Analysis Of Vega's Revulsion: Thomas Bernhard In San Salvador

Great Essays
In class we had to read a book called “Revulsion: Thomas Bernhard in San Salvador” by Horacio Castellano Moya written in 1997. This book consists of one main character Vega, who is an art history professor that comes back to El Salvador to attend his mother’s funeral in exchange for his fair share of her will she left behind for him and his brother. While being in El Salvador for fifteen days Vega meets up with his so called friend named Moya at a bar called La Lumbre. They decided to meet up in the evening in regards to bar being a pleasant time during the hours from five to seven to discuss Vega’s anger towards El Salvador. However, Vega ended up going into a total rant about how much he despites the violence, political corruption, and the …show more content…
Vega returned to El Salvador after eighteen years and saw how the education system had got worse due to no one wanting to study literature because business was the new thing and not forgetting how the university building structures needs remodeling. Vega had pure hate towards the new people he would encounter. The reason why is because they had the urge to act like soldiers because becoming a soldier meant that you were at the top. Vega could not stand the idea of people feeling happy about being in the military, which meant they would have to kill other people. As a result, to the government who made El Salvador in the place they are now with regards to not stopping the war, but putting more fuel in the fire which lead to multiple innocent people to die. Not forgetting how Vega himself is a hypocrite because of the that he only returned to El Salvador to get his mother’s will. He did not go back because she died and he wanted to attend her funeral, but more so to obey the only rule she had which was for him to come to the funeral in order to receive the money. In regards to all of his issues with El Salvador he believes he was the best person in that country, currently with only having cared about him and not concerning anyone else. On the other side of this argument what if Vega is not delusional and in reality this is currently how society feels about the country. He could be a liar, although this novel Moya wrote could be his own personal story and he could have made Vega up because he did not want to put himself out like that. “El Asco” is an important novel because everything could be true. In El Salvador there are people who blame the government for the corruption, although finding

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Alvarez’s and O’Brien’s novels essentially show readers how their characters deal with the emotional challenges they are undergoing as a result of the political injustice or having to live in the combat…

    • 1151 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    In the Autobiography of a Slave, Juan Francisco Manzano (1797-1854), a former mulatto slave, captures the unjust and horrific events of Cuban slavery during the nineteenth century. Cuba needed a large slave population to work on the islands various sugar mills and plantations to maintain its economic status. As a child, Manzano avoided the typical life of a slave labor because of the Marchioness Justiz de Santa Ana. She allowed to lead the life of a young intellectual, which caused him to feel a strong connection to Cuba’s white dominate population/ In 1809, his mistress died and the young boy began to experience the harsh reality of slavery that forever changed his perception of life.…

    • 1972 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Universally accepted as symbols of beauty, flowers are often used to symbolize love. Although beautiful, they are of a delicate nature that can only survive temporarily in this world. Often people observe their magnificence in the seclusion of gardens, where they are rarely left to grow freely. Contained within flowers are manifold functional uses, but their purpose is confined to being observed for their beauty, much like what was expected of women. In Chronicle of a Death Foretold, a man investigates a peculiar death several years after it has occurred.…

    • 1552 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Sandra Cisneros, an author who is deeply inspired by her Mexican American heritage. This inspiration is clearly shown throughout each and every one of her writing pieces, such as “Salvador Late or Early”, as well as “Eleven”. Both short-stories focus on adolescents with a mature mindset and adult precision, and each story does a marvelous job portraying Cisneros constant writing style. “Salvador Late or Early” is focusing on a young boy, Salvador, with heavy burdens to carry on his shoulders, which is unfortunate because he is such a young boy with an old soul. The responsibilities he has are unimaginable due to the fact they don’t pertain to his age.…

    • 1589 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In Fahrenheit 451, a dystopian novel by Ray Bradbury, the government controls its citizens by eliminating books and other forms of mental stimulation, which are replaced by mind-numbing television shows and school programs. The control exerted on citizens by the government and media reflects Karl Marx’s theory of social classes, which can be seen in the novel's characters, as well as it’s description of government control. Fahrenheit was written in the 1950’s, during the Red Scare. This was a time when Americans feared communism and it’s possible infiltration of the government and society. Jonathan Eller points out that “the book was conceived while Josef Stalin was still in power in Russia and published before Sen. Joseph McCarthy was censured…

    • 765 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “The son of Simon Arevalo and his wife, Laura,” “ a man [who] had a cordially sinister air,” tells Juan that “[t]hey’d better clear out.” He said that if they weren’t gone by the end of the week they’d come and put [them] out.” Arevelo is the government’s mouthpiece and their “informer who [… knew] everybody for five, maybe ten leagues”;“he…

