Aura – Radia, Elizaveta, Mel

Theme: Aura
Group Members: Radia, Elizaveta, and Mel

   
Comment #1 – Radia (Page 841, second to last paragraph)

    I can’t remember the date because now the Senora is talking in that sharp voice of hers. I listen to Senora while she is talking to Aura as I eat, hearing her complainants, pains, suspected illnesses, more complaints about the cost of medicines, the dampness of the house and so forth. I wanted to interrupt this conversation and ask about the servant who brought my things. The servant that I still have not seen. I was just about to ask, but then I realized that Aura hasn’t even said a word and is eating with a sort of mechanical fatality, as if she was waiting for some outside impulse before finally, picking up her knife and fork, cutting the piece of liver. Yes, it’s liver again. It’s the favorite dish in this house. I quickly glance from the aunt to the niece, but at that moment Senora becomes motionless, and at that exact moment Aura becomes motionless. Senora put her knife down and immediately Aura put down her knife.
               The date had slipped Carlos’s mind and now became distracted by Senora’s sharp voice. She’s talking to Aura and listens to her complaints, pains, suspected illnesses, more complaints about the cost of medicines, the dampness of the house, and so forth. Carlos wanted to interrupt the domestic conversation to ask about the servant who retrieved his things, the servant that he has yet to catch a glimpse of. He just was about to ask, but suddenly he realizes that Aura hasn’t said a word and is eating with a sort of mechanical fatality, as if she were waiting for some outside impulse before picking up her knife and fork to cut the liver. It’s liver, again; the favorite dish in the household. Carlos glances at the aunt to the niece, but he realizes that Senora has become motionless, and at the exact moment Aura puts her knife on the plate and becomes motionless. Just a second earlier, Senora put her knife down.

While transitioning between the perspectives, I found myself changing a lot of the wording without realizing it. I found it easier writing in first person because my words flowed more easily. Also, it was difficult to change the grammar when writing each tense.

Comment #2 – Elizaveta
                                    
When the author uses second person form, I was feeling weird, because in my head it sounded in the way of a command. Carlos Fuentes wrote in his novella, “You’re going to ask about him but you’re suddenly surprised to realize that …” In my opinion, the author used this style of writing to put readers’ mindset in a specific way so that they would understand his ideas better and relate to the story personally. If we are going to compare the original text with the text written in a third person form, we will understand that the new one does not force us to do anything. Radia wrote in her interpretation, “He just was about to ask, but suddenly he realized that …” This way of writing involves the reader to observe the story from the outside and does not give the feeling of being forced to the story. I prefer the first style of writing because it causes more emotions than the 3rd person text. Even though I felt awkward reading writing like that, I was able to put myself in the shoes of the protagonist.   

   
Comment #3 – Mel

    Similar to Elizaveta’s opinion, I think the second person point-of-view forces us to think in a specific mindset which allows us to understand the situation more. With that said, the first person perspective is not really effective for the reader to connect with the protagonist because it’s as if we’re hearing our friend narrate his problems to us.
“I can’t remember the date because now the Senora is talking in that sharp voice of hers. I listen to Senora while she is talking to Aura as I eat, hearing her complainants, pains, suspected illnesses, more complaints about the cost of medicines, the dampness of the house and so forth.I wanted to interrupt this conversation and ask about the servant who brought my things. The servant that I still have not seen.”

This quote is in the first person perspective. While reading this, I feel bad for Felipe because it sounds like this Senora that he’s talking about is really annoying. This is an act of judgment, not a connection in feelings/emotions. I can’t feel the same way that Felipe did when he was listening to Senora, because I’m listening to HIS story.
    “The dates escape you because now the Senora is talking in that thin, sharp voice of hers, that bird-like chirping. She’s talking to Aura and you listen to her as you eat, hearing her long list of complaints, pains, suspected illnesses, more complaints about the cost of medicines, the dampness of the house and so forth. You’d like to break in on this domestic conversation to ask about the other servant who went for your things yesterday, the servant you’ve never even glimpsed and who never waits on table.”
    In second person perspective, the author/narrator is demanding me to think in a certain way. Thoughts cause emotions. Thinking a certain way sparks certain emotions. It makes me, the reader, able to connect with the protagonist. I no longer think that Senora is annoying. Rather, being forced in thinking this way, I think that Felipe was impatient. There is a sense that Senora is getting annoying, but Felipe is impatient with the conversation, because he wants to know where his belongings are. The second person point-of-view enforces readers to connect with these details.