Latin American Short Stories

13 responses so far ↓

•   Madeleine // Sep 3rd 2014 at 6:27 pm

  Taking all four of Palma’s short stories into account, I thought his style of writing was quite different from the other stories we read up to this point. Palma writes in a concise, matter-of-fact way. His stories almost seem biographical, as if he is merely giving an account of a situation; he does not include the dramatic adjectives and powerful description words that filled Bolívar’s “My Delirium on Chimborazo,” for example. Lastarria even developed a mood to his piece immediately with words like “paralyzing” and “anguish” and “fatal depression,” but Palma begins his stories with either a short biography or a simple account of facts. I thought this was strange because his stories read like a summary of an event, not like a literary piece.

  However, I thought it was interesting how “Friar Martín’s Mice,” and “The Black Mass” have elements of the supernatural. In “Friar Martín’s Mice,” the friar is able to talk to animals and he convinces his cat, dog, and pet mice to share food and live in harmony together. In “The Black Mass,” Palma tells a tale of a witch, who turns into an owl at night and is a concubine for the Devil.

  In “The Liberator’s Three Etceteras,” Palma delivers a fairly realistic account of Bolívar’s escapades as a womanizer. This particular story revealed another aspect of his personality. Previously when we read Bolívar’s own account on the mountain, he exalted himself and made himself an equal with the gods. This holds true in “The Liberator’s Three Etceteras,” because it seems like he feels entitled to taking advantage of young girls, especially since he has avoided death by doing so.

  Finally, I thought Palma’s references to devout Christianity were interesting. In “The Black Mass,” the narrator is addressing children, and it seems like he is using the story as a scare-tactic to get children to follow the strict rules and traditions of Catholicism. Throughout the tale, he tells the reader to pray, recite a Hail Mary, ask for forgiveness, or make the sign of the cross eight separate times! Also, it was ironic to me that through the painter Miguel de Santiago’s quest to portray Christ’s agony in a work of art in “The Christ in Agony,” he ended up torturing his model and making him live through that same agony until he murdered him. He recreated Christ’s death in his painting and in real life.

•   chicasi // Sep 4th 2014 at 1:48 am

  Ricardo Palma has a distinct style of writing compared to Lastierra and Bolivar. Palma’s stories are in first person, and person is who isn’t involved in the tale is telling it. Palma adds a significant amount of historical background from certain countries to all of his short stories, countries that included Dominican Republic, Peru, and Ecuador. He also includes religion into his stories since he regularly addresses churches as a holy ground that raises holy men. There are many things that left me wondering about Palma, whether it kept me fascinated or confused.

  It came to my attention as I read Palma’s stories that women are repeatedly connected to a negative connotation in some way. “The Liberator’s Three Etceteras” has three women taken as prisoners and to be delivered to Simon Bolivar, which could have lead to him raping them. “The Black Mass” has a woman named Mother San Diego who was apparently controlled by the Devil for 10 years and would assemble with other “witches” in a “Black Mass”. In “The Christ in Agony”, Miguel de Santiago sliced off his own wife’s ear because she was concerned his portrait would get dirty and hired their nephew to repair the damage, which altered his painting. It seems like a common occurrence in Palma’s stories for women to experience misfortune. I figured it was something that sparked my interest. This can reveal how Palma might view women as the inferior gender since lose more than the men, especially from the 1500s to the 1800s.

  The strangest story to me is “Friar Martin’s Mice”. The story is about Friar Martin, his coming to a monastery, and his unique care for mice. I thought the strangest part of this wasn’t the mice, but the fact that Martin was able to speak to several mice, a cat, and a dog and have them all live together in harmony. People generally associate these animals to be mortal enemies, but in this story, they live together under Martin’s supervision. Another strange, but interesting event because of how unexpected it was to me occurred in “The Christ in Agony”. Santiago wanted to paint a scene of agony and he went to great lengths to hang his model to a wooden cross and eventually stab the model in order to paint “Christo de la Muerte”.