    • 436 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database estimates that Between 1501 and 1875 some 12.5 million Africans – kidnapped civilians, traded prisoners, and resold slaves – where shipped in deadly conditions from the West Coast of Africa to various ports on the Atlantic Ocean . Those that survived found themselves sold into lives of forced labor. Depending on where geographically and when chronologically they disembarked, the particular conditions of their servitude varied. In general terms, arrival in the British and United States colonies, bondage accompanied a loss in human status and a redefinition as chattel. In contrast, some historians have argued that in Latin America, slaves were permitted a different status that granted them a “legal and…

    • 1086 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Luisa In Realityland

    • 1080 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Mass murder, overwhelming poverty, and great injustice. These are some of the terms one can imagine when thinking of a country torn by a civil war. In Claribel Alegría’s Luisa in Realityland, a story which describes Luisa’s life through recollections in a combination of vignettes and poems. Set in her mind, Luisa describes her reality in El Salvador, a country that conjures nostalgia and pain for her. Alegría’s character of Luisa brilliantly allows the reader to gain an inside perspective into a world that is often left unheard.…

    • 1080 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The leader of the Zapatistas explained the horrible living conditions of the indigenous people, and also said fifteen thousand people die from poverty each year in Mexico, their primary demands were liberty and democracy. In Vollman's travels he finds that some people believe that their poverty is linked to their government’s economical situation, exactly what the Zapatistas believe. They felt they had the right to do this because the Zapatistas felt that there president, was not so much of a president and more of a dictator. This is an instance in which the Government has had direct correlation with poverty in their country, so much so that the Zapatistas believed it was worth a…

    • 955 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    The book I have chosen for my book report was "In the time of the butterfiles" by Julia Alvarez. I just can't find the correct words to describe this book. At times it Is entertaining and delightful, at others it was intense and horrific. I enjoyed every page of this incredible book!…

    • 213 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    How Does Nicolas Mature Over the Course of the Novel? Sandra Benitez’s, The Weight Of All Things, is a novel that is set in El Salvador during the civil war in the 1980’s. In the novel, the reader seems to see how Nicolas’ journey is going and how he is facing them. This is what Nicolas is going through as a nine-year-old. Nicolas struggles to find safety, matures to his mother’s death, and being wise or careful on making decisions.…

    • 1014 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “Happiness can only exist in acceptance,” as quoted by George Orwell. Since the dawn of civilization, individuals have become dedicated to behaving in a manner that will result in their acceptance into society. However, a few brave individuals dare to diverge from the path established by society’s standards and thus are labeled “outsiders”. Since early civilization, there have always been secrets. Some secrets are meant to prevent the acquiring of unnecessary knowledge, while others serve simply for protection.…

    • 1866 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Simón Bolívar: A Life by John Lynch chronicles the life of the famous revolutionary Simón Bolívar, often known as “El Libertador”. The book begins by documenting Bolívar’s beginnings growing up in Venezuela. The book gives readers a relatable, intimate view of Bolívar’s early life, talking about his family, friends, and the neighborhood he grew up in. The importance of racial makeup and class status would be crucial in Bolívar’s upbringing, him being part of the wealthy mantuanos. His wealthy, land and slave owning status would be the key to him receiving a high level of education that would help shape his beliefs.…

    • 907 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Laughter Out of Place by Donna M. Goldstein is an anthropology of Brazil involving race, class, violence and sexuality in a Rio shantytown. Goldstein spent over a decade studying the culture and specifically a domestic worker named Gloria who raised fourteen children some of whom are hers biologically and others she picked up from the streets or family members whose parents had died. Goldstein uses Gloria and her family’s first hand accounts to reveal the overall state and challenges of life Goldstein observed while researching her anthropology. Most Brazilians and historians agree that Brazil is a racial democracy. Goldstein argues through her anthropology using her personal observations, first hand accounts, and historical facts…

    • 1846 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Great Essays

    Banana Yoshimoto’s Kitchen and the Laura Esquivel’s Like Water For Chocolate both offer perspicacious views on the impact of context and values on an individual with social political and cultural aspects. Both texts present the prevalent issues from each book’s respective social zeitgeist on the strain tradition puts on personal beliefs and values. Yoshimoto’s work explores the growth of a young woman in a modern society still heavily embedded with cultural tradition yet with conventional ideas of ethical issues from the influence of western values with tones of magic realism. Esquivel’s novella highlights life during the Mexican revolution with issues of standards for women and female oppression, closely tied with freedom, which the central character is confined to in her conventional upbringing. Both works present the reader with percipient views in apropos to the conflict regarding individual’s values in an orthodox society through the investigation of the existence of social inequality, personal ties with religion and…

    • 1418 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays

Related Topics