A Voice For The Marginalized Peoples,Por Krishna D. Wright

Un Ensayo Crítico


por Krishna D. Wright



A Voice for the Marginalized Peoples

Gabriel García Márquez writes in the tradition of Realismo Magico along with other famous Latin American authors such as Luís Borges. García Márquez’s work discusses social issues, which affect his region, Argentina. Usually, his writing protests against the injustices the people of hiscountry suffer under the hand of an oppressive government as well as poor economic conditions brought about by colonizing and industrial nations, such as the United States. The story, “La siesta del martes,” follows this tradition. This story details the hardship of a mother and her daughter who loose one of their beloved relatives who dies in the process of committing a robbery. Through the use ofsymbols and symbolic characters, García Márquez presents the difficulties the impoverished and other marginalized peoples must face when dealing with an oppressive patriarchal society.

The opening scene of the story provides a symbol of stark contrast between the two worlds existing in the society of the mother and child. As they speed along in the train toward their destination, theylook out the window to examine the scenery. At one point, the mother notes the difference in scenery between one side of the train and the other. On one side she sees the fields used for producing agriculture and wagons being drawn by oxen, which carry the harvested food. This represents the rural world of Latin America, where poor families must subsist on the little they make from the productionof crops – primarily for exportation. On the opposite side of the train she notes offices, uncultivated plots of land, and luxurious houses. These sites symbolize the wealthy, urban portions of Latin America where the elite reside. In the midst of these two worlds, the mother travels with her child.

After providing the reader with this glimpse at the two worlds of their country, theauthor focuses on the two travelers. The two ride in the third class car of the train and they are alone. The fact that they are not accompanied by anyone else holds significance. García Márquez calls attention to the isolation accompanying poverty by constructing the story in this manner. However, he does not make any negative associations with their impoverished state. In fact, hecharacterizes the mother and other poor people as possessing scrupulous serenity because they have learned to accept their poverty. One respects the mother and child frugally traveling on what, at this point remains a mysterious errand.

The author gives little indication regarding the nature of their errand, except for the articles they carry and their manner of dress. The little girl carries abranch of flowers wrapped in newspaper, the significance of which is understood only at the end of the story. They carry a cheap, plastic bag, which contains their lunch; this shows they are too poor to afford to purchase food in the town where they will be arriving. The mother clutches a book of accounts. This evidently holds a great deal of importance, because García Márquez frequently refersto the way the mother holds this book; he describes it as an almost desperate action. Finally, the two are dressed in inexpensive, but respectable mourning clothes. With this description, the reader may infer that their errand involves the death of a family member or close friend. Yet, the author withholds the information at this point. This is characteristic of writers of the Realismo Magicoperiod, who attempt to incorporate real and supernatural or strange occurrences in their works, at the same time. The indeterminate manner in which the two travel adds a strange or magical air to the story.

The strange mood of the story continues when the mother and her daughter arrive in the town where everyone sleeps. It is close to two and the businesses have shut down for the...