Novel Macabea example essay topic

Latin Literature Research essay on Clarice Lispectors, The Hour of the Star. As Clarice Li spector was writing what would become her last literary creation, The Hour of the Star, little did she know that while her body was plagued with the devastations of cancer, her mental struggle for peace and grace in death would inspire her most renowned novel. Perhaps it is because of those circumstances, she created a novel with intuitive reflections on both life and death, as seen through the life of the main character, Macabea. The story is narrated by Rodrigo S.M., and although Rodrigo attempts to maintain a neutral stance, he is often conflicted by his own perceptions and feelings. At the book's commencement Rodrigo spends quite some time explaining that while the story is mainly about a woman, having the book narrated by a female would weaken the richness of content.

He explains that a woman is incapable of clearly emphasizing the harshness of reality; that she is too emotional and attempting to explain the life of a wretched girl would be hard because her emotions would not allow an unbiased depiction of the cruelties of life. Macabea is introduced in the novel as a poor girl who does what she must to survive in the slums of Rio de Janeiro. She is, Rodrigo remarks, nothing out of the ordinary. Physically there is nothing about Macabea which sets her apart from the other countless street rascals who live hand to mouth. He then provides readers with some of her early life history, including how she almost died at birth because of rickets, and how both her parents succumbed to typhoid fever when she was a toddler. Finally after their death Macabea was forced to move in with her aunt, who too eventually passed away, but not before procuring the child a job to support herself.

In the course of the novel the popular culture, though vague and metaphorical at times, affects Macabea and the secondary characters personalities and actions. It should be mentioned that the story uses a myriad of figurative and metaphoric imagery. Throughout the novel the narrator injects his own views, often leading the reader to a deeper questioning of the story as it unfolds. He frequently speaks about what would happen if the main character were to do things in a different way. Also, through the interjection of varying levels of foreshadowing the reader gets a sense of where the story is headed. At one point the narrator says. ".. were I to touch the girl's bread, the bread would turn to gold - and the girl, the girl would be unable to bite into it, and consequently die of hunger".

(15) Literally read this statement is difficult to dissect. However if we look at it in the figurative sense we begin to perceive the deeper meaning. Prior to this statement the narrator talks about how he cannot use big succulent terms, lest the reader become confused and not be able to understand what is being said. Without that understanding the reader would become perplexed and the essence of the novel would be lost.

So stating it in this particular way, by symbolizing simple words as bread and more complex words as the gold, the narrator is explaining figuratively how the author plans to carry out the novel. Thus, by keeping things simple the author has a better chance of the reader grasping her intent and following the story line, causing the symbolic starvation to be avoided. This use of language "figuratively" keeps the reader on his / her toes. In the story culture plays a key role in shaping the lives of all the characters. The culture of the novel seems similar to present day, western world culture where women use there looks and sensual movements to attract and be adored by men.

On the flip side the men show off there masculinity and use sweet words in an attempt to charm woman. The characters Olimpico and Gloria, Macabea's co-worker, fit this description as a couple, causing it be ever more apparent that Macabea falls short of society's definition of femininity. Internally she wants Olimpico to like her, she wants to look beautiful and attractive, but she just does not know how to externalize these emotions. Practical factors like her failure to bathe regularly and her foul body stench do nothing to help her meet the cultural ideal.

Adding to her perversion of the accepted norm is the fact that based on her up bringing, insecurities, and lack of education Macabea finds it almost impossible to carry out a simple conversation. She mutters a few words and then becomes lost in herself. After meeting with Olimpico only a few times she eagerly waits for him to propose to her. This clearly shows her meager knowledge of the opposite sex and the flow of adult life in general.

Throughout the novel, Macabea's cultural influences seem to be the immediate people in her life. As the story progresses the reader sees that although Macabea seems lost with in herself, she is often weak minded and easily influenced by others. Once an idea comes to her she cannot seem to let it go and "Macabea clings to whatever belief system she can find to help her through her painful and humiliating life, and proves astonishingly resilient" (Martin 349). One can easily imagine that this frailty of self was created by her aunts' constant insistence that Macabea do exactly as she was told. There is an example where her aunt told her that if she eats a particular food it will be bad for the liver, even though in reality it has no effect on the liver. After Macabea eats that item she soon begins to have pains in the liver area.

