The Old Gringo
Although this style of book is not usually one i’d reach for, I will say I enjoyed it. I had mixed feelings while reading it’s description as I wasn’t sure if i would be interested in the story or be able to follow. Once I began reading I found the almost poetic way of writing very pleasing to read and once the story began to unfold I was very interested to read all the way through.
As this book is considered the closest to a “romance” that I have picked to read during my contract, I was very surprised at the romance that was included in this book. I was very confused and taken back by the interesting relationship The Old Gringo and Harriet had. I could not tell what was going to happen, whether they would end up as a father – daughter relationship or if it would turn more romantic. once reading on, I began to realize it is a bit of both. Although these changes of dynamics happened so quick it was hard for me to even notice at times. As I was reading I saw them more as lovers but the father – daughter relationship was definitely an interesting change to thatl.
One thing I did not notice while reading was the use of repetition. After reading the book I watched the lecture and then the aspect of repetition in this book became apparent to me, even though it is very obvious from the start. I was reading this book and indulging in the content not so much the other parts. But once discovering this thought, it made sense. another reoccurring theme that is worth mentioning is the idea of memory, which was also mentioned in the lecture and I definitely also noticed myself while reading. As I saw someone mention, this book along with others does associate memories with negativity, which i found in this book as well. One little thing I did really like was how the first line on the novel is the same as the last.
As for my question for this week, What did you think of the romance between The Old Gringo and Harriet? Did you see them more as a father – daughter relationship or more as lovers? I’m curious to know as I was torn between the two.
Posted in Blogs | Tagged with the old gringo
The Old Gringo
Although this style of book is not usually one i’d reach for, I will say I enjoyed it. I had mixed feelings while reading it’s description as I wasn’t sure if i would be interested in the story or be able to follow. Once I began reading I found the almost poetic way of writing very pleasing to read and once the story began to unfold I was very interested to read all the way through.
As this book is considered the closest to a “romance” that I have picked to read during my contract, I was very surprised at the romance that was included in this book. I was very confused and taken back by the interesting relationship The Old Gringo and Harriet had. I could not tell what was going to happen, whether they would end up as a father – daughter relationship or if it would turn more romantic. once reading on, I began to realize it is a bit of both. Although these changes of dynamics happened so quick it was hard for me to even notice at times. As I was reading I saw them more as lovers but the father – daughter relationship was definitely an interesting change to thatl.
One thing I did not notice while reading was the use of repetition. After reading the book I watched the lecture and then the aspect of repetition in this book became apparent to me, even though it is very obvious from the start. I was reading this book and indulging in the content not so much the other parts. But once discovering this thought, it made sense. another reoccurring theme that is worth mentioning is the idea of memory, which was also mentioned in the lecture and I definitely also noticed myself while reading. As I saw someone mention, this book along with others does associate memories with negativity, which i found in this book as well. One little thing I did really like was how the first line on the novel is the same as the last.
As for my question for this week, What did you think of the romance between The Old Gringo and Harriet? Did you see them more as a father – daughter relationship or more as lovers? I’m curious to know as I was torn between the two.
Posted in Blogs | Tagged with the old gringo
Similarly to Proust’s novel, The Old Gringo was another novel that I already had on my TBR list before starting this class, so I’m glad to have had the opportunity/excuse to read it now. I did enjoy reading it, despite it feeling a little convoluted at times. The relationships in particular were a little difficult to follow because it sometimes felt like things changed and dynamics shifted without me really noticing. Somewhat like accidentally missing a couple episodes of a series and suddenly being confused.
Harriet Winslow’s relationships with Arroyo and the Gringo (who we later find is Ambrose Bierce unless you watch the lecture first) are notably difficult to follow. There were times when I couldn’t figure out if Harriet was attracted to Arroyo, or faking it, or liked him, or hated him, or any combination of the four. The Gringo’s relationship with her was strange too; an odd in-between of paternal and romantic that I can’t quite decipher, though to be fair, neither can the characters themselves.
Other than romance, the main themes that stuck out to me in the novel were those of memory, trauma, bitterness, and revenge. All of those themes are tightly interconnected with each other, and also fit in nicely with many of the other books we have read as part of the course. I feel like almost (if not all) the novels we have read have had links with memory, predominantly negative memories and emotions, and this is no exception.
