“Only my master knows what my master is thinking.”
Thus far, this dictator novel is unlike the others; it reeks of sympathy. Readers are finally able to see a dictator from a normal, human, emotional perspective. It almost seems safe to say that it is a novel written by an author whom is unbiased and not attempting to take a cheap shot at a real life dictator. I for one, feel so sorry for the General. He’s fallen seriously ill, away from his lover, being betrayed by many in the countries he has liberated. How appropriate it is that Jose Palacios repeats this line a few times within the first half of the book. It is likely also very intentional on the part of García Márquez to emphasize that he is not writing to try to get in the mind of the dictator, unlike Roa Bastos and The Supreme.
I have to admit that I am fairly excited to see the extent in which the General is lost in his “labyrinth.” Already in the first half of the book, I noticed that the word ‘disillusion’ has been used several times. It is interesting that though the book tries to follow a certain logical order, at the same time, it cannot manage to do so. The novel progresses according to the journey the General takes along the Río Magdalena, but the memories and stories that are retold are not really in the order in which they occur.
Though this may be a subtle detail, but I found it note-worthy that the General is simply named “the General”. Not “The General.” But “the General.” I mean it was “The Supreme.” And for me at least, the title of a general doesn’t seem that high-ranking. During a part when they were speaking with the Governor, I actually had to take a moment to confirm that Bolívar was the General and not the Governor, which I think sounds more authoritative.
As of now, I feel like the General really is a sympathetic character and a nice man. I feel like I could be his friend. No, not that kind of friend like Manuela. Just a friend.
(I still have trouble finishing blogs in half an hour, unless it’s at this time of the day. Don’t you sometimes find that you tend to work faster when you know the amount of potential sleep remaining for the night ticks away with the time. Goodnight :-) )
3 comments:
I find it interesting that you put quotation marks on the word "labyrinth." I didn't think of it as abstract. The labyrinth could represent the mind of general. After all the human mind is like a maze
haha i agree with writing late at night! haha, horrible, but when ur under pressure u just work better sometimes. yea, its amazing how u can feel back for this general, i too began questioning if he was really the "bad guy".
Yeah, I think it was completely intentional for Marquez to place the word "disillusioned" and various forms of it all over the book. The book is essentially about one man's disillusionment, so it's hard not to mention it somehow. I don't know what the meaning of not capitalizing vs. capitalizing the "the" before "the General" refers to, I'm not quite sure exactly what that signifies, either way...
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