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Theme (Walimai (Point Of View (First Person (The story is told through the…

- - - - The story is told through the first person view of Walimai. Having a personal account of the story give the reader a connection to Walimai and the woman. It is this connection that ingrains the theme, that true love is letting go. Without this vantage point, the story would have no substantial effect on the reader. With the first person view, the reader is allowed to create an emotional connection with Walimai.
        
        "The sorrow of her parting was as terrible as a deep burn, and I had to call on all the courage I had learned from my father not to call her name aloud and bring her back to me forever." (Allende 110).
        
        Through Walimai's eyes the reader is able to see how much he loved the spirit of the woman who he saved. Not only that, but the first person vantage point of Walimai shows how he dealt with departure of his love. He was distraught by the fact that the spirit would be leaving him soon, but he also knew, albeit deep down, that if he truly loves her, he must let her pass on to the afterlife.
  - - - A theme that arises in this story is that sometimes death is more powerful than love. Walimai admits to falling in love with the spirit of the woman who he had to kill. Over their time together, Walimai and the spirit share stories of their lives, and develop an intimate relationship. Unfortunately, the spirit needs to move on from the physical world to the afterlife. Walimai knows this and comes to terms with the fact that he must let go of his love. He ends up losing her as her spirit 'dies'.
        
        "I was not sad now. I had learned that death was more powerful than love." (Allende 103).
        
        Walimai admits to himself, after the spirit is gone, that the death of the spirit was the hardest thing he had to deal with in his life. He also came to the realization that death, while tragic, is a very powerful emotional tool. This theme also ties into the main element of the story, because the theme only further promotes an emotional connection between Walimai and the reader. Furthermore, the emotional connect that the theme inhibits is largely causes by the first person vantage point of Walimai.
  - - - Man Meets Woman
        
        The plot of man meets women in this story is the basis for the majority of the events. When Walimai meets the Ila girl, he instantly connects with her because she is from the same tribe as her mother. This connection is what leads to the rest of the events in the story.
        
        "... I gave her water to drink and spoke to her in my . mother's tongue. She opened her eyes, and stared at me a long time. I understood."
        
        This was one of the first exchanges between Walimai and the woman, and it is because of what he 'understood' that the plot progresses. He begins a quest in the form of escaping the labor camp and fasting for the ten days so that the spirit of this woman could be liberated from the real world and pass on to the afterlife. Walimai's meeting with the woman and need to save her are a driving force to the progression of the overall story.
  - - - Intimate
        
        Walimai is told in a way that the creates an intimate environment between the reader and Walimai. Allende uses, in specifical, intimate tones to generate a degree of closeness between the central character and the reader. This personal relationship allows the story to develop and progress. The story begins with a detailed collection of information about Walimai's culture and family. Most of the story is spent describing the private thoughts of Walimai about the spirit of the young woman. The story ends with the spirit leaving Walimai and an account of his inner turmoil and emotional stress.
        
        "She looked at me with large eyes yellow as honey, and I thought she tried to smile, gratefully." (Allende 108).
        
        When Walimai must kill the woman, he kills her in the most humane way for the situation. Unfortunately, it does not kill her right away. It is in this brief moment that Walimai and the woman share an deep exchange in the silence of death. Allende depicts this scene with such an intimate tone, that the reader can not help but to fall in to the events of the story. The private nature of the story provides the reader with a window to look into the life of Walimai.
  - - - The Ila Girl and her Spirit
        
        In Walimai, the most prevalent aspect of characterization was the change in persona for the girl and her spirit. When the reader is first introduced to the girl, she is very weak and tired, as she had just been gang raped. Walimai kills the girl to 'put her out of her misery' and then adopts her spirit as a companion for the next ten days. Through the next ten days, it is revealed that the woman is actually filled with vim and vigor. She and Walimai get to know one another, and she tells him exciting stories about her life. The girl's spirit was so different from the girl when she was alive. This change is what makes her a dynamic character. The girl as a dynamic character is an integral part of the development of the story.
        
