1/31 Reflections

    Esther Allen's "And Not Towards Peace" spanned a broad scope: from Di Benedetto's life, to the fictional world of Zama, The Silentiary, and The Suicides, to the political history of Argentina, to her personal take. I think it was well-written, albeit a little dense, and it was very informative. "Thirty thousand others were disappeared during the Dirty War. (One of the methods used—drugging prisoners and dropping them into the ocean from airplanes or helicopters—has lately been celebrated on t-shirts proudly sported at political rallies in the United States.)" from Allen's piece is shocking and I wanted to know more. I tried to Google it, and found some links about death flights, but I couldn't find where this cruelty has been celebrated. If so, that's terrible, and I wonder if anyone in class will know more about it? Or maybe I'll have to ask Allen herself? Not sure. 

    "The Crazed Euphoria of Lucrecia Martel’s ‘Zama’" succeeded in its mission to make me want to both read Di Benedetto's novel and watch Martel's movie. Though, to say that "Martel’s... understanding of Zama’s original language—the sorcerous power of the exact sequence of those letters and words in that particular order—is entirely betrayed by any translation" seems very contrarian to the point of translation, and undermines translators' work. The idea is to get more people to read translations, right? So insinuating that no translation could hold a candle to the Spanish version, in a Spanish-speaking person's eyes, seems to go with the mainstream view that translations can't be as good as the originals. Side note, I loved the photography in this article. 

    Reading the final piece, "Ace", I could see Allen's point of leaving what is unsaid, unsaid. The story's style uses many, many pronouns, and hesitates to name main characters (initially and after their introduction). I think this ambiguity creates a relatable, easy-entry piece, even perhaps giving the story an ominous undertone. I think it enhances the dialogue, but by the middle of the piece, I wished the prose was more specific, in order to keep me from scrolling up and having to figure out who was being referred to. While I found that annoying, it wouldn't deter me from reading more, and I realize that that style may be authentic to the original. Reading different ways of writing (even if it is more work) may enhance my worldview and enrich my lexicon, I just have to give it a chance.

 

Sarah