Did this occur because the item truly was dangerous to the liver or was it because her submissive nature is so strong that her mind can convince even her body of something? At another time in the novel the passage reads "perhaps because of the chocolate... Macabea felt unwell". (66) This clearly shows that Macabea is greatly influenced by what her aunt had told her. Even Gloria has enough authority in Macabea's life to get her to go see a doctor and even a fortune teller, and she eventually "ends up killed by a fast car just as she begins to dream of a Hollywood-style happy endings for herself". (Martin 349) Gloria and Olimpico are also influenced by the culture and media in similar ways.

Olimpico wants to be a rich man, and wishes to impress people. This is evident when he eats hot peppers in front of Gloria. Even though they burn his mouth and stomach he refuses to drink water in an attempt to show her how much of a man he is. Gloria is equally interested in fitting the popular mold and the fact that she is buxom and lives on a street named after a war general gives her a sense of pride.

The narrator also states that although buxom, Gloria is ugly and when Macabea says the same remark Gloria is profoundly offended and lashes back with a rebuttal. This culture, like many is one where a woman must be a pretty. Due to Macabea's scant contact with others on a personal level she essentially "befriends' her radio, even sleeping with it at night. Although extremely uneducated, what knowledge Macabea seems to have, she gets from a daily program called Radio Clock. She listens to that show as if it is the word of god.

When a preacher on the radio says "repent" she starts to repent. She does not know why, she only does it because she is told that it is good to repent. Most of the stuff does not make any sense to her, but because it is the radio, she believes in it any way. The education Macabea gets from the radio is not an education in the sense of learning new things that a person can make use of or learning to think for ones self. One day while talking with Olimpico she repeats a few facts she heard on the radio and Olimpico mocks her for it because she can not explain what all that gibberish means or what relevance it has on their lives.

However, she goes on stating her facts while at the same time thinking that this is the kind of stuff people look for in a conversation. After reading the novel it is obvious that Macabea craves to be like Marilyn Monroe. "What Macabea wanted most of all, as I've already said, was to look like Marilyn Monroe". (65) In the era of the fifties and sixties Marilyn Monroe was a popular model and actress, and a role model for the younger generation of women. She was a beautiful woman adored by both men and women alike.

Even today it is not uncommon for a young girl to crave to be the center of attention to boys. It is no wonder that Macabea too, longed to be like Marilyn Monroe. Macabea's romantic fantasies seemed to be centered on being noticed. She had no craving for sex and found it disgusting. For the most part the accompanying movie went hand in hand with the novel except for a few short scenes.

After reading the novel and watching the movie readers can grasp a better understanding of what exactly is happening. It brings forth the emotionality of individual characters. For example, in the movie, contrary to the book, Macabea's roommates were aware of her presence and would even communicate with, and care for her. Throughout the novel Macabea is completely lost in herself.

Although she perceives the little things, the bigger picture of life is completely foreign to her. When she passes by strangers on the street they do not even realize let alone recognize her smile. She is so stricken in poverty and lives in seclusion yet maintains a certain level of peace. In a sense it makes the reader think and analyze the deeper meaning that the author is trying to get across. How can someone so poor and uneducated, so rejected by society, be so peaceful and serene? By spotlighting the popular culture of Rio de Janeiro as well as the lengths that citizens go to try and satisfy almost impossible standards the author was making a statement about mankind.

Showing that little Macabea could attain the peace that everyone seems to be in search of was a great statement to human nature. The happiness and grace that Gloria, Olimpico, and everyone else were trying so hard to attain through material things would always escape them. Yet for a simple, unrefined girl like Macabea, her genuine nature and pleasure in even the small aspects of life helped her to find the sense of peace and calm that most of society so desperately tries to find outside themselves..