Thursday, April 16, 2009

El hijo

written by Horacio Quiroga
[I] 16-27

Summary:
On the day the father finally feels at ease letting his son go out into the woods alone, the son goes with his gun to hunt at 9 AM. He promises to return at noon. The father meanwhile continues to wander about the house; he is at ease, but not completely, as his son is his whole entire life.

He then has illusions that his son has died, but these are quickly dismissed. At around 10 AM, the father hears a shot in the forest, and thinks (hopefully) that his son has killed something. Noon arrives, then 12:30 PM …

The father leaves to look for his son. He yells out for his son, continually losing hope. He meets up with his son and talks with him …

But his son is just an illusion – the son died from a hunter’s trap. Sonríe de alucinada felicidad ... Pues ese padre va solo […] su hijo bien amado yace al sol, muerto desde las diez de la mañana (23).

The story reflects the dark, tragic life Quiroga lived. He, a pessimist, believed that we do not have control when we are fighting nature.

Themes:
-la decadencia del orden establecido y el descontrol
-la tenue línea entre lo real y lo ilusorio
-los cuentos del siglo XX

10 comments:

  1. I have translated into Marathi (my mother tongue) the touching story "El hijo" of Horacio Quiroga.

    I had studied one of his stories "Juan Darien" during the time I did the Advance Diploma in Spanish. Later during the Masters Degree I did in Spanish, I also read and analysed his two other stories "Homebre muerto" and "A la deriva". After that it became an addiction for me reading Quiroga stories; inspite of the facts that most are tragic. My favourite is his "Cuentos de la selva".

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  2. the world is something we cannot explain because its diffferent than anything that there is

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  3. word to profe's class

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