I have expanded on my previous post and came up with a possible introduction for the paper for my project:
Miguel Angel Asturias wrote The President to discuss the widespread influence of a dictator, who corrupts everyone in the society, regardless of class, gender, occupation, or age. In his novel, the dictator’s corruption and desire to retain power lead to actions that turned people against each other. The inhumanities of a dictatorship are presented to the reader at both a conscious and subconscious level. At the surface level, the overall message of the novel is delivered through graphic descriptions of brutality and corruption. At a subconscious level, Asturias imposes his point through certain symbols and instances of delirium. The President is one of the first Latin American novels about dictators. It has been speculated that The President was written about the dictatorship in Guatemala at the time Miguel Angel Asturias was growing up, but why choose to write a fictitious work-a novel-over a historical article? What is the reason for using fiction to describe the horrors of living in a society run by a dictator? Like most authors, Asturias uses certain literary techniques to establish his main point. However, unlike most authors, Asturias is able to present the inhumanities of a society run by a dictator in a less biased way; thus, The President has a more powerful message and impact. In my paper I wish to prove how Asturias is able to portray the dictator as inhumane and why fiction has a greater effect on the reader than historical novels or other literary genres.
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Lovely, Emily! I can't wait to read this. Keep in mind that Miguel Ángel Asturias was marked by his time spent with Parisian surrealists (something to consider when talking about the subconcious) and the he was an ethnographer. There is also a bit of anthro/ethno type writing in this novel. Also, on a purely technical level, you need to be very precise at the end of your intro. Instead of saying that Asturias uses various literary techniques, you should say precisely what techniques he uses. Also, though it´s really dense stuff, you may want to check out Roland Barthes´s "On Historical Discourse" as you think about the strengths of fictional over non-fictional approaches to history.
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