ipl-logo

The Underdogs: The Mexican Revolution

1238 Words5 Pages

When viewing the Mexican Revolution, a dichotomy between destruction and creation appears. When it kicked off in 1910, it was in the pursuit of noble goals. But at its core, the Revolution was a rebellion and at the heart of all rebellions is war. And with war comes destruction and death. While the Revolution last for at least a decade and perhaps longer, for the individuals involved life was often, as Thomas Hobbes once wrote, nasty, brutish, and short. Therefore, a question arises: how can creation and destruction find reconciliation in the Mexican Revolution? Mariano Azuela’s The Underdogs is often labelled a classic for multiple reasons. The first resides in the quality of Azuela’s writing. Demetrio Macías’ story is epic, in both class …show more content…

Take, for example, the curro Luis Cervantes; a pseudointellectual, Cervantes attempts to avoid the fighting if possible. This quality makes him the most peaceful of Macías’ soldiers. Yet, Cervantes is still driven by a desire for destruction; he hopes that one day he will be able to extinguish the light of the men who he feels slighted him. For Cervantes, no ardent desire for reform, the most educated of Macías’ men, exists. The actions of Macías’ and his men throughout the book are those of men at war; by nature, war is destructive. Once such notable incident is Macía’s attack on a group of federales stationed in a small town. Lightly armed, the ruthlessness of Macías and his men led to the destruction of the federales. Even outside battle, Macía’s soldiers engaged in barbaric activity. In one case, the group stole corn from a widower with nine children. Despite orders from Macías to return the corn, one of the most morbid characters in the book refused to part with the stolen corn. Instead, he beat the man with his sword for his troubles. These events are just a glimpse into the destructive actions that occur within the novel. In fact, The Underdogs is replete with characters whose motives are primal and coarse, absent of any of the honorable goals of the Revolution. Towards the end of part one of the novel, Señor Solís, an intellectual and acquaintance of Luis Cervantes, provides a stellar depiction of not only the events within the book, but war in

Show More
Related

Mexican Revolution Eric Wolf Analysis

303 Words | 2 Pages

Wolf Reading Response Eric Wolf described the Chinese Revolution in comparison to that of the Mexican Revolution. For example, during the Mexican Revolution, there were three main crises. The first was the demographic crisis. The second was the ecological crisis. The third was the crisis in power and authority.

Read More

The Revolutions: The Three Phases Of The Mexican Revolution

783 Words | 4 Pages

Historians often divide the Mexican Revolution into three main periods of fighting due to its length and complexity. Of the three periods, the one that had the most impact on Mexican society at the time was the first phase in which Francisco Madero overthrew Porfirio Diaz as new revolutionary leaders such as Emiliano Zapata and Pancho Villa arose. This period allowed people that were not usually involved in politics to become more involved. The phase of the revolution that had the most potential to create change in Mexican society later was the third one that saw Conventionalists take on Constitutionalists for control of the country. This stage created the Constitution and led to a single political party gaining control of México.

Read More

Analysis Of Midnight In Mexico Alfredo Corchado

253 Words | 2 Pages

As he recounts it in Midnight in Mexico Alfredo Corchado’s experience exemplifies the failures of development and the decline of one-party rule under the PRI. In the book Corchado speaks of how he remembers as a child that Mexico was always on a verge of a great political change and country transformation. Yet he noted that it had never come indicating the people of Mexico also felt as if the change would never come as well. He also cites that in January 1994 people of Mayan descent would rebel against the government because they believed the government only acted in the interests of the privileged few and ignored the poverty and trampled on traditions.

Read More

Soldaderas: The Mexican Revolution

953 Words | 4 Pages

Without Las Soldaderas, there would not have been a Mexican Revolution. Soldaderas, sometimes called Adelitas after a famous corrido about a beautiful and feminine girl, were women who cared for and sometimes fought alongside men in the Mexican Revolutionary war. [Arrizón:90:1998] The name Soldadera comes from the Spanish word soldada, which is a term used to define the payment made to someone who cares for soldiers. Many times, such women were educated and motivated by ideology, rather than just a simple desire to accompany their men.

Read More

Villism In The Underdogs By Mariano Azuela

534 Words | 3 Pages

In his work “The Underdogs”, Mariano Azuela is able to master the spirit of villismo regarding both its theoretic, underlying principles as well as the movement’s subsequent physical manifestations. Though significant characters conduct themselves in a manner consistent with the humble agrarian spirit central to villismo’s origin, characters in this text also exhibit the disruptive, callous behavior that is more characteristic of the federalist forces and dictatorships they aimed to unseat. Moreover, Demetrio’s degenerating understanding of the reason he’s fighting, coupled with his few instances of immorality, symbolizes the collapse of villismo morality into its culminating bandit-ridden reality. Cowboys, farmers, and other agrarian people suffering from land and labor oppression united together as the diverse “pieces of a great social movement [to] exalt their motherland” . Demetrio and Solis embody this original character of villismo revolution, as they maintain a moral, humanitarian compass throughout the novel.

Read More

The Uprising Of Hope: An Analysis

640 Words | 3 Pages

“Anthropology has always called for a participatory experience, but in this ethnography, we are asked to become part of the action, sharing the risks as well as the rewards of success.” The novel, “The Uprising of Hope” written by Duncan Earle and Jeanne Simonelli, expresses the Zapatista journey to alternative development. Before we express the Zapatista journey to alternative development, we must know who and what the Zapatista’s stand for. First, all Zapatista’s have some sense of disjuncture from the past, a profound distrust of the government based on repeated betrayals, a hope and faith that life can change with sacrifice to the larger social cause, and a profound love of the campesino small holder lifestyle.

