great works ii – 2850 jta 12:25-2:05: love letters from the world

The choice of the second person can seem pretty odd, unusual, or confining. But writing with this point of view is a way to transform any story. It’s a new way of telling a story and a different way of revealing a character. It’s a very powerful point of view that has the the ability to influence the reader in ways that first and third person don’t. The author wants to make the reader feel as if they are a part of the story and action. It allows the reader to experience the story as if it’s their own.  The second person is used to address the reader personally. This narrative can also make the reader distance himself or herself from their own actions. Although this narrative is not the most common technique in literary fiction since most narratives are told in the first or third person, it’s a very common technique of certain genres such as self-help books, do-it-yourself manuals, musical lyrics, and advertisements. (Alexandria)

Felipe Montero came upon an advertisement for a job for a French-speaking historian. He accepts the job from Senora Consuela, and he meets Aura, her beautiful niece, and is mesmerized by her eyes. “… because they’re beautiful green eyes, just like all the beautiful eyes you’ve ever known. But you can’t deceive yourself: those eyes do surge, do change, as if offering you a landscape that only you can see and desire.” (836) As he looks into the eyes of Aura for the first time, he sees them surge and change. This quote shows the beginning of a relationship between Felipe and Aura. From the moment Felipe saw her eyes, he couldn’t stop thinking about her. Reading this, it is obvious that Felipe will be infatuated and seduced by her. This quote shows a glimpse of their relationship later in the story. The use of the second person helps create this feeling that Felipe is recounting the events as they occur in the story. The author draws his readers into the story, putting them into the life of this man. (Ivy)

In Aura by Carlos Fuentes, second person perspectives makes the reader feel immersed into the setting as if they are the actual author themselves.  Every sentence is like a command at first, directing a script which is your life. “After smoking two cigarettes while lying on the bed, you get up, put on your jacket, and comb your hair. You push the door open and try to remember the route you followed coming up. You’d like to leave the door open so that the lamplight could guide you, but that’s impossible because the springs close it behind you” (836) illustrates the new environment Felipe is getting used to. It also includes all the actions the character takes like a step-by-step guide.  The combination of both second person and the objects included in the novel, brings a refreshing sense that the slightly little details will be remembered. This quote specifically brings the old and new lifestyle together, with the cigarettes, jacket, and hair from the past to the route, lamplight, and door that is new. (Michael)

Carlos Fuentes uses the second person amazingly in the narrative, Aura. It really helps the reader dive into the story, making you the main character. One quote that really hit me was “There isn’t any light to guide you, and you’re searching in your coat pocket for the box of matches when a sharp, thin voice tells you, from a distance: ‘No it isn’t necessary. Please. Walk thirteen steps forward and you’ll come to a stairway at your right. Come up, please. There are twenty-two steps. Count them.” I really like this specific quote. You are able to feel the chill of being alone in the dark, not being able to see a single thing. You can fully dive into the story as though you are the character. I feel like in this part it is about walking blindly, and when you don’t exactly know where you are going you just have to follow your gut and trust that it will lead you to where you need to go. (Allen)

By using second person perspectives, Carlos Fuentes is able to let the readers get involve into the story in the most effective manner. Being at protagonist’s position gives readers better opportunity to see what he see, feel what he feels, and also gives a huge space for imagination. Merely thinking about who the narrator might be gives readers one more layer of creepy feeling, which is the also  one of Carlos’ goals. “You murmur her name in her ear. You feel the woman’s full arms         against your back. You hear her warm voice in your ear: ‘Will you love me forever?’”(Aura 847) The murmuring, the touch of young skin and    the love talk are so vividly in front of us. Being able to stand on             protagonist’s feet make us tend to think from his side instead of a           spectator who tend to analyze. Why dose she say this to me? What’s       going to happen to us? What I am going to do?… Although most of the readers might not be able to relate to this surreal plot, Carlos has done    a great job to make us dive into the story and feel the weirdness. (Zheng Huang)