I know that others have mentioned the poetic aspect of the novel. Though my translation seems to have less of it than others’, my favourite poetic snippet was at the end of Chapter 10 (my pdf has no page numbers :/ ) saying “My country ’tis of thee, sweet land of felony”. As far as I know, the usual lyrics of the song have the word “liberty” instead of “felony”, so I find it very interesting that an American character would switch out the word used. I also find it apt because of the numerous examples, both contemporary and historical, of America and other Western countries being built off the backs of crime and injustice, where to hail freedom can be considered hypocrisy.
As mentioned earlier, there seem to be times where two opposites are coming to a head, and we are confronted with both sides of one coin, so to speak. Love and hate, attraction and repulsion are two pairs, but the one that stood out to me most was Harriet’s distaste for hiding jewels behind the figure of Jesus on the cross. I thought it was interesting because it was a contrast that wouldn’t have immediately occurred to me without being pointed out, and it makes sense to me now that it has been pointed out.
My question this week: what do you think could have driven the gringo to seek his death in Mexico?
Posted in Blogs, Fuentes | Tagged with contrast, poetic, relationships, the old gringo
Similarly to Proust’s novel, The Old Gringo was another novel that I already had on my TBR list before starting this class, so I’m glad to have had the opportunity/excuse to read it now. I did enjoy reading it, despite it feeling a little convoluted at times. The relationships in particular were a little difficult to follow because it sometimes felt like things changed and dynamics shifted without me really noticing. Somewhat like accidentally missing a couple episodes of a series and suddenly being confused.
Harriet Winslow’s relationships with Arroyo and the Gringo (who we later find is Ambrose Bierce unless you watch the lecture first) are notably difficult to follow. There were times when I couldn’t figure out if Harriet was attracted to Arroyo, or faking it, or liked him, or hated him, or any combination of the four. The Gringo’s relationship with her was strange too; an odd in-between of paternal and romantic that I can’t quite decipher, though to be fair, neither can the characters themselves.
Other than romance, the main themes that stuck out to me in the novel were those of memory, trauma, bitterness, and revenge. All of those themes are tightly interconnected with each other, and also fit in nicely with many of the other books we have read as part of the course. I feel like almost (if not all) the novels we have read have had links with memory, predominantly negative memories and emotions, and this is no exception.
I know that others have mentioned the poetic aspect of the novel. Though my translation seems to have less of it than others’, my favourite poetic snippet was at the end of Chapter 10 (my pdf has no page numbers :/ ) saying “My country ’tis of thee, sweet land of felony”. As far as I know, the usual lyrics of the song have the word “liberty” instead of “felony”, so I find it very interesting that an American character would switch out the word used. I also find it apt because of the numerous examples, both contemporary and historical, of America and other Western countries being built off the backs of crime and injustice, where to hail freedom can be considered hypocrisy.
As mentioned earlier, there seem to be times where two opposites are coming to a head, and we are confronted with both sides of one coin, so to speak. Love and hate, attraction and repulsion are two pairs, but the one that stood out to me most was Harriet’s distaste for hiding jewels behind the figure of Jesus on the cross. I thought it was interesting because it was a contrast that wouldn’t have immediately occurred to me without being pointed out, and it makes sense to me now that it has been pointed out.
My question this week: what do you think could have driven the gringo to seek his death in Mexico?
Posted in Blogs, Fuentes | Tagged with contrast, poetic, relationships, the old gringo
For this weeks book, I read The Old Gringo, by Carlos Fuentes. To be honest with you, I found this book to be a little bit confusing, but for a few different reasons. At the beginning of my reading, I found the old gringo’s motivation to be a bit strange; he has come to Mexico […]
Posted in Blogs, Fuentes | Tagged with Conflict, death, life, Mexico, reflection, relationships, repetition, revolution, the old gringo, Weekly Book Blog
This week, I read “The Old Gringo” by Carlos Fuentes.
When I first started reading this book, I wasn’t expecting any romance or relationship related content to be involved. I thought this book would mainly be about war or a person’s life journey, as it kept repeating “the old gringo came to Mexico to die”. It was really interesting as the old gringo was definitely an important character in this book, but his name was not known until the end of the story.
I found the love triangle relationship between Harriet, the old gringo and Arroyo interesting but disturbing at the same time. Due to the age difference, The old gringo told himself not to fall for Harriet. However, despite him trying to suppress the feelings for her at the beginning, he still ends up falling for her. I think it is kind of romantic how an individual cannot conceal their true feelings when they are in love. However, at the end of the story, the old gringo said Harriet is like his daughter to him. I don’t know how to explain it but I found the transition of his love a little bit too big(?)… like a little too sudden(?) out of nowhere(?)… The old gringo started off from loving Harriet as a lover to loving her as a daughter at the end. Even though both are love, the ‘loving’ between those two are very different.
