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, the reader gains insight into Luisa’s mind. 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. Alegría’s collection of vignettes and poems titled Luisa in Realityland describes the horrendous political climate of El Salvador, and the consequences that arise from these political injustices. Most importantly, Luisa describes the the United States involvement in the
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Luisa describes El Salvador with a touch of nostalgia, corruption, a great deal of oppression and political injustice. The vignette “The Mejia’s Dogs” greatly encompasses the poverty that results from the political climate. She describes a yard with several dogs and that three times a week they would be fed a chopped up cow. Luisa then describes that the neighborhood boys would attempt to grab whatever scraps they could from the ground, only to be swatted away from the chauffeur delivering the food. This scene describes the political injustices in a short vignette barely a page long. These people were more concerned with feeding dogs who protected fruit orchards, than feeding their own people who were starving. The greed from this scene trickles into every aspect of the political climate of El Salvador, from children losing their entire families, to the decimation of indigenous people, the climate Luisa describes throughout is one of extreme injustice. It comes as no surprise that people would want a revolution to fight for their …show more content…
Luisa In Realityland describes a revolutionary movement that is born from these political injustices. In “Seeds of Liberty” she describes that “They wanted to flatten EL Salvador,” but that “the plants grew stronger/ the guerrillas began/ to flourish” (101). This concept of rebirth emerges as a leading source of power for Luisa and is reverberated throughout the entirety of the novel. Specifically, in “Because I Want Peace” Luisa repeatedly states “I have to keep fighting,” (106) to show that the fight is not over. She explicates the desperation to maintain peace and prosperity for the people who are suffering the injustices. Not only does she describe that the revolution must continue, but she also describes that the world in which she once knew will no longer be the same. She constantly references a return to her homeland, a return that comes from an exile in which she is unable to return. Moreover, she describes that the world will never be the same, “My parents won’t be there…the jasmine wont be there” (128). She describes with great despair, “They were times of peace/those distant times/ of somnolence/ and peace” (128). She describes a world she once knew with nostalgia; she describes a world that is forever torn apart because “now is a time of war” (128). The reality for Luisa is that El Salvador will forever be tainted by the injustices they were forced
Luisa describes El Salvador with a touch of nostalgia, corruption, a great deal of oppression and political injustice. The vignette “The Mejia’s Dogs” greatly encompasses the poverty that results from the political climate. She describes a yard with several dogs and that three times a week they would be fed a chopped up cow. Luisa then describes that the neighborhood boys would attempt to grab whatever scraps they could from the ground, only to be swatted away from the chauffeur delivering the food. This scene describes the political injustices in a short vignette barely a page long. These people were more concerned with feeding dogs who protected fruit orchards, than feeding their own people who were starving. The greed from this scene trickles into every aspect of the political climate of El Salvador, from children losing their entire families, to the decimation of indigenous people, the climate Luisa describes throughout is one of extreme injustice. It comes as no surprise that people would want a revolution to fight for their …show more content…
Luisa In Realityland describes a revolutionary movement that is born from these political injustices. In “Seeds of Liberty” she describes that “They wanted to flatten EL Salvador,” but that “the plants grew stronger/ the guerrillas began/ to flourish” (101). This concept of rebirth emerges as a leading source of power for Luisa and is reverberated throughout the entirety of the novel. Specifically, in “Because I Want Peace” Luisa repeatedly states “I have to keep fighting,” (106) to show that the fight is not over. She explicates the desperation to maintain peace and prosperity for the people who are suffering the injustices. Not only does she describe that the revolution must continue, but she also describes that the world in which she once knew will no longer be the same. She constantly references a return to her homeland, a return that comes from an exile in which she is unable to return. Moreover, she describes that the world will never be the same, “My parents won’t be there…the jasmine wont be there” (128). She describes with great despair, “They were times of peace/those distant times/ of somnolence/ and peace” (128). She describes a world she once knew with nostalgia; she describes a world that is forever torn apart because “now is a time of war” (128). The reality for Luisa is that El Salvador will forever be tainted by the injustices they were forced