Ruben:
Carlos Fuentes’ use of the second person present-tense in his work “Aura” mimics the style of a dream. When writing “Aura,” I believe Fuentes’ goal was to passively force the reader into imagining him or herself in the story, like a dream. Had Fuentes used “he” and “her as oppose to “you,” there would be a disconnect between the story and the reader. However, I don’t believe that Fuentes meant for the reader to exactly put him or herself in Felipe’s shoes, for Felipe’s character is too precise for that to work.
Fuentes writes: “You climb the stairs behind that sound in the darkness, and you’re still unused to the obscurity . . . She moves away with the same faint rustle of taffeta, and you weren’t able to see her face again” (Fuentes 836). Fuentes’ use of the second person in present-tense is also beneficial in engaging the readers, for “Aura” is a horror story and the reader becomes more scared and engaged thanks to Fuentes’ use of “you.”
Sharada:
Carlos Fuentes uses the second person in Aura to convey the introspection the main character, Felipe Montero, experiences as he gets accustomed to his new job and new life. Using the second person proves to be effective when he expresses his thoughts about Aura, the girl he fell in love with: “In the hallway, you clench you teeth. Why don’t you have courage enough to tell her that you love the girl?” (Fuentes 842). In this instance, it seems like he is using the second person to reflect on himself and his decisions, which makes the readers do the same, and question Felipe’s next move. Felipe seems to be scolding himself for not acting a certain way when he uses the second person, suggesting that the author is using the second person for a certain self-examination. I do not think that the author uses the second person to put the audience in Felipe position for everything, but at times of introspection I think that the audience naturally puts themselves in his positon. In this section of the story, Fuentes deals with his love for the girl, which is why using the second person proves to be effective for conveying his emotions.
Jessica:
Carlos Fuentes uses second person in this story to exemplify the theme of self realization. He realizes that he is the general and that Aura is Consuelo. But there is a deeper realization here. He realizes that Aura the girl he has fallen in love with is the very woman he considered old and with no energy. As life went on, the love he had fir this woman faded away and seeing Aura he was able to see Consuelo as the woman he fell in love with. It states in the passage, “I am only asking you to see, in the great love which you say you have for me, something sufficient, something that can fill both of us” (850). His use of “you” helps the realization come across to the reader. It makes it seem as though he is actually speaking with the reading and explaining what he realized. This element helps for a reader to put themselves in his place and fully grasp what he realized. Thus element helps the reader imagine the situation as well.
Frank:
The use of “you” that Carlos Fuentes uses is a very interesting tool. In my opinion, it is used so that you the reader believe that you are the main character in the story. It makes you think that everything that is happening to Felipe is actually happening to you. This is symbolic because shows exactly how Felipe felt when reading the manuscripts of Consuelo’s husband. On page 851, Felipe finally realizes the truth when looking at a picture of General Llorente, “you discover only yourself; blurred, lost, forgotten but you, you, you.” This quote shows that Felipe finally realizes that he is actually General Llorente and that Aura is Consuelo. Now when he reads the manuscripts, he is also reading in the “you” context because as he reads he is actually reading about himself. As we read, the “you” is used because the author wants us to think that when we’re reading this we think that we are Felipe. The use of “you” makes the story come alive and this quote shows how Felipe was finally able to realize that the life he is living is the life of the General, because they are the same person.
1 response so far ↓
JMERLE // Apr 9th 2016 at 10:56 am
Very nicely done, all of you. You mention some key elements, here, and you don’t need to all agree with each other: the dream-like quality, the sense of introspection; the sense of self-realization; the idea of the reader as character (which the first post disagrees with, but that’s okay, as this is a very personal kind of response) We’ll continue this discussion in class. Nicely done!
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