I am not fond of the character, Arroyo. I believe he is more of an ‘action’ type of person. Arroyo knew the gringo’s feelings for Harriet and forced her to have a sexual relationship with him because the gringo did not obey his order. I am able to understand why Arroyo is unhappy about it but what I don’t understand is the way he chose to get back to the gringo. He doesn’t need to drag and involve another person into this as it is between him and the gringo. Even though Harriet did agree to it in order to save the old gringo, I still think forcing someone or making them to have a sexual relationship with them just because of ‘revenge’ is too over. He also ends up killing the old gringo after the gringo burnt down his documents. He tends to use actions to justify many things.
The question I have for the class is: Are you able to sacrifice yourself in order to save another person?
Posted in Blogs | Tagged with the old gringo
I read The Old Gringo this week. The novel’s content mainly revolves around the feelings and cultural conflicts of the three protagonists, Harriet Winslow, Tomas Arroyo and Ambrose Bierce (The Old Gringo). At the beginning of the novel, we meet Harriet Winslow, quietly thinking. So the author uses Winslow’s perspective to describe everything that happened before in flashbacks. Ambrose Bierce (known in the novel as Old Gringo) is a journalist from the United States. While working for his employer, he constantly used his reporting to complete the task of attacking others. Still, when he continued to use sharp words to expose In the dark society, his relationship with his wife and children also drifted away. Finally, because of his reports, his two sons committed suicide. So Ambrose Bierce began to get tired of being a journalist. He vowed not to write again and came to Mexico to die. On the way to Mexico, he met Tomas Arroyo. Tomas Arroyo, a colonel of the Mexican rebels, took a document he didn’t understand as evidence of his revolution and led revolutionaries through Mexican soil. The two then met Harriet Winslow, who came to teach in a pre-revolutionary landowner’s estate and began an emotional entanglement. In this emotional tragedy, Bierce was shot by Arroyo, who was also killed by the general’s execution at Winslow’s whistleblower.
There are many repeated sentences in the novel. The “now she sits alone and remembers” at the beginning reappears at the end, making people feel that the whole story of the book has become a memory, which only exists in the memory of the heroine and is buried in one corner of history, and the other two in the story. The male protagonist has also been deeply buried in the soil. And the heroine returned to the United States like a lonely fire passer with this memory that will eventually be forgotten. And another sentence in the novel: “he came here to die.” also keeps appearing in various scenes. Arroyo’s first conversation with the soldier sounded like contempt and disdain for the old gringo. After Gringo showed his prowess and gained recognition, the phrase seemed like a nod to the future of his death on the battlefield. When this sentence appears in Arroyo and Winslow’s conversation, it’s like an excuse for Arroyo to persuade Winslow to give up Bierce. This sentence represents the admiral’s evaluation of this American from a foreign land and emphasizes the purpose of Bierce’s coming to Mexico, and implies the fate of old gringo’s death. Although in the end, old gringo did not die in a glorious battle, but died at Arroyo’s gun after burning Arroyo’s documents and was killed again from the front by the general’s orders. His death wasn’t as complicated as I thought when I first read it, just as Arroyo’s death wasn’t supposed to be so easy.
Much of the novel also shows the cultural and historical conflict between the two countries. The United States had invaded Mexico, which caused the Mexican revolutionaries to be unfriendly to old foreigners at first. There is an important border between them, the creek between the United States and Mexico. They have a hard time understanding each other’s culture. For the first time, the Mexican revolutionaries saw itself in the mirror of the landlord’s estate, and Winslow from the United States could dance in this ballroom. Winslow aspires to teach native English but is questioned about its usefulness. Not to mention that at a later stage, the general in Mexico couldn’t even understand some of the United States’ laws and shot two people a second time to comply with the rules and bury the truth. This cultural divide adds to the sense of borders between the two Americans in the Mexican revolutionaries, and it’s no wonder that two lonely strangers are drawn to each other.
My question for this novel is: Why is there so much physical detail added later in the article when describing Arroyo and Winslow’s love? Do these details help explain the overall vibe of the relationship?
Posted in Blogs, Fuentes | Tagged with Carlos Fuentes, the old gringo
