week 6: Pedro Páramo by Juan Rulfo
Right at the start of the novel I found myself enjoying Rulfo's style of storytelling. The balance between descriptive imagery and concise narration eased my way in to reading this novel. It is clear to the reader that Juan is completing his deceased mother's wishes to search for his father, who also turns out to already have passed. I find it interesting that Rulfo begins the novel in a logical manner, yet as the story progresses the clarity transitions to being more of a grey area. By grey area, I do not mean a sort of 'limbo land' or a conceptual 'blackhole', but rather an imagined state of being that illustrates the blurred relationship between life and death. I found this transition to begin right around when the voices in Juan's head are introduced, just as his mother foretold he would experience. The voices Juan is experiencing are presumably the feeling his companion hinted at as well, that Juan would "feel it even more when they get to Comala".
My experience reading the novel began to take a different path as Juan began having more interactions (especially when the interactions with his mama were recounted). The non-linear progressions from one to another is where I found the story to being a bit confusing. It all of a sudden felt as though the reader was immersed in the experiences of the afterlife, without any front-loading or preparation to enter in this new conceptual transition.
Damiana Cisnero is an intriguing individual on the periphery. I found her character nicely exemplifies the blurred boundaries of life and death that surround the grey middle area. Damiana has some lived experience with Juan himself starting right at birth, yet presently she is existing within the grey, delivering "grey logic" to the unexplained aspects of death (Damiana first provides context as to why Juan can hear the trapped echoes of the deceased man, as if death is not final and can first occur in the grey area). Damiana also hints at other signs of existence in the grey area between life and death, "Poor Eduviges. That must mean she's still wandering like a lost soul".
This brings me to my question for discussion -
How much of an impact do non-linear story progressions have on your ability to make sense of a text?
Personally I found that the non-linear narrative enhanced the intertwined relationship between life and death that Rulfo is seemingly trying to portray, the ever persistent grey area of existence.
Thank you for highlighting the character of Damiana Cisneros. She is one of the women's voices that appears most strongly among the murmurs. Someone else has pointed out that the conception of gender within the novel is problematic, to say the least. I think that if we focus more closely on Damiana, Eduviges or Susana we can explain a little better that "rulfian" image that is worth talking about in class.
ReplyDeleteHi KD! I found it interesting that you liked Rulfo's narration style, I personally did not, but I will say your reasoning behind it was intriguing. I didn't think too much of why the story was told in this way specifically but you pointing out that it was to illustrate "the blurred relationship between life and death", was interesting. To answer your question, after reading this book I have realized non-linear stories are not for me. I had a hard time following along and I really prefer to read stories in a linear format.
ReplyDeleteHi KD,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your post. I like, Alizey, wasn't the greatest fan on the non-linear style as it somehow makes the process more time consuming. Regardless, it is nice that you highlighted this in your post because reflecting back, I can see what you mean by Ruflo being intentional with the non-linear style.
Hi KD, I really enjoyed reading your post! To answer your question I actually loved reading something non-linear. Although it is a bit confusing at the beginning and later on I had to re-read some fragments I absolutely adored Rulfo's unique way to build a story in this way. - Rebeca Ponce
ReplyDeleteHi KD,
ReplyDeleteI thought your post was really thoughtful. It was interesting to see how you approached the storytelling style. In regards to your question, I think at first non-linear story progression are confusing, but after a few read throughs, they can really add to the tone or narrative elements of the story. Like in the movie Memento, the fact that the story isn't told in a linear fashion really makes the movie so much more suspenseful and intriguing. The same applies in this case, where it feels like the dead are bleeding into the land of the living, making it hard to tell what's real and what isn't. So while it is hard to understand at first, overall, it pays off in the end and creates a more fulfilling reading experience.
Hi KD, I agree--I experienced similar thoughts when beginning Rulfo's book--in that at first it made a lot of sense, but also found myself in what you called a bit of a "limbo land" as the story began to trail off in a less chronological/logical order that was originally so easy to follow along to. Perhaps Rulfo intended for the reader to feel a bit confused or overwhelmed along the way--probably something similar to what Juan was feeling in the first half of the book before he passed? To answer your question, honestly, If a book is not in a linear order, I tend to have a harder time understanding the story and picking up on central themes, but as each week progresses I find myself having an easier time working around those:)
ReplyDeleteHello! I really like your take on this weeks reading. I had a very similar one. To ask your question, in my case non-linear story progressions do have on my ability to make sense of a text. Personally I do not enjoy it as much since sometimes it ends up confusing me.
ReplyDeleteI really love the way you describe the unravelling of the Rulfo's narrative. I experienced it in a similar way, beginning with a more linear, logical narrative than gradually spirals into a loud chorus of voices and overlapping timelines. While, I found this to be unsettling and confusing at times, I think it really makes the text what it is. I can't imagine the layering of these stories to have the same impact without this narrative tool.
ReplyDelete