“I came to Comala because I had been told that my father, a man named Pedro Paramo, live there. It was my mother who told me. And I had promised her that after she died I would go see him” (Rulfo 3).
This quote basically represents what the whole book is about. Juan Preciado promised his mother that he would go looking for his father that they fled away from since a long time ago. He went to Comala for that reason only. When he gets there everyone is dead. He talks to people but they are only ghost that still can not get to heaven and rest in peace. He hears a lot of stories about how his father was and gets surprised because some of those stories are harsh. What I think Juan Preciado went in search of his father was because he wanted to know him, how he was, what he liked what he disliked and what people thought of him or said. I don’t think his mothers promised was the only reason he went because he could have had waited to go but he left right after her death. He also wanted to claim what was his since he had never been with him. I would say that the purpose ghost appear to Juan would be so he can be able know about his father from the people that were close to him and knew exactly how he was and what he did. This is the analysis i could make from the quote to the overall book.
Connections:
My aunts mother in law died a couple a years ago but she would still not leave to where she was suppose to go because she committed suicide. She could not find the so what called "light" to heaven. People said that since she committed suicide and it wasn't her time to die because God hadn't called her she could not leave. Another reason was that she still wanted to take care of her son. When there was no one in the house her spirit would come back and do chores in the house she would was the dishes, do the laundry, and sweep the floor. People would even see her from the windows and tell my aunt that they saw her mother in law in the house. one day my aunt was bale to talk to her and tell her that she needed to rest already. What my aunt did was that she gave her a candle so she could find her way to heaven. So this is somewhat alike to the book because Juan talks to the ghost that are still in the town because they can't rest in peace. "The man I'm Talking about heard fine...Then it cant have been him.Besides, Abundio died. I'm sure he's dead. So you see? It couldn't have been him" (Rulfo 16). As this quote is saying he was talking to one of the dead people roaming the town of Comala.
The last connection would be that in this world there are a lot of people that commit sins. Some of those sins may be that they commit crimes and rapes in the book a man named Miguel kills the fathers(priest) brother and rapes his niece. Many people in this world do many crimes like that and do not get punished like this man named Miguel which is Pedro's son. Some of them being people that have a lot of power and know that people won't believe they would be able to do crimes like and if they do they pay people or police men so they won't do anything to them. "I know you hated him, Father. And with reason. Rumor has it that your brother was murdered by my son, and you believe that your niece Ana was raped by him..." (Rulfo 26). Also Pedro Paramo had a lot of power in Comala that he would decide what people could do and what they couldn't. He made some of them die of starvation because he did not want them to eat. He owned most of the land in Comala, and as most important people with power in this world tend to think that they can do what they want, Pedro would make all of the people in Comala suffer.
I chose this image because as the book said Juan Preciado's mission was to find his father Pedro Paramo. The thing was that everyone in Comala was dead since a long time ago and no one had visited it ever again. When he got there he was the only one alive and the people he talked to where only ghost. In the far right of the photo he appears and he looks like a human while the others that are in the photo are dressed up but are only skeletons. From the women in the coffin i came to the conclusion that it was his mother since she asked Juan to go look for his father. I would say that the meaning of him going in search of his father was meant for him to know about where his mother came from what people knew about her and also he would he able to get an idea about what his father was like. This is why i decided to use this photo as a representation of the whole book.
Questions:
What was the purpose of writing the book in two different points of views?
Do you think it was a good idea that Juan Rulfo wrote in two different points of view? If yes why? If not why? Give examples.
From reading this book what do you think Juan Rulfo is trying to say through this book?
What does he think about death?
What are your opinions on the book?
Reflection:
Well what I was confused about the book was that he went from the present to past than to present. Juan Rulfo talked about both at the same time because they have a lot of things in common. At times I would get confused because I did not know if he was talking about the past or the present. Also another thing would be that I would get confused because I did not understand how he was able to communicate with the ghost people and it was like if they were alive. At the beginning he is the only one alive but at a certain point in the story he dies. Another thing would be that he meets different people at the same time that it can get confusing in trying understand who he is talking to. I would recommend others to read this book but would say that they would need to read and analyze what is going on because if they read the book without stopping, at times it can get really confusing.
