supplication, the sounds of arms, several pistol shots from inside shatter for a few moments the silence of the city.”

    “The coffin contained the body Marques de Aviles’s daughter, as beautiful and pure as ever, her brow encircled with a garland of roses.”

  •   medinaeg // Sep 1st 2014 at 1:08 am

    My Delirium on Chimborazo –Simon Bolivar

    “I have surpassed all men in fortune, because I have risen to be the head of them all.”
    “I left Humboldt’s tracks behind and began and began to leave my own marks on the eternal crystals girding Chimborazo.”
    “Tell men the truth.”

    Rosa –Jose Victorino Lastarria

    “Forever? Isn’t that a dream?”
    “I prefer to die of grief and to have Carlos also die with honor for his country, for his cause.”
    “I love you now as I did then because during all my exile along with me I carried a sweet dream of you to ease and soften the harshness of my cruel fate.”

  •   Estiven // Sep 1st 2014 at 1:48 am

    “My Delirium on Chimborazo”

    Paragraph 1- ” The war goddess Belona has been humbled by the brilliance of Iris”.

    Paragraph 6- ” I have surpassed all men in fortune, because I have risen to be the head of them all”.

    Paragraph 8- “Finally, the tremendous voice of Colombia cries out to me”.

    “Rosa”

    Page 32- “Hanging in the balance were liberty, the fortunes of many, and the ruin of those who for so long had ruled the country”.

    Page 36-“She tries to revive him with the her breath…freezes with horror…trembles and falls to her knees… an iron hand lifts her, it is the Marques who with a tremulous voice and tear filled eyes tells her: “Accept the will of God.”

    Page 36- “The coffin contained the body of the Marques de Aviles’s daughter, as beautiful and as pure as ever, her brow encircled with a garland of roses.”

  •   Hannah // Sep 1st 2014 at 1:49 am

    Bolívar

    “And caught up in a spiritual tremor I had never before experienced, and which seemed to me a kind of divine frenzy, I left Humboldt’s tracks behind and began to leave my own marks on the eternal crystals girding Chimborazo.”

    “‘Do not conceal the secrets heaven has revealed to you.'”

    “I become a man again, and write down my delirium.”

    Lastarria

    “In short, the night was one of those when people feel oppressed without knowing why; they need a sign, a hope.”

    “She is an angel asking for compassion who obtains in reply only a cold, satanical smile.”

    “The sound of bells, the artillery salvos, the military music, the cheering of the populace who fill the streets and plazas, everything indicates that the declaration of Chilean independence is being proclaimed.”

  •   Kienan // Sep 1st 2014 at 2:40 am

    A feverish delirium suspends my mental facilities. I feel as if I were a flame with a strange, higher fire. It was the god of Columbia king taking possession of me.

    Oh child, man, ancient, hero, why such vanity? That you exalt yourself merely by scaling one of the atoms of creation?

    The sky was hidden by thick, heavy clouds which here and there revealed a star dimmed by the night mist moving through the air.

  •   Cailin Smith // Sep 1st 2014 at 3:33 am

    From “My Delirium on Chimborazo”:
    1. “A feverish delirium filled my mind, I felt inflamed by a strange fire; it was the god of Columbia that possessed me.”
    2. “‘Whether you be young or old, a common man or a great hero, do you think that your universe is something?'”
    3. “‘All you have is but a speck in the presence of the infinite.'”

    From “Rosa”:
    1. “Anguish and hope, which for so many days had aroused their spirits, were now changing to a kind of fatal depression reflected in every face.”
    2. “She is an angel asking for compassion who obtains in reply only a cold, satanical smile.”
    3. “Rosa takes in her hands the gallant colonel’s head which still maintains the beautiful expression of his noble, intelligent spirit.”

  •   Aden // Sep 2nd 2014 at 11:23 pm

    Bolivar

    “At my feet the threshold of the abyss beckons.”

    “Do you believe that you have seen the Holy Truth?”

    “I stand high above the earth with my feet; I grasp the eternal with my hands; I feel the infernal prisons boiling beneath my footsteps; I stand gazing at the glittering stars beside me, the infinite suns; I measure without astonishment the space that enclosed all matter, and in your face I read the history of the past and the thoughts of Destiny.”

    Lastarria

    “Anguish and hope, which for so many days had aroused their spirits, were now changing to a kind of fatal depression reflected in every face.”

    “Forever? Isn’t that a dream?”

    An iron hand lifts her, it is the Marques who with a tremendous voice and tear-filled eyes tells her: “Accept the will of God.”

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