Multicultural Literature: “Poisoned Story” Essay

Latino floriculture, specific tout ensembley Puerto-Ri sewer culture has changed through and through the course of hi novel. Puerto Rico has witnessed a fusion of races and cultures spanning over to a greater extent years, starting in 1898, after the Spanish-American war. Ultimately, Puerto Rico was annexed to the United States, the Puerto Rican raft make United States citizens with limited restrictions and granted commonwealth status. The changes made during those eras did non make with protrude consequences to the Puerto Rican culture. In Pois superstard stage, author genus genus genus genus genus genus Rosario Ferre depicts the political and economic ever-changing norms and tensions surrounded by the social clear upes of the Puerto Ricans culture. In Ferres scripted report Poisoned Story several(prenominal) major themes are prevalent through the invoice opposition between the dreary and incline class, literacy, interpretation of historicity and magic pragmatism.The o verriding twist of the leg dismiss is base upon a chronicle conflict between the reference points which dramatizes the issue of the developed author within the grade. The reason this is important is because the c at a timepts of the Puerto Rican account is base upon sleep together of the individual Puerto Rican. The class structure between rich and lamentable at one time was clear. During this pen report, the class structure and culture of two generations against the backdrop of the United States relationship is developed. The guinea pigs within the yarn pose several classes of people in the Puerto Rican neighborhoody. Also, Ferre uses a narrative style in the story that introduces dissimilar writers within the story or shall we say disparate perceptions of occurrences of level based upon personal experience within the Puerto Rican fusion of culture.Read more A depiction of a fantasy city.The Puerto Rican economy was disturbed with the United States intercess ion which led to classes of people be displaced within society, as was the case with the type of tire Lorenzo. accept Lorenzo was Rosauras father. After the death of his beginning married woman, accept Lorenzo married his second married woman named Rosa. An important issue of this story is the manly voice of Don Lorenzo represents and the fact that he married expose of his class when he married Rosa, leaving behind his traditions and some of his culture. The character of Don Lorenzo transitions through the story. In the beginning, Don Lorenzo is viewed in high regard, with pride for his charge and culture.As the story progresses Don Lorenzo looses his land, his home, and his sum of money as he and his aristocratic culture deteriorates before his precise eyes with the help of his new wife Rosa and changing social structure.Rosa is an antagonistic source and character in the story. Rosa is the representation of the lower class of society, or the on the job(p) class. Good w ith her hands, the character of Rosa is represented as world cunning and resourceful by one of the writers, and bitter and cruel by a nonher. Depending on who is paternity the story, in that location is a like and dislike of this character on several levels in regards to the interactions with some(prenominal) characters Don Lorenzo and Rosaura.Rosa is set forth as existence from the working class, oftentimes different from Lorenzos first off wife. The physical description describes Rosa as having broad hips with generous breasts who reestablished Don Lorenzos domestic comfort after the death of his first wife (p.9). Rosa is also depict as coming from a different class background when being described by her customersWhoever would expect intellection it from charwoman to gentlewoman, first wallowing in mud, then wallowing in wealth. But finery does not a lady make.(p.8).This class leap is important to recognize in the fact that Rosa was once Don Lorenzos wifes caregiver, a nd now she has replaced the aristocratic mother and wife, defying the social system of poor vs. rich. Rosas character transitions from poor to rich, similar to a creative Puerto Rican rendering of a Cinderella story rags to riches. Rosa is also instrumental in leading, or forcing the characters of Don Lorenzo and Rosaura to evolve or assimilate into the then current Puerto Rican culture.The character of an aristocratic young woman named Rosaura is introduced in the first paragraph. Rosaura was the daughter of a once wealthy sugar cane plantation owner named Don Lorenzo. It can be assumed that Rosaura was fairly young at the onset of this story, only when grey enough to read and attendschool. Her mother had recently died (reason is not specified) and her father quickly remarried to Rosa. This young girl loved to read books in a dense overgrowth of crimson bougainvillea vines (p.1). It should be noted that the colour of crimson and inflammation are repetitively used to describe associations with Rosaura. The red association is first in the flower on vine, then in the bloodlike guava compote which gets spilled on Rosas dress.The story represents Rosaura as an