•   Cailin // Sep 4th 2014 at 8:02 pm

  In Ricardo Palma’s four short stories, aspects of Peruvian culture are revealed, specifically concerning religion, through his tone, historical fiction narratives, juxtaposition between religious and pagan imagery, and language. While some hints are more subtle than others, all stories provide religious focus and instruction.
  All of the stories are written as historical fiction, taking place in a specific year and all with a central character essential to the history of the narrator. For example, in “The Black Mass,” the central character is na San Diego, a woman the narrator remembers from her childhood as being a witch, and confessing to being the Devil’s concubine. While the story is not true, it does provide religious instruction for the narrator’s grandchildren. The story is meant to scare them, and tell them to follow God.
  The stories are also written in a conversational tone, which, in effect, makes the narrator lose some ethos, but the point of the stories remains to follow religion. “Friar Martin’s Mice” may be the best example of this. The narrator of the story is heavily biased in favor of Friar Martin, so the description of his life is laudatory and sometimes unprofessional: “Quite a good miracle, wouldn’t you say? Well, where there’s a good one, there’s one better” (Palma, 222). The tone allows for the audience to feel more comfortable receiving religious instruction, as sometimes preachers can make audiences feel uncomfortable or even resentful. The casual tone, while lessening ethos, puts the author on the level of the reader, and is allowed to be accepted more.
  There is also an interesting juxtaposition between Christian imagery and pagan or evil imagery. There is some kind of enemy in all the stories, though this example is most easily found in “The Liberator’s Three Etceteras.” When describing don Simon, some pagan imagery is used: “…the Liberator, who’s a great devotee of Venus…” (Palma 238). In this story, don Simon is the antagonist, from the view of the officer who is fired from his post and, more interestingly, from the point of view of the girls who were supposed to be the “three etceteras.” These girls are also referred to as nymphs in the story. While these are all connected to don Simon, another criticism against him and his staff uses Christian imagery: “This chief of the general staff should have written as Christ teaches us…” (Palma 238). This story in particular also reveals a power structure of the culture. Men are superior to women, shown during the scene when the girls are taken prisoner, yet this also reveals that the army is revered and morals can be forgotten. While the families plead, the officers decide that they would much rather not be punished by their superiors than feel guilt from their actions. This gives a religious lesson as well, in saying that morals should be placed above orders from a superior if those orders do not follow good religious principles.
  An interesting parallel is found in “The Christ’s Agony” that reveals more about culture as well. The story opens with a brief history of the volcano situated near San Francisco de Quito, where the action takes place. Though the introduction seems unnecessary at first, the description of the volcano is later seen again in the actions of Miguel de Santiago. While both are destructive and explosive, both offer something to the town: the volcano, a rich history and reminder to the people of their strength; Miguel de Santiago, his influential art. Since the people of the town are very religious, his works give them new inspiration and strength. In the scene depicting Miguel painting his masterpiece, The Christ in Agony, the model is shown to be a Christ figure, since he is still forgiving, even in death, and patient with his torturer, Miguel. Afterwards, Miguel is tortured by his own guilt, as Christ’s torturers were. Palma’s lesson here is a reminder to follow and find strength in religion, and to emulate the qualities of patience and forgiveness.
  All four of Palma’s short stories reveal the importance of religion in Peruvian culture. The conversational tone keeps people’s attention and respect, especially told in story form. Stories are more readily grasped onto than lectures or sermons, so Palma accomplishes his task of providing religious lessons while keeping the attention of his audience. The stories are short and to the point, and are either relatable, like “The Three Etceteras,” or at least quirky, such as “Friar Martin’s Mice.” Whether subtle or not, Palma’s point comes across in an entertaining manner.

•   danona // Sep 5th 2014 at 1:44 am

  Palma’s style of writing confused yet intrigued me. I constantly found myself asking questions and wondering how certain passages tied into the story. For example, when Palma began his stories with short refrains, such as “Y comieron en un plato/perro, pericote y gato”, I found it difficult to tie this in with the story. However, after completing the story I understood that the poem was meant to be an introduction that summarized the story. Palma continues using these refrains in “The Liberators Three Etceteras”, but this time the key refrain is placed towards the end of the story, “Y no me venga un cualquier/con argumentos el aire;/pues no he de decir Volter/ donde está escrito Voltaire.”

