The underdogs

The Underdogs provides a personal view of the Mexican Revolution of 1910. The author, Mariano Azuela, served as a doctor with Francisco Villa's famed Division of the North, "Los Dorados." Hecriticizes the folly and brutality of the Underdogs as well as the cynicism and venality of Los Ricos. With this insight, he incorporates his firsthand knowledge of the revolution into this story. The novelis made up of two main characters, Demetrio Macias and Luis Cervantes, that represent differing views of the revolution itself. These two main characters represent Azuela's own feelings for therevolution. As the novel progresses, the reader is able to acquire a sense of what a revolution does to a person or group of people involved in it.
Macias and his band of revolutionaries at once attract andrepulse you until, at the novel's end, the reader understands how bitterly disillusioned Azuela had become with the likes of the generals and foot soldiers who turned their noble cause into a pretextfor their own personal gain. Thus, the revolution implodes upon the idealists who gave her birth and, in the end, the generals and foot soldiers of the revolution become consumed by the same baseimpulses that once fueled their enemies. Alberto Solis, often regarded as Azuela's spokesman in the book, compared the revolution to a hurricane, stating "if you're in it, you're not a man...you're aleaf, a dead leaf, blown by the wind."
Cervantes exclaimed that, "The revolution benefits the poor, the ignorant, all the unhappy people who do not even suspect that they are poor because...the rich whorule them, change their sweat and blood into tears and gold...." This passage is valuable because it gives the reader a clear picture of the ideals that Cervantes represents. Cervantes has a numberof...
Luis Cervantes is a former journalist and medical student. He wrote essays against the rebels and in his fervor joined the Federal army. He did not find the regimented lifestyle to his liking...