        "... tied by one ankle to a chain staked in the ground, sluggish,... she had the smell of sick dogs." (Allende 107).
        "We spoke often... We communicated singing. with our body, with our eyes, our waist, our feet." (Allende 107)
        
        The first quote is the description of the girl when Walimai first sees her. She is weak and has just been brutally treated. She can not speak and is too exhausted to even move her body. However, the woman does not stay this weak throughout the story. When she and Walimai are together for the next ten days, her spirit becomes outgoing and even dances with Walimai. Her spirit is a polar opposite from the weak woman the reader originally met.
  - - - The story is heavily influenced by Walimai's culture. And the situation he is in, in other words the affect of colonialism on the events in Walimai. For example, when Walimai meets the woman in the poor state that she is in, it is the culture of his tribe that pushes him to kill the woman. Additionally, it is because of the generational custom of fasting for 10 days after killing a human in order to let the spirit pass on to the afterlife.
        
        "For her I had violated the first taboo of the Children of the Moon, and I would have to pay for my shame with many labors of expiation." (Allende 108).
        
        This 'rule' that Walimai is obligated to follow because his culture demands it, is one of the prominent factors that pushes the story along. The idea of a cultural affect on Walimai's action is a key element to the foundation of the entire short story. Had Walimai's cultural background been different, there is no way to guarantee his actions and the rest of the story would have progressed the way it did.
- - - - The chronological setting is integral to the framework of the short story because it allows the reader see a full backstory to the main conflict in the story. Although the story is in the present, the author has spent extensive time on the past. The past and almost flashback style of the setting provides the reader with a overarching insight into the motivations of characters and the overall development of the story.
        
        “I’ve been waiting all these years; I knew he would come sooner or later. He’s the man with the mangoes.” (Allende 174).
        “He had walked onto someone’s property to pick up a fallen mango, and the owner, an outsider whom no one really knew had fired a blast from his rifle… his life rapidly escaped.” (Allende 171).
        
        Almost the entirety of the story is spent in the past. The past serves as insight to see why Ines did what she did. For example, Ines kills the man because she has an uncanny suspicion that he is the one who killed her son all those years ago. Allende depicts the death of Ines’ son to offer an explanation to her actions in the present,.The death of her son, as explained in the present looking into the past, provide a clear back story for the reader to explain Ines’ actions.
  - - - Omniscient
        
        The vantage point from which the story is told is from an all-knowing narrator. This is very important because, with a narrator that seems to know everything regarding characters, plot, and conflict, it is very easy for the story to jump back and forth between the past and present tense. Allende jumps between the current events and the prior time to show a development of character motivation.
        
        "The two had known each other so long that neither could remember the exact number of years, although both recalled every detail of the day their friendship had begun" (Allende 170).
        
        After this quote, the narrator then dives into the past of both characters. Mainly, Ines' life and the tragic fate of her son. Thanks to the narrator appearing to know all about Ines' past already, the reader can easily follow the jumps between past and present without having to doubt any bias or error.
  - - - The story immediately jumps into Ines walking into Riad's shop telling him about the murder. There is no introduction to any characters and the reader is just thrown into the climax of the plot. It is not until after the conflict and climax are introduced that the reader receives any information about the characters and their individual stories.
        
        "The schoolteacher Ines entered The Pearl of Orient, deserted at this hour, walked to the counter where Riad Halabi was rolling up a bolt of bright-flowered cloth, and announced to him that she had just cut off the head of a guest in her boardinghouse." (Allende 170).
        
        This is the very first sentence of the story, and already it pulls the reader into the center conflict of the story. It is not for a substantial amount of time later that the author provides an adequate introduction to the characters of the short story. This immediate emersion into the thick of the story gives gives the reader a chance to fully absorb the story. Had the story only started with the background information of Ines and Riad, then the reader would not be nearly as hooked or invested in the overall text.
  - - - Allende utilizes lengthy sentences throughout the story to either highlight a character's traits, or to develop a vivid image for the reader. These long sentences also improve the reader's experience reading the text. For example, with the long sentences Allende uses, the reader is able to look through the eyes of the narrator and begin to develop an understanding for the characters and plot. The long sentence length provides Allende an uninterrupted way to present information to the reader.
        
        "After a few weeks, the sun had fermented the fruit, which burst open, spilling a viscous juice and impregnating the walls with a golden-blood, a sweetish pus, that transformed the dwelling into a fossil of prehistoric dimensions, an enormous beast in the process of purification, tormented by the infinite diligence of the larvae and mosquitoes of decomposition" (Allende 172).
        "Girls brought their boyfriends for her approval, husbands and wives came to her with their marital disagreements; she was counselor, arbiter, and judge in all the town's problems" (Allende 173).
        