  I found “The Christ in Agony” to be particularly strange, especially the ending. The diction particularly stands out and adds to the oddity. In order to achieve the look of anguish, Miguel “pierced” his model’s hands as he “groaned” and “convuls[ed].” The strangeness heightens as the young man yells out, almost in pleasure, “Good, master Miguel!” The model seems to be enjoying the pain as he is helping complete the painting of a master he studied. Miguel de Santiago goes on to undergo frequent hallucinations, realizing the crime he has committed for art.

  Religion played a key role in characterization in “The Black Mass.” As the grandmother continues the story, she constantly puts the down ña San Diego. The grandmother is also constantly asking God for forgiveness when she says something wrong, or telling the girls to say the rosary with her. On the contrary, there also seemed to be a supernatural aspect within the story as it involved witches, warlocks, and a Black Mass. The grandma herself seemed to contradict her strict religious ways when she tells the girls to pound their chest three times as to protect them from anything evil. However this knack seems more of a spiritual trick, rather than a traditional religious prayer. This contrast within the character creates a more vivid, interesting story.

•   Cassie Jimmink // Sep 5th 2014 at 1:58 am

  While reading Palma’s short stories, I found myself stopping and thinking multiple times and sometimes raising an eyebrow here and there. There were many times were I could imagine detailed images of the text in my head. I found it very interesting how Palma’s writing was straight to the point and concise but at the same time it could create such detailed images in my head. Although, I could see a distinct image in my head, he didn’t use descriptive words like we saw in the earlier pieces we read. This was very interesting to me.
  While reading “Friar Martin’s Mice” I thought it was both strange and interesting that Friar was able to speak to the animals. At the same time, I thought it was revealing because it was like he was teaching a lesson through the life of animals. I see this a lot reading. Many times author will use animal characters and personify them in order to teach the reader a life lesson. I think that by using the 3 different animals Friar was trying to express that different people can also eat together and interact in a very friendly way.
  “The Black Mass” was confusing at times but also very revealing. I would read a sentence or two and stop, think for a minute, then reread it. In the text is says, “As I was saying, like it or not, the witch was forced to drink down a mugful of blessed oil, whereupon she began to make faces like a monkey and vomit it all up, that is to say, she confessed everything”. Throughout the text the witch was looked at not as a witch but as a good asset. He was able to show characterize her as a “good” person to some but at the same time hide her “bad” side. Just as in “The Black Mass”, Friar also uses Christianity in “The Christ in Agony.” The painter tortured his model and go through the same pain as Christ once did. He not only painted, but he created the suffering in real life.
  The third part of “Peruvian Traditions” was very strange to me. At one point is says, “He chose three of the ones who seemed to him to be of surpassing beauty.” This is said because Bolivar has a reputation of a women chaser. Later in the text, it explains that the act of protesting is a feminine right. The act of protesting seems very harsh and serious. During this time, women were only seen for their looks not their actions. The connection of protesting and women do not connect.

•   Hannah // Sep 5th 2014 at 2:46 am

  In the texts written by Palma, I thought his tone was interesting.

  In “The Liberator’s Three Etceteras”, I thought the tone was interesting. I think it was satire, and I was not expecting that. I also thought the repetitive language was interesting. The word “sybaritic” was used more than once, and the leaders of San Ildefonso de Caraz repeatedly stated that they believed Bolívar had a taste for luxury. They expressed this idea so many times that it seemed certain, but then it ironically twisted on them at the end. This made the characters’ mistakes of judgement that much more ridiculous. I found it strange that Bolívar was described in such a negative light. It was a great contrast to the passage we read. The foolishness of the governor and the one dignitary was revealing of the reputation of the leaders of the town.

  In “The Christ in Agony”, I thought the portrayal of Miguel de Santiago was interesting. At first, the speaker sets us up to believe that the painter will be a heroic figure, describing him as “illustrious” and whose works “won the laurels of genius”. However, Santiago actually turns out to be somewhat insane, even going so far as to murder someone for the sake of his work. I found it strange that even after the speaker informs us of this crime, Santiago still is not a criminal character. His “extraordinary merit” saves him from the persecution he really deserves. I found it revealing that the speaker portrays authority again as inadequate.

