Vocabulary Words:
1. paradigmatic: model that forms basis of something; relationship of ideas to one another
2. phantasmal: supposed ghost of spirit; delusion or illusion
3. unequivocal: unambiguous
4. denigration: defame, disparage, belittle
5. vitreous: similar to glass
6. antiquated: ancient or old-fashioned
7. legion: multitude or large body of soldiers
8. labyrinth: maze or confusing network
Overall, this story turned out to be a happy one; one of the major themes was redemption. Beginning in the opening line, I assumed that it would be a story of tragic loss, since it discussed unavoidable violence…“Mauricio Silva, also known as “The Eye,” always tried to avoid violence, even at the risk of being considered a coward, but violence, real violence, is unavoidable, at least for those of us who were born in Latin America during the fifties and were about twenty years old at the time of Salvador Allende’s death. That’s just the way it goes.” The narrator continues admiring Silva’s character, “He wasn’t like most of the Chileans living in Mexico City at the time: he didn’t brag about his role in the largely phantasmal resistance; he didn’t frequent the various groups of Chileans in exile.” It then goes on to describe how The Eye was rumored to be a homosexual, and how those Chileans around him would chastise him. The story read, “At the time, The Eye was reputed to be a homosexual. By which I mean that a rumor to that effect was circulating in the various groups of Chileans in exile, who made it their business partly for the sheer pleasure of denigration and partly to add a little spice to their rather boring lives.” It was his homosexuality and his feeling that he did not belong as well as his desire to be involved with photography that ultimately drove him to Paris. Although the narrator once considered him a friend, after some time had passed, he found it hard to remember The Eye’s physical appearance…“As time went by I began to forget what he looked like, although I still had a vague sense of his bearing and his manner. There was a certain way of expressing opinions, as if from a distance, sadly but gently, that I went on associating with The Eye, and even when his face had disappeared or receded into the shadows, that essence lingered in my memory: a way of moving, an almost abstract entity in which there was no place for calm.” The narrator goes on to contrast The Eye with the Chilean stereotype, “He was the ideal Chilean, stoic and amiable, a type that has never been numerous in Chile but cannot be found anywhere else.” Even though The Eye is considered an outcast, the narrator has a great deal of respect for him. The story then proceeds, and The Eye begins to describe his experiences at the brothels in India. When he begins describing the brothel with the young boys, the reader becomes worried that The Eye may have done something he regrets. It says, “The Eye described the brothel for me and it was as if he were describing a church.” However, the reader then comes to learn that The Eye instead saved two of the young boys who had been castrated for the sake of the festival. We also learn how the boys died, and how The Eye is heartbroken. Even though he was an outcast and a homosexual, he turned things around and went on to do great things with his life; he saved those two boys and gave them a better life then they would have ever had without him. This is where the theme of redemption comes into play. At the very end, the narrator describes the brothel that The Eye saved the boys from…“The corridors he remembered as lonely and funeral were now swarming with life, from toddling children to old men and women who could barely drag themselves along. To him it was the image of paradise.” Even though The Eye was heartbroken about the death of his boys, he is happy to see the cycle is not being perpetuated.
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