Alejo Carpentier: A guide in Latin American fiction

(Carpentier Portfolio Web Image)

Hou Jian/Wen

In 1816, a novel called the Leper Parrot was published in Mexico, which many consider to be the first novel to truly appear on Latin American soil, and since then, Latin American novelists have been exploring and defining the concept of Latin American fiction. This attempt does not exist only in the literary world, but also in the efforts of Latin Americans to define their own identity, among which the Mexican philosopher José Basconcelos put forward the idea of "cosmic race" in 1925, which is quite representative: "What will emerge is a decisive race, a synthetic race, in other words, a complete race, which is created by the intellect and blood of all peoples, and is therefore more likely to have true brotherhood and a cosmopolitan vision", a concept that is shrouded in optimism" In essence, it is a myth that masks deep contradictions, a distant dream." In Latin America, this oscillating quest between dreams and reality, both literary and intellectual, has been playing out for more than a hundred years since the release of The Leper Parrot, but there has never been an answer.

The Leper Parrot, modeled after the novels of Spanish tramps, may have been the earliest and final imitation and homage to the literature of the suzerainty by Latin American novelists in the 19th century, and since then, hatred and resistance to Spain have also spread in the novel world. After entering the 20th century, the development of Latin American novels was like a pendulum to the other extreme, and novelists were obsessed with depicting the earth, mountains, rivers, rainforests, and indigenous peoples, as if they did not write about these novelists who could not really come from Latin America. A number of daturist novels and indigenous novels such as "Whirlpool", "Donna Barbara", "Bronze Race", and "The World of the Vast Desert" came out at this time, but these novels gradually fell into a routine dead end, and even became a tool for missionary and incited political struggle. Imitate the other, or emphasize yourself? This becomes a problem.

Cuban writer Alejo Carpentier's first novel, Égou-Yamba-Ao (1933), born in 1914, seems to be classified as an indigenous novel, but Carpentier did not stay at this end of the pendulum for long, and years later he refused to even acknowledge his debut novel because he decided it was immature, and Vargas Llosa commented on Carpentier's attitude in four words: "Extremely wise." It is possible for Carpentier to go to the other extreme of the pendulum: in 1923, Carpentier, together with Mi ann Asturias in Paris, joined Breton's surrealist camp and co-founded the first Spanish-language surrealist publication, Magnet, and it seems that the spell of "denying the fathers and returning to the ancestors" is about to reappear, and the two writers who have since become the most famous figures in the history of Latin American novels are about to embark on the old road of imitating and learning others, but at this time the two invariably stop. Look back in the direction of the Americas.

Carpentier later stated that he found himself not to add luster to the Surrealist movement, and he developed a rebellious mood and a strong desire to represent the American continent. Basconcelos's concept of a "cosmic race", although closer to a dream, has a real foundation: white, black, yellow, Indian, mixed race... Latin America is a continent of mixed races, and Latin American culture is a multicultural culture, which is something that has not been exhausted in the works of Latin American novelists. Surrealism became a counterforce, helping Carpentier discover the "magical reality" that belonged to the American continent: what was magical and magical in the eyes of Europeans was what the Americans were accustomed to, in other words, the American reality itself was "magical" and "magical".

The result of this reflection was the 1949 edition of Kingdom on Earth. In this novel, myth and history are intertwined, reality and fiction are intertwined, the human world is intertwined with the world of gods and ghosts, and "magical" elements can be seen everywhere: the ghost of the archbishop appears to judge the tyrant Christopher, McCondal can change into iguanas, butterflies, bonito, goats, centipedes, Ti Noel can change into wasps, ants, donkeys, geese and other animals, and the humanoid sculptures on both sides of the corridor seem to have life and begin to move...

Magic has come, where is the reality? Consider the scene where McCondal, the black leader of the rebellion against colonization, was burned at the stake: "McCondal was tied to a pillar. The executioner uses pliers to pinch the charcoal fire. The Governor drew his sword in a manner he had practiced repeatedly in front of the mirror the night before, and ordered the execution of the sentence. Flames rose and licked at the one-armed man, burning his legs. At this time, McCondal... He chanted the strange incantation in a howling voice and leaned forward violently. The rope tied to his body fell to the ground, and the black body took off and flew over the heads of some people... That afternoon, the slaves laughed all the way back to their respective estates. McCondal fulfilled his promise and remained in the Human Kingdom forever. Once again, the whites were mocked by the supreme gods of another world. At night, Lord Lenomain de Mezi, wearing a nightcap, spoke out to his pious wife about the negro who had witnessed the torture of his companions and was indifferent. He also drew some philosophical and rational conclusions about racial differences from this matter. ”

Are black people really ignorant and indifferent? This passage actually reflects the Westerners' disregard and ignorance of the "magical reality" of the Americas. Because the Indian cultural tradition has always believed that there is animism, the world of man and ghost is the same, there is no gap between them, and the traditional witchcraft of the Indians also has a method of "change". In the eyes of the black slave who was convinced of this, McCondal's change and ascension were real, and even if he did die, he would never leave this human kingdom. For them, that's the reality.

From the time the first colonists came to the American continent, this indifