JingJing Zhu
Dr. Terrones
Expository Writing 20
7 Oct. 2015
Mona: The Simultaneous Emotions of Denial and Horror while Coping with AIDS Elisa, the psychotic and sexually promiscuous murderer of the short story written by Reinaldo Arenas, represents more than just the archetypal villain. In particular, Elisa’s transition from being a lover to a murderer is a suspenseful plot twist; however, this transition is itself a peculiar shift in direction for the story. This caricature change does not logically follow what a reader would expect, and the author’s decision to incorporate this into the story suggests a deeper meaning behind Elisa’s transition. This transformation is most strikingly found in the climax of the short story when Elisa …show more content…
However, contrary to most climactic scenes, this moment in the story does not represent a transition. Instead, it showcases the duality of the emotions of denial and fear that have been developed previously in the short story. This is a scene so bizarre and horrific that it leaves readers with many mysteries and unanswered questions. Small details and descriptions can be interpreted as a way of showcasing the complexities of an AIDS patient’s personal struggle with the disease, both mentally and physically. As Elisa prepares for the kill, Ramon ponders two paths to his death: “to die either drowned in that swamp or pierced by the dagger” (58). In this situation, the dagger represents how the disease pierces one’s spirits as the realization of the disease kills one’s soul and the swamp signifies the physical death, slowly being choked out of life by the disease. Ramon is now fully aware of the imminent danger he is in, and one would assume that the emotions of fear and horror would subsequently overtake him. However, during the scene when Elisa prepares to murder Ramon and makes him please her one last time, Ramon states, “[E]ven knowing she intended to kill me, I still lusted for her” (59). Arenas writes this paradoxical statement to represent the sentiment that even though AIDS patients realize the source of the disease, some may still decide to continue with promiscuous behavior as they had always done. They want to feel like they had felt before the disease, before they were anything but normal, fitting into society. Through this sentence, Arenas shows Ramon’s continued emotional denial of the deadly situation that he is in. Lastly, after Elisa changes form into Leonardo, the “very old, bald man, toothless and foul-smelling” who is “as if he were a true demon” (59). Ramon fully realizes the superposition of the motifs of
Dr. Terrones
Expository Writing 20
7 Oct. 2015
Mona: The Simultaneous Emotions of Denial and Horror while Coping with AIDS Elisa, the psychotic and sexually promiscuous murderer of the short story written by Reinaldo Arenas, represents more than just the archetypal villain. In particular, Elisa’s transition from being a lover to a murderer is a suspenseful plot twist; however, this transition is itself a peculiar shift in direction for the story. This caricature change does not logically follow what a reader would expect, and the author’s decision to incorporate this into the story suggests a deeper meaning behind Elisa’s transition. This transformation is most strikingly found in the climax of the short story when Elisa …show more content…
However, contrary to most climactic scenes, this moment in the story does not represent a transition. Instead, it showcases the duality of the emotions of denial and fear that have been developed previously in the short story. This is a scene so bizarre and horrific that it leaves readers with many mysteries and unanswered questions. Small details and descriptions can be interpreted as a way of showcasing the complexities of an AIDS patient’s personal struggle with the disease, both mentally and physically. As Elisa prepares for the kill, Ramon ponders two paths to his death: “to die either drowned in that swamp or pierced by the dagger” (58). In this situation, the dagger represents how the disease pierces one’s spirits as the realization of the disease kills one’s soul and the swamp signifies the physical death, slowly being choked out of life by the disease. Ramon is now fully aware of the imminent danger he is in, and one would assume that the emotions of fear and horror would subsequently overtake him. However, during the scene when Elisa prepares to murder Ramon and makes him please her one last time, Ramon states, “[E]ven knowing she intended to kill me, I still lusted for her” (59). Arenas writes this paradoxical statement to represent the sentiment that even though AIDS patients realize the source of the disease, some may still decide to continue with promiscuous behavior as they had always done. They want to feel like they had felt before the disease, before they were anything but normal, fitting into society. Through this sentence, Arenas shows Ramon’s continued emotional denial of the deadly situation that he is in. Lastly, after Elisa changes form into Leonardo, the “very old, bald man, toothless and foul-smelling” who is “as if he were a true demon” (59). Ramon fully realizes the superposition of the motifs of