  “The Black Mass”, I found it interesting that again we have a character who is not really a protagonist or antagonist. The speaker introduces Mother San Diego as a very charitable figure who cures the sick. She turns into a witch, though, by the end of the piece. The speaker’s abrupt change of viewpoint is notably strange, which adds doubt as to her credibility. The authority’s obsession with finding out if Mother San Diego was a witch or not is revealing of the flawed legal system. The legal system takes an even more terrible turn for the worse when those leading the Inquisition hold Mother San Diego in prison for “something like a year”.

  I really enjoyed “Friar Martín’s Mice”. I thought the characterization of Friar Martín begins as notable when he is so passive that he does not even like to use the “razor and the lancet”. I found the tone toward religious miracles very interesting. The speaker introduces the miracle casually, but then admits that he/she is close to laughing. It is not clear whether or not this is because of disbelief or nature of the story. I thought it was revealing that a theme of this short story was harmony and disregard of differences. Also, this was the only short story where authority was not revealed as flawed in some way, but actually effective in negotiating conflicts (albeit only with animals).

•   jacobsoh // Sep 5th 2014 at 2:56 am

  Reading these four short stories by Palma was very interesting. They each had a distinct story behind them, but they all followed Palma’s matter-of-fact writing style as he shared each tale with the reader. I found it strange that in all of his stories, Palma started off each with a description of the setting before introducing any characters. For example in “The Christ in Agony” Palma spent the whole first page describing “San Francisco de Quito” and the volcano “Mount Pichicha” describing the setting of the area. Although this created a descriptive background for the setting I’m not sure what this added to the main idea of the story. It seems like this piece of information was forgotten once the main character Miguel de Santiago was introduced.

  The clear presence of Christianity throughout all of Palma’s stories revealed the importance of Christianity to the time as well as its importance in Palma’s mind. Christianity is a clear thread throughout and is often seen as easily in the titles of the stories. Titles such as “The Black Mass” and “Christ in Agony” reveal early on that these stories will have clear ties to Christianity in them.

  I found it interesting that Palma often ended each story with a final statement or idea that summed up the moral, or main idea, of a story. In the story “The Liberator’s Three Etceteras” Palma ends it with the line “Three etceteras listed after a good bed, for anyone in the know, means three girls… and I wont back down from that even at pistol point.” In “Friar Martin’s Mice” the story ends with the mouse, cat and dog sharing their food happily together. Lastly, in the end of “Black Mass” the grandma reminds her granddaughters that their faith in God and religion will help them.

•   medinaeg // Sep 5th 2014 at 3:34 am

  Palma’s short stories convey many ideas of being true to God and being able to understand all that is occurring. Though some of the short stories are harsh for example in “The Black Mass” and in “The Christ in Agony.” Both deal with being faithful to God and not losing sight of what is not accomplishable. In most of the stories Palma includes a poem to connect the reader more into the reading. “Y comieron en un plato perro, pericote y gato” can be interpreted as different kinds of people coexisting with one another and do not fight over frivolous things such as sharing food.

  In, “Friar Martin’s Mice”, the narrator is ensuring all the animals and people coexist and not have violence. God will provide all that is needed and the only obstacle is to believe. “Come, you two, leave a place for a guest, for God will provide for the three of you.” Palma gives accounts of events, which is similar “Rosa” by Lastarria. Both give information of what is happening in the story and gives the reader a little bit of insight. “The governor of what was then the small town of San Ildeonso de Caraz” gives information of where the story is locating in the first sentence giving the reader a sense of where the story will take place.

  Palma’s writing brings a sense of evil or bad deeds in the end of his stories. In “The Black Mass” towards the end the witch dies and the children are told to be good after hearing much of evil deeds. “The Christ in Agony” ends with the Santiago’s having “frequent hallucinations” after he realized he killed his disciple. The governor in “The Liberator’s Three Etceteras” lost his job after working hard to accommodate Bolivar and his regime. In the beginning part of the stories all the characters meant well but ended in a bad position.