Read More

A Thunderous Whisper Summary

703 Words | 3 Pages

The war had left many places vulnerable, filled with heaps of debris, and destroyed with no sight of life. Attacks on different cities in Spain had demolished homes that people once lived, filled with many memories. Many family members were lost and missed due to the war. The author also briefly points out a historical figure, Francisco Franco, who successfully led a military revolt and won the Spanish Civil War, which caused him to rise to power and become the ruler over Spain as a dictator. Christina Diaz Gonzalez had implied the brutal dictatorship under Franco and the drastic changes that had occurred.

Read More

The Broken Spears Summary

573 Words | 3 Pages

The Broken Spears, by Miguel Leon-Portilla, is an all-inclusive and compelling account of the Spanish conquest, told by the Aztecs also known as the conquered. Leon Portilla’s choice of events depicted in this book collides together giving the reader a broad view of the Spanish conquest. This book gives a history of emotional and spiritual human experiences, allowing the readers to comprehend, and relate to the Aztecs as they went through terror and faced their fears. This book provides an extensive amount of details concerning lack of leadership, bias and technological hardship that led to the Aztec defeat. After reading this book the reader will start to understand how and why the Aztecs suffered .

Read More

Inga Clendinnen In Fierce And Unnatural Cruelty

1376 Words | 6 Pages

Unlike DBC Pierre, Clendinnen has a more rigid contextual application to her history, having studied Anthropology and therefore approaching the Aztecs through the intensely human aspect, in the manner of history from below. In dealing with the reasons for defeat of the Aztec Empire, Clendinnen focuses on the intensely intimate and brutal cultural practices of battle and further war. She focuses intensely on the cultural forces, as defined by humans, in losing the war - and she raises the question of the adaptability of the Aztec Empire to the Spanish terms of engagement. She provides interesting insight into the inability for both the Spanish or the Aztecs to understand one another; clearly influenced by her background in Anthropology. Undoubtedly, her contextualisation of the downfall through the insuperable cultural clash and demands of ritual, that is hand to hand combat only and the criminal death system in battle is reflective of her familiarity with Anthropology - certainly her character dissection of Cortes is done in an intense, anthropological detail.

Read More

Insurgent Mexico Summary

1800 Words | 8 Pages

In the novel Insurgent Mexico, John Reed travels south of the border to experience the Mexican Revolution first hand while traveling in the year 1914. Reed was a journalist writing for Metropolitan and was ordered to bring back his work to publish in the United States. During this time Reed travelled to many places and met all different types of people from war generals, to peones, to Indians and many others. Reed has described his time in Mexico as the “most satisfactory period” in his life (Publisher’s Note), and it can be reflected through the stories he shares in Insurgent Mexico about his traveling companions and his experiences. Some moments were very serious, and at times even dangerous, while others were light hearted and amusing for

Read More

Quixote's Soldiers Summary

741 Words | 3 Pages

In order to write this book, the author clearly uses different manuscripts and papers that helped him to explain and show the situation of this social movement. He also uses and gets information from people that were living those situations, for instance in Chapter one, he mentions a note from Journalist Ruiz Ibañez: “Contrary to the common belief that those groups are composed of “punks” and hoodlums….”1. Related to him, he is an American historian and sociology that obtained his sociology and political science degrees in the University of Texas at Austin and Yale University, as well. Currently, he is a professor of Ethnic Studies at the University of California, Berkeley and he is president of the Center for Latino Policy Research. He wrote not only Quixote’s Soldiers but also, Anglos and Mexicans in the Making of Texas, 1836-1986.

Read More

Mexican American War Research Paper

889 Words | 4 Pages

The Mexican-American War changed the Unites States of America in a monumental way. This war changed The U.S.A.’s relationship with foreign powers and the economic standpoint of the nation. The Mexican- American war, and its strong ties to manifest destiny, shaped the nation in a country bordered by two seas with a chance for common folk and foreigners to have a sustainable life due to the gold rush. The war can also be accounted for the downfall leading to the Civil War over the conflict of slavery due to the land purchased in the wars treaty. Conflict between Mexico and the United States began when Texas, previously part of Mexico, became part of the United States.

Read More

Essay On The Mexican American War

1083 Words | 5 Pages

The United States war with Mexico continues to be a divisive topic among many people because of its background. The Mexican-American war was a fight between Mexico and America for land. America’s belief at the time was Manifest Destiny, which meant that they believed that America should extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific ocean. In the end, America benefited from the war and got the land. The United States expanded its size, achieving their dream of Manifest Destiny.

Read More

Analysis Of The Wars By Timothy Findley

1906 Words | 8 Pages

War, something that sounds so cliché yet endeavours a greater meaning; a meaning of finding your true self within yourself, and seeing your natural, brave or mediocre side. The concept of bravery and heroic men is often the label associated with war; however, in Timothy Findley’s The Wars, it is in fact the exact opposite. The Wars is an anachronistic example of what one goes through both physically and mentally. Findley accurately portrays the protagonist, Robert Ross, as a naïve nineteen year old who wishes to escape his excruciating feelings of reality for being held accountable for Rowena’s death by enlisting into war, as well as to adhere to societal norms. Robert is an incompetent young boy that achieves most of his knowledge of war from

Read More

La Mexicano Analysis

871 Words | 4 Pages

Octavio Paz, a Mexican poet and essayist, is one of the many philosophers with a written piece regarding his understanding of Lo Mexicano. Paz’s “Sons of La Malinche” was first published in the Labyrinth of Solitude in 1950 and is a rather grim interpretation of the Mexican character, however, it captures the crisis of identity that Mexico was burdened with after the conquest. Paz uses the Spanish term “chingar,” (when literally translated means “to screw, to violate”) and its associated phrases to understand the conquest and the effect

Read More

More about The Underdogs: The Mexican Revolution

Open Document