        The first quote is just a description of the house where Ines' son was killed. Allende uses this long sentence to give the reader a vivid and pure image to the house without any distraction of multiple sentences. Using only one sentence to display so much information is a powerful tool that is very proficient in painting a rich word picture of the setting. Additionally, Allende employs the long sentence to portray character traits. For example, the second quote is a single sentence that clearly shows not only Ines' respected role in society, but also her rational thinking and intelligence.
  - - - Character motivation is an integral part to the characterization of Ines within The Schoolteacher's Guest. The story begins with Ines telling Riad that she has just killed a man who was staying in her rest house. The reader has no idea as to why Ines has committed murder, but finds out soon enough through the narration of Ines' past. Her motivation is a major focus throughout the whole story, and without an explanation for her actions, the reader would be left clueless as to why the events of the story are happening.
        
        "He had walked onto someone's property to pick up a fallen mango, and the owner, an outsider whom no one really knew, had fired a blast from his rifle meaning to scare the boy away but drilling a black hole in the middle of his forehead..." (Allende 171).
        "The boy was the center of the schoolteacher's life: she cared for him with unwavering devotion..." (Allende 171).
        "I knew he would come sooner or later. He's the man with the mangoes." (Allende 174).
        
        All these quotes go together to describe the motivation behind Ines killing her guest. When her son is born, and for the first twelve years of his life, she devoted her life to caring for him and giving him an education. The first quote then reveals that her son was also murdered, this time by a stranger. All her son was doing was picking up a fallen mango, and next thing the reader knows, he is shot dead for trespassing onto a stranger's property. Ironically, or maybe as an act of justice, the stranger who killed Ines' son returns and stays as her guest. This is the man she kills. After all the years of sorrow, she finally acts in that crucial moment to get justice for her son.
  - - - Time and Age
        
        The motif of time and age in the text is an indispensable part of the story's lasting effect on the reader. Through the story not only does time pass in somewhat of a non-linear way, but the characters themselves admit to feeling time and aging take a toll on them. Time and age also show the affect of stress Ines and Riad. This idea of age and time allow the reader to see the tax of stress and tragedy on the characters.
        
        "After leaving the schoolroom, she felt as if she had aged suddenly, as if time were accelerating; the days passed so quickly that should could not remember where the hours had gone." (Allende 172).
        "Riad Halabi was the last to say goodbye. The night, for the first time in his life, he felt old"
        
        The first quote describes how Ines is feeling after retiring from her job and a few after the death of her son. Ines clearly feels that her job and death of her son have taken a toll on her life. She was originally perfectly fine and happy with the way her life was going, but after the turmoil and stress of the story she no longer has the same energy nor grasp on time. Next, the second quote is discussing how Riad is feeling after helping Ines hide the murder of her house guest. He spent his entire life not worrying about age or lack of energy, but after this extremely stressful night he immediately feels the strain of stress on his mind and body.
- - - - "I know they're classy." (Allende 182)
        
        Abigail comes up with this generalization when she decides that she wants to go and buy some race horses. She seems to think that buying these race horses will automatically bring her to the upper class. These assumptions of the Toros leads one to believe that they emphasize the point of appearances are everything.
  - - - "I'm going to buy racehorses" (Allende 182)
        
        By buying the racehorses, Abigail is showing that she is trying to do things that are common of wealthy respected families so that she could "conquer" the hierarchy of society.
  - - - "Abigail's next plan was to found a dynasty." (Allende 180).
        