  The readings were fun; the poems Palma wrote were connected to the reading and were great to read. Palma has a concise and event type of writing while having both good and bad into the stories. The stories are not as some say happily ever after but rather of thinking of your actions and how they convey to others. As Palma wrote, “Morena del alma mia morena, por tu querer pasaria la mar en barquito de papel.” The characters would do anything to be happy.

•   Aden // Sep 5th 2014 at 3:46 am

  In the works of literate we read by Palma, I find him to be somewhat unconfident in his writing. He constantly makes statements in defense of his declarations. In “The Liberator’s Three Etceteras” Palma writes after “I am not inventing this” after a shocking anecdote. He justifies his writing by prefacing many of his anecdotes by stating he heard them from one person or another. He is simply combining the many things he has heard into a complete narrative, thus removing himself and his own judgments from the story. The fact that the powerful men in San Ildefonso de Caraz were so tense and unnerved to provide Simon Bolivar the etceteras reveals he was feared as well as revered. A soldier also remarked that he did not want to have the Liberator “fry” him. A strange and revealing fact is the excessive amount Bolivar spent on cologne. It clearly proved his power and his feelings of exaltation.

  “The Christ in Agony” is written in much surer language. Palma takes responsibility of his words and uses phrases such as “which are doubtless the result” and “I once again take up my pen of a chronicler to save from the dust of oblivion one of your most beautiful traditions.” He is confident and proud to be saving a tradition. He himself decides the Rembrandt and Flemish schools are “distinguished” by a “certain chiaroscuro.”He also makes sweeping statements like “the people of Quito have a feeling for art” and claims Spain has a “well-known carelessness.” Palma’s confidence in this story contrasts with his lack of literary ownership in “The Liberator’s Three Etceteras.”

  I found it strange in “The Black Mass” that Palma is so glowing in his description of na San Diego. It “warmed” his heart to see her so “contrite” and he “thought of her as blessed.” He was even healed by her. Palma quickly changes his tone and marks her as a “witch” and “crafty sorceress” later in the passage. Palma seems to completely change his opinion in the matter of a sentence. He drops his previously made connection with her and accepts the authorities’ condemnation whole-heartedly.

  In “Friar Martin’s Mice” Palma writes so confidently, he supposes and infers when he is lacking facts. He starts a sentence with the word “perhaps.” He says “so then, don’t make me laugh” further proving he is completely comfortable with his story. He doesn’t even try to convince the reader. He states “believe it or not” and “I am not putting a dagger to my reader’s breast to make him believe.” He is unwavering in his confidence. It is interesting how Palma’s writing varies in its conviction throughout the four stories.

