After watching an incredible victory by the UConn Huskies over the Kentucky Wildcats in the NCAA championship, I have begun to settle down to the point where I believe I can write my blog post. Obviously basketball will be involved because I'm trying to challenge the "norms" of the class. UConn was not expected to succeed in the tournament at all. Their triumphs over Saint Joseph's, Villanova, Iowa State, Michigan State, and Florida were described as "the biggest upsets of the year." All season I've been rooting for UConn. I'm from Connecticut, and while neither of my parents are huge sports fans, I have been bred to "bleed blue" for whatever that's worth. Throughout all of their wins, the media has been skeptical of their abilities, claiming their wins were due to circumstances out of their control. This bad press and innate dislike of the Huskies that almost all America has had this March Madness season has caused me to question the role of the media in shifting our perspectives on the games.
At this point you're probably wondering where Aura ties in. I read the book in one sitting because it was so captivating. I was hooked by Fuentes' use of second-person narration. When I finished the book, however, I was left feeling empty and disappointed. I'm not sure what I had been led to believe, but this was not the ending I had hoped for. Fuentes, like the media had shifted my perspective. As an audience we feel connected to Felipe Montero because we basically become him. We eagerly await what will happen next and worry for his well-being. This is similar to the way the Huskies have been portrayed. Statisticians and basketball experts ranked them low in the tournament expecting them to be kicked off early in the bracket season. We were preconditioned to expect a different outcome from this basketball season, however, as the Huskies victory proves, fate is unpredictable. Or is it?
Fuente's Aura forces us to once again confront the idea of fate in our class. Felipe had no idea that by inquiring for this job advertisement he would become a completely different person. Consuelo, on the other hand, knows all to well exactly what the young historian's fate will be. Fuentes creates an eerie setting where we worry for Felipe because he wants us to recognize the horror in the narrative. We are forced into connecting with the protagonist only to find him lose himself. The media misrepresented the Huskies to the point where they were constantly having to comeback and prove themselves.
It's interesting to me that we are noticing representation in so many different fields around us. As I reflect back now, I realize how many aspects of my life were formed and molded by others' expectations. Your example reminds me specifically of my dance studio, where there were clear distinctions between what was frowned upon and what wasn't. It sounds like the Huskies overcame their fair share of obstacles despite what the outcome was 'supposed' to be, I hope that we can all do the same in one way or another.
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