        Abigail's plan to found a dynasty was her motivation throughout the entire story. This plan of hers was what inspired almost every event in the story.
  - - - "In that case, we will have to convince the world that we are wealthy." (Allende 180)
        
        Since the story was told in third person, with a lot of emphasis on Abigail's action, the reader was made aware of Abigail's final goal. The reader and the Toro's are the only people who know this because Abigail presents herself as one who is simply trying to build her brand.
  - - - "the other side of the border" (Allende 180)
        
        The way that Allende uses the word, border, leads one to believe that they are in a situation similar to that of the Tex-mex border where there is a lot of crime in the region. Because of this, Domingo's actions would not seem out of the ordinary.
  - - - "Meanwhile, in his office Domingo Toro received a call from the Red Pumas, and extremist group no one had heard of until then, announcing that they had kidnapped his wife." (Allende 184)
        
        The call to Domingo that in which the Red Pumas emerged for the first time shows authorial reticence because it is not made clear to the reader right away that Domingo is responsible for the Red Pumas' actions.
- - - - The tragic transformation of Hortensia from a beautiful young lady into a grotesque creature is described in the most explicit, vulgar way and the imagery used drives the theme of the plot with depth and meaning. The reader feels for Hortensia with such intense sympathy due to how graphically Allende describes her transformation.
        
        "...her legs, once graceful and firm, were growing twisted as they adjusted to moving in that confined space, to crawling, nor that her toenails were thickening like an animal’s hooves, her bones changing into tubes of glass, her belly caving in, and a hump forming on her back." (Allende)
        
        The quote shown here exemplifies Allende's use of imagery to portray her theme. Allende uses incredibly graphic language to describe Hortensia's transformation, and in doing so, utilizes the figurative language element of imagery.
  - - - Tragic and Ironic
        
        If You Touched My Heart is told in a way which makes the readers feel horribly sympathetic with the character of Hortensia, and immense frustration with the character of Amadeo Peralta. The style this story uses, specifically the tragic and ironic tones, drives the motivations and provide the depth for this story. Most of the story is spent describing the horrible conditions in which Hortensia is kept. Her tragic transformation from a beautiful young girl into "...a naked creature with flaccid skin hanging in pallid folds," (Allende). The end of the story ends with Amadeo and Hortensia switching roles completely, supplying us with ironic tone. Without the tone in which Isabel Allende conveys in this story, the rising action of the plot would not be as impactful, and the role reversal at the end would not be as much of a metaphorical uppercut without the style in which the story was written.
        
        "Only her hands, forever occupied with the psaltery, maintained their shape and size, although her fingers had forgotten the melodies they had once known and now extracted from the instrument the unvoiced sob trapped in her breast. From a distance, Hortensia resembled a tragic circus monkey; on closer view, she inspired infinite pity." (Allende)
        
        "He did not know why he was in that tomb, and gradually he forgot the world of light and lost himself in his misfortune." (Allende)
        
        The two quotes here show us examples of tragic and ironic tone, respectively. Allende uses carefully crafted figurative language to express this tone, and does so in a way that invokes emotion in the reader and gives meaning to the text. The first quote gives us an example of the tragic tone Allende uses to describe Hortensia's transformation, whereas the second uses ironic tone to describe the role reversal we are given at the conclusion of the tale.
  - - - The setting of the abandoned cellar in this story provides the reader with a connection to Hortensia and her situation. Allende writes in such a way that allows the reader to be there with Hortensia- experiencing this atmosphere in this darkened, dilapidated setting alongside her.
        
        "It was a large room, dank and dark, suffocating in summer and in the dry season often cold at night, furnished with a few sticks of furniture and a straw pallet." (Allende)
        
        This quote describes the dismal conditions under which Hortensia was kept. Little to no furniture, no sources of light, no luxuries or amenities of any kind from her wealthy captor. As the story goes on, we see how being kept in this room for decades transforms Hortensia, and how important the atmosphere is to the story.
  - - - MAN V. SOCIETY
        
        The idea of man versus society is underlying within this story. Amadeo seems to think his actions to be okay, even when he is convicted. He is unapologetic in his kidnapping of Hortensia as he keeps her there for decades. We do not see a clearcut conflict between Amadeo and society- only the implied conflict of such.
        
        "Taking advantage of the public furor fanned by the press, Amadeo Peralta’s numerous enemies finally gathered courage to launch an attack against him. Authorities who for years had overlooked his abuses fell upon him with the full fury of the law." (Allende)
        
        As Amadeo Peralta finally becomes vulnerable, his many enemies finally decide to pounce. The quote here shows the conflict of man versus society in a clear way. Amadeo has been able to slide by without any trouble or repercussions to his actions. As the scandal with Hortensia comes to light, Amadeo Peralta finally falls as the conflict between him and society finally reaches an end.
  - - - The characterization in If You Touched My Heart is incredibly important as it drives the actions of the characters. Without the description of Amadeo as a pragmatic crimelord, it would never make sense as to why he trapped Hortensia in an abandoned cellar. In contrast, if Hortensia was not presented as a naïve, impressionable, young girl, her actions would have no motivation as she travels to find her love in Amadeo Peralta.
        