educated daughter, a part of the aristocracy who was described to possess the baron to read in a country where the illiteracy rate was precise high. It can be assumed through Puerto Rican history and through the narrative description in the story, that unless you were of the wealthy class, upbringing was not an option she was obligate to leave school because of his poor business deals (p.9). The literacy rate was very poor in Puerto Rico which was a farming country. The characters that were literate in the Poisoned Story also represent the idea of who usually writes history, which is the literate, or the rich.The structure of the story is centered on the narrative theme of the concept poisoned story. The doorway starts with an excerpt from a book or story by A Thousand and One Nights, author unkno wnAnd the King said to Ruyan the pert Man-Wise Man, there is nothing written.-Leaf through a few more pages.The King turned a few more pages, andBefore presbyopic the poison began to course rapidly through his body. ThenThe King trembled and cried out-This story is poisoned.This poem sets up the overwhelming major theme of the writer being in control of the story, and those words or interpretation being poison. The rising action of the story is centered around the different perspectives of the interpretations of the history of the story that is being commented on through the writers.Within the story there is the perception of several writers. Several parts to the story are written in a fairytale manner, with eloquently chosen words and fine-looking descriptions of days past when the aristocracy led the social class structure and everyone seemed supernaturally fantastical. Exquisite dolls, fancy dinners and luxuries were of the excess for the aristocracy while the working class s truggled to put food on the table. The opposite perception of that alike(p) time is written in a language that seems to be benevolent to Rosa and her hardships as being from the working class, trying honestly to work her way up the entrepreneur ladder in the fashion industry. The ternary voice in this story is that of Rosa herself who discriminates what is being written, the historicity and the interpretation of the situations being described within the story. Rosas voice is harsh and cutting, with a choice of very expressive language that invokes a cynical rendering on the paragraphs written previously.All three voices within the story represent different views of the same situations or conflicts within and through the relationships of the characters. The conflict within the story is the relationship between the two classes of society making the variation to the changing societal norms. The concepts of the societal system have been shaken with the changing Puerto Rican politic al commonwealth. Don Lorenzo has been taken from his days of glory, with patriotic zeal and corrupted to a small town-writer through the course of the story. What is interpreted by one is a fairy tale, is interpreted by another as a lie.The climax in the story is when Don Lorenzo agrees to allow Rosa to burn up Rosauras books, after the sale of the plantation and theatre. Don Lorenzo had sold the tin and plantation to benefit the dress shop opened by Rosa inthe house. As the shop put them into more and more debt, Lorenzo was laboured to sell the plantation and then his land. When he sold the house, he was on a lower floor the pretense that the mayor was going to restore the house as a historic landmark, where the mementos of the sugarcane-growing aristocracy would be preserved for generations(p. 15). Lorenzo had sold his home, then his heart when he conceded in allowing Rosa to burn his daughters books, the destruction tie he had with his culture that he seemed to value in the story.The furthermost part of the story and resolution depicts the funeral of Don Lorenzo and Rosa finally reads the poisoned story at the end of Rosauras book. The book was the last gift given to Rosaura by her father. The resolution is in the reading the poisoned story by Rosa. Through out the story, Rosa never reads boththing, as it was not in Rosas culture, most of the working class was illiterate. The shifting political powers and class jumping has brought Rosa to a new level in the culture of the aristocracy, education and the power of the written word, or better known as the poisoned story. The story has come full circle with Rosas character advance and metamorphosis to the upper class.Don Lorenzo lived by the romantic ideas and notions of an aristocratic societyA man could sell everything he had-his horse, his cart, his shirt, even the skin eat up his back- but ones land, like ones heart, must never be sold. (p.8).Symbolically, Don Lorenzo had sold out the culture h e had for so long cherished and been proud of. He had lived through the first changes in hi s heritage when he began to work the plantation, and his house became decayedIt was there that the criollos first resistance to the invasion had taken place, almost a hundred years before. Don Lorenzo commemorated the day well, and he would enthusiastically re-enact the battle scene as