The General in His Labyrinth Part II

I am on a sugar/caffeine/insomnia high so this might not make much sense...

We have touched on this in class, and I had mentioned it in the previous blog...Bolivar, as depicted here, is a far cry from the other dictators we have had the good fortune? misfortune? pleasure?(insert appropriate word here...) of reading about up to this point (with, perhaps...[a very strong perhaps] the exception of El Supremo)...Indeed, it is as if the only descriptions of Bolivar as a dictator are the ones in which he literally dictates the letters to his trusty scribe (and nephew) Fernando. Of course, there are reports of various people calling him a dictator which brings me to another point of interest: the role of the narrator. He describes what is being said (and written) about Bolivar in various places but clearly rejects it, as we can infer from his tone throughout the novel. It is an interesting parallel to the first-person "narration" by El Supremo, which has an effect similar to that in Garcia Marquez's ...ugh I give up!!! Though I am not managing to articulate it very well, I am referring to the idea that the President figure has done a lot for his country and that those calling him a dictator are not really aware of the magnitude of what was done and are attempting to undermine it in some way...

I also wanted to briefly get back to something else I noted in Blog No.1 regarding this novel and that is the use of humour, subtle as it is. An example (admittedly, in the first half of the novel) is the part about Josefa Sagrario and the images conjured up by th efollowing: "...for over the front and back of her dress had hunga a cuirass of magnificent local goldwork. And when he tried to carry her to the hammock he could scarcely lift her because of the weight of the gold" (114)...Of course, there are plenty of examples later on as well...I have to admit I chuckled when the words "biblical rages" are immediately followed by reported shouts of ""Fuck it!" (186).

I also like some of the 'quotable bits'...For example, ""And there's nothing more dangerous than a written memoir."" (154) Also regarding memoirs: ""They're nothing but dead men making trouble" (201)

A very brief blurb on intertextuality...We have noticed bits of I, the Supreme and Facundo creeping in (the ornage trees; the illness; the faithful servant/scribe in the case of the former and descriptions of battle, references to Rosas etc. that echo Sarmineto's book). There are some echoes of The President, as well...I'm thinking of those wretched turkey-buzzards!!! I guess what I'm trying to say is that, in a sense, this book is pulling together all the other ones we have read up to this point...

I think I'll end it here.