Throughout the entire novel of Aura, I find myself drawn into the darkness of the house, only hearing a voice beckoning me deep inside, thirteen steps forward and twenty-two steps up. This is because I was inhabiting the body of Felipe during the story, much like how he slowly started becoming like the General in the story.
Normally, when one assumes the role of the character in a story, there's some suspension of disbelief at the parts that don't line up with yourself, but that's to be expected. An interesting thing to note is that Felipe doesn't have many distinguishing characteristics. All we know is that he's naturally curious and wants money. Even his name is only thrown around a few times, I had to re-read the back section just to remember what it was. Thus, it makes it very easy to 'be' him. (On a side note: I wonder if there's this weird disconnect between the way the girls in the class read this book versus the way I just presented. Was Felipe less part of your identity when reading?) I feel like I normally feel this way with very strong, heavily narrated books with one specific narrator whose views I share. This definitely makes the story more intimate if the line between you and the narrator is blurred.
The next book we read, the "Choose Your Own Adventure" book, makes me even more excited to read, because it is even easier to assume the role of the narrator as you are the one making choices! (Well, predefined choices, but still, its a very personal experience.)
I think that your comment is really interesting because I found myself reading in a very different way. Although I was extremely invested in Felipe, I didn’t see his actions as my own. From the narrative I almost felt as if the story was following the events of an extremely close friend, someone I felt particularly connected with. With that, I think that it is interesting that you brought up gender in your post because I think I partially read Aura this way because I am a girl and it felt awkward to take on Felipe’s role. I would be curious to see if this is just a coincidence or if other girls in the class read the story slightly disconnected like I did.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jillian that you brought up a very interesting point. I think I read the book alternating between taking Felipe's role, Aura's, or none, unconsciously choosing the parts that I could empathize with in each one, not necessarily in relation to gender (like Felipe's puzzlement over some of the occurrences). For me, this kind of immersion and empathy in the story (though I haven't felt it very strongly in reading this book) is what makes for a good reading.
ReplyDeleteI think it is also important to note that the lack of a fundamental disconnect between author and reader also allows the reader to fall into the role of a character. This way, it is impossible to take a step back and observe the interactions between characters. I found myself absorbed in Consuelo's witchcraft, as if I as a reader was turning into Felipe. I was prevented from seeing Aura as a construct because I was also drawn in by her.
ReplyDeleteRichard I had a similar problem when reading this book. I kept getting sucked into the book as Felipe. The only thing that allowed me to get out of this trap was this class. This class has taught me to be careful when reading, so every now and again I would take a step back. This allowed me to look at the big picture and not just Felipe. On a second note you brought up gender role and how that changes the way you read this book. If the story was reversed and Felipe was a girl and Aura was a guy I still think I would get trapped. I am not tangled in the story because Felipe is a guy, but because of the writing itself.
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