        "He did not recognize her even when a week later she suddenly appeared at his house, one hundred and forty kilometers away, wearing a simple yellow cotton dress and canvas espadrilles, her psaltery under her arm, and inflamed with the fever of love." (Allende)
        
        The quote here shows us the motivation of Hortensia, and how resolutely she believed Amadeo to be her one and only in such a way that she travels a great distance to find him. Similarly, characterization of Amadeo is shown here as- despite his seduction of Hortensia upon meeting her, now he does not even recognize her.
  - - - Omniscient
        
        The point of view in which this story is told is surprisingly integral to the story. The story is told from a third person omniscient point of view, and if it were told from any other point of view, the details of the story would be altered and biased. For example, if it were to be told from the point of view of Hortensia, it would be a story of love, not a twisted tragedy.
        
        “He loves me; he has always loved me,” she declared when she was rescued by neighbors. After being locked up for so many years she had lost the use of words and her voice came out in spurts like the croak of a woman on her deathbed." (Allende)
        
        This quote perfectly exemplifies the importance of a third person, omniscient narrator. Hortensia is steadfast in her belief that through everything, Amadeo still loves her. If this story was told from her point of view, there may not have been anything tragic to the story of her grievous transformation.
- - - - Love as a recurring motif is not only common in The Stories of Eva Luna but in the genre of Magical Realism as a whole. Even though many experts still debate whether or not love is a staple element or just a common occurrence in the genre. The examples of text and prominent motif of love only prove that love is a staple element in the genre of Magical Realism.
- - - - "She made her living selling words." (Allende 3)
        
        Allende's choice to describe Belisa's occupation as selling words shows a motivation to keep the reader in question. When reading this description of her occupation, the reader is not exactly sure what "selling words" really is.
  - - - "Anyone with a little cleverness could appropriate them and do business with them." (Allende 5)
        
        Belisa's first encounter with words immediately enticed her. This discovery gave her a job, and a path towards a future that she wanted.
  - - - In the present plot of this short story, Belisa’s arc has already been completed as she has already worked her way out of her situation and is doing well for herself. The Colonel, on the other hand, has a clear dynamic shift in his character. He goes from being a feared, merciless warrior to a lovestruck sap. His ambition for political success dwindling, all he can think of are his two special words Belisa imparted upon him. Characterization is imperative to this short story as there would be no overall story arc without the development of the Colonel’s character.
        
        "Those two words that were buried like two daggers in his gut." (Allende 10)
        
        The two words that The Colonel is referring two are the ones told to him by Belisa. They change him from the rigid intimidating character that he started as into the kind loving character that he ends up being.
  - - - “‘Tell me what they are and maybe they’ll lose their magic’... ‘I can’t tell them, they’re for me alone.’ the Colonel replied.” (Allende 11).
        “Each person received his or her own word, with the assurance that no one else would use it that way in this Universe or the Beyond.” (Allende 4).
        
        This theme is quite apparent as the novel rears to an end when the Colonel refuses to tell El Mulato the words Belisa had told him. He demands that if someone else knows the secret words then the words would not be special to only the Colonel anymore.Yet another example of the theme is seen through Belisa’s process of not giving any customer the same word as a different customer. Every person she comes across is different and has many unique aspects about them, which makes them special.
  - - - "She decided to set out across the plains in the direction of the sea, in hopes that she might trick death along the way" (Allende 4)
        
        By saying that she might trick death, Allende is saying that Belisa is very likely to die in the setting in which she had spent her early life. her expedition towards the sea was to help her search fro better opportunities where she then could have a more successful life.
  - - - "Belisa Crepusculario had been born into a family so poor they did not even give names to their children." (Allende 3)
        
        Because the reader knows information about Belisa such as her background, the reader is more likely to be emotionally connected to Belisa since they know the full story of how she came to be what she was. The reader would not feel the same way about Belisa if the story was not told with the focus on Belisa's viewpoint since they would see her as some random person selling words.