he strode vigorously through the halls and parlors thinking of those heroic ancestors who had gloriously died for their homelandhowever he had neverconsidered selling the house or the plantation (p. 13).After Lorenzo take upd to the city, he began to write a book on the patriots of our islands independence (13). The interpretation of the history of the invasion in 1898 is recollected by both Lorenzo and Rosa. Lorenzo describes the Civil War between the plantation system and slavery, but Rosa describes the same situation in terms of disregard. Rosa interprets the truth of the history in a different light, descr ibing the rich of the island as a pestis of vultures (14).The relationship between Rosaura, her father and Rosa weave magical realness through the interaction. Fictional and historical happenings are mixed with the fantastical in Poisoned Story. Examples of the magical realism start with the introductory poem where the set up to Rosas possible demise is introduced. The beginning of the story begins with a story about a poisoned story, or story book that poisons the reader. As the story progresses Rosaura reverts to an almost fantasy every time she indulges in her stories. The shining description of the fantasy world that Rosa claims Rosaura lives in produces elements of fantasy mingled with realismThe house, like Rosauras books, was a fantasy world, filled with exquisite old dolls in threadbare clothes, musty wardrobes full of satin robes, velvet capes, and crystal candelabra which Rosaura used to swear shed seen floating through the halls at night, held aloft by flickering ghos ts (9).The author also uses repetition to create a tension around this story book, fantasy focus. Rosa is continually referring to Rosaura as a girl who does not earn her keep and who lives in a storybook world, while she had to sew her fingers to the bone in order to feed them all (12 & 16). The only time Rosaura is not referenced to her storybooks is when she cooks her father a meal and after they move to city. It is ironic that Rosaura stops reading her stories after the move to city which would symbolize Rosaura and Don Lorenzos paradise lost.The impression you get from the speaker unit is that Rosaura has stopped readingher birthday present storybook because she is busy with her friends. However, as the story progresses, Rosaura has a dream about a tale of a poisoned story which has the mysterious power that would immediately destroy its first reader which is described to have frightened Rosaura. Yet, when the poisoned story is discovered, it is discovered by Rosa and written in a thick guava-colored ink, the same guava based ink Rosaura had spilled on Rosas dress. It should be noted that a wealthy man would have built up his library in that last century of Puerto Rican history. A culture that values education would have a strong tie to the impact of books. Coincidentally, Lorenzo agrees to give up his daughters books and last ties with his aristocratic culture at with Rosas insistence. The spilling of the compote symbolizes two things the aristocratic culture that Lorenzo cherished so much and the death of that culture.In comparison, Rosa is never used in any whimsical or fantastical terms unless referring to her outward appearance and dresses or when she is referred to selling the family heirlooms (10&11). Rosa in presented much like the evil stepmother in fairy tale literature which adds to the dramatic effect and magical theme. The pairing between Lorenzo and Rosa is not based upon love on her part as she describes marrying him out of pity (9). The evil stepmother is also referred to as miserly, unless it has to do with her own dressings and wardrobe. The appearance of richness is far more important to Rosa than self worth. She also uses the appearance of education to further her desires in the story as she calls her store The fall of the Bastille and pretends to read at the funeral (10 &17).The success of Rosas store fulfilled her wishes of becoming an entrepreneur. She describes herself as being rich, merely she was very much in debt. Her idea of being rich could very well be interpreted as being a part with woman as described on page 11. The mythical tang of the story is even carried over to the salvation through style philosophy, where the writer compares her work to a possible religious experience (11). The lavish materials and designs Rosa is described to put together are compared to the style and design of her apostolic clients who dress like witches (12).Lastly, Rosa incorporates the fairy tale or magical qualitat ive of ultimatums which further the action of the story. Lorenzo on several occasions is co-coerced into doing whatsoever Rosa wants. The lust and bountiful bosom is a safe harbour for Lorenzo, but in return Lorenzo must pay with his life. Lorenzo pays with his honor, plantation, home, and then heart. The end result is the poisoned story, a story whose interpretation is subjective, not necessarily objective. A story based upon history, written by an unobjective writer may write a poisoned story, with the possibility that truth in writing is subjective.