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The Eclipse
By Augusto Monterroso
Background Info
Monterroso was a Guatemalan writer, whose narrative
production falls mainly on the analysis of human nature from an
ironic point of view. Monterroso brought a variety of themes
together under the same vision of life: ironic, bitter and sweet at
the same time.
Thesis
Through pretentious diction and fatal irony, Monterosso
portrays the character of Brother Bartolome Arrazola as egotistic
to provide a social commentary on how social class and the
notion of being educated engender a haughtiness which
ultimately leads to ruin.
Diction
Monterosso’s pretentious diction characterizes Brother Arrazola as overconfident and
arrogant, revealing how Europeans in this time period considered themselves to be
better and more advanced than their native counterparts.
Examples:
- “Charles the Fifth had once condescended to lessen his prominence and tell
him that he trusted the religious zeal of his redemptive work”
- “He had then considered the idea worthy of his talent, universal culture and
steep knowledge of Aristotle”
- “I can darken the sun in its heights”
Diction
Effects:
- Causes the reader to believe that Brother Arrazola is clever, crafty, and intelligent.
- The diction possess a very cunning tone.
- The reader will not predict Brother Arrazola’s downfall, nor will they root for it.
Irony
The ironic nature of the The Eclipse reveals Brother Arrazola false assumptions about
the native people, creating a humorously tragic story.
Examples:
- Brother Arrazola assumes he is smarter than the natives and they won’t know
-
about the eclipse, but they actually already predicted the eclipse themselves and
aren’t fooled by Brother Arrazola’s attempt to trick them
Brother Arrazola, a Christian missionary, dies as a sacrifice for a different religion.
“One of the natives recited without raising his voice, unhurriedly, one by one, the
infinite dates in which there would be solar and lunar eclipses, that the
astronomers of the Mayan community had foreseen and written on their codices
without Aristotle’s valuable help.”
Irony
Effects:
- The reader feels foolish for siding with Brother Arrazola.
- The natives are revealed to be just as intelligent as Brother Arrazola, even without
an “education”.
- The tone is dark, yet humorous in that Brother Arrazola was so devastatingly
mistaken.
Conclusion
Monterroso’s depiction of Brother Arrazola reveals him to be
overly pompous and arrogant, and he uses these characteristics
to lead Brother Arrazola to his tragically ironic demise. As
Monterroso does this, he comments on the overall attitude of
Europeans in this time period, illustrating how they believed
themselves to be superior to the natives and how their presumed
social status led to ruin.