•   Estiven // Sep 5th 2014 at 3:55 am

  Simon Bolivar had incredible achievements; he liberated many of the countries in South America that were being controlled by Spain. He realized that the oppression from the Spanish wasn’t fair and the South American people shouldn’t be ruled by a tyrant. Therefore when reading the “Liberator’s Three Etceteras” by Ricardo Palma it was strange and interesting to read that Simon Bolivar the great liberator became so self indulgent that he turned into a tyrant. A country reaches independence when people are free to have the same opportunities and rights as everybody else in the country, not when one person takes advantage of others and feels the need to take everything for themselves. Palma states “ The four years he stayed in Peru the national treasury had to pay 8,000 pesos-8,000! Spent on cologne for the use and consumption of his Excellency the Liberator”. While other people suffer in the country because they don’t’ have enough money or even food, Bolivar wasted a fortune on cologne. Bolivar liberated Peru but instead of the people following the Spanish’s orders they were now under Bolivar’s power. These countries were forced to deal with Bolivar’s burden and are still oppressed. The power was not evenly distributed among the people. Bolivar gained what the Spanish lost in power, women, comfort and finally etcetera.
  However, “The Christ in Agony” and “The Black Mass” were unique because they revolved around religion and revealed some of the flaws in religion. In “The Black Mass” na San Diego is a devout Christian who helps her community and would “ go from house to house curing the sick”. After accusations of being a witch and siding with the devil she was publicly criticized and hated by her community and even referred to as “devil”. She was never allowed to plead herself not guilty, was exploited, and then left to die in her house. Religion is so powerful that the accusations of her being against Christianity led to the complete demised of her life, in this case religion was never questioned simply because those that defy it are the devils concubine. In “The Christ in Agony” I found it interesting that Miguel de Santiago was blinded by religion not to do a good deed but in order to paint “Cristo de La Agonia” which resulted in the death of his volunteer. Santiago became obsessed with religion to the point that it became dangerous because he didn’t establish a balance, so his greed to finish the painting removed his conscious self, which led him into a delirium until he realized what he had done. Religion showed its flaws because Santiago uncontrollably recreated the death of Christ and event in religion that’s suppose to be full of pain and anguish but in this case it was towards a young man who simply volunteer to be part of art.
  In “Friar Martin’s Mice” the author strangely mentions that he isn’t forcing us to believe Martin’s supernatural abilities. But if the story is real why would the author have to mention that he isn’t lying. Palma states “ Believe it or not. But let it be clearly understood that I am not putting a dagger to my reader’s breast to make him believe”. This was strange to see because it seemed that Palma wasn’t confident in the validity of the story or he knew the reader immediately would question some of Martin’s abilities simply because they aren’t normal. I suspected Palma enhanced Martin’s ability to show how powerful of a friar he was and to enhance how well respected Martin was among his community.

•   grandam // Sep 5th 2014 at 4:05 am

  Ricardo Palma’s writing was very different than other pieces that we have read before. What struck me most was its inclusion of the supernatural, his deep spirituality and his singular development of characters throughout all four stories. In The Black Mass, he suddenly switches his narrative from the story of a seemingly normal, although evil, old woman to the inclusion of super natural phenomena. “He saw na San Diego, who had turned into an owl, children, and was flying out the window of her room” (The Black Mass, 141). This sudden shift was startling because of the matter of fact tone that he had previously employed. Palma continues to elaborate on the evils of the woman, finally stating her death with what seems like relief. Throughout this story he repeatedly tells his audience, children, to pray and do other good deeds. This seems at odds with his satisfaction at the death of another. His deep belief in God threads through all of his pieces of writing that we read. He even chooses to use “Friar Martin” as his main character in Friar Martin’s Mice. Like this piece, The Liberator’s Three Etceteras also gave insight into his spiritual beliefs because of the subtly damning of the “Liborator”. He harps on his obsession with cologne as well as mentioning the large amount of money that he wastes, as if damning his vanity. I found Palma especially interesting in the way he developed his characters. The example that struck me the most was his characterization of Friar Martin as a kind and compassionate an through his description of the Friar’s treatment of the mince in his kitchen. Palma’s casual writing style set him apart from the other authors that we have experienced in class.

•   applegsa // Sep 5th 2014 at 4:26 am

  In all four of the stories by Palma: Friar Martin’s Mice, Peruvian Traditions, The Christ in Agony, and The Black Mass, there were several similarities in writing structure which made these interesting as a collective group. At the same time, The Black Mass and Friar Martin’s Mice are not as realistic as the other two stories, which was also interesting. I thought that all of these stories were rather straightforward, although there were some sections that struck me as strange. Palma, at times, was random and contradictory. For example, the aspects of the supernatural in certain stories seemed to come out of nowhere. Additionally, in regards to contradiction, in The Black Mass, one character acts very religious and at the same time has murderous tendencies.

•   Kienan // Sep 5th 2014 at 4:48 am

  I find his belief in God interesting. He talks about Mother San Diego and her healing powers. How she healed his toothache “just by praying by herself for an hour and holding a little bone to my jaw”, as he says in “The Black Mass”. His strong faith seems to be talked about or referenced in each story, whether it be a reference toward a monastery or of healing. However, he contradicts himself in “The Black Mass” when he is writing about his strong faith in God and love for healing people but he seems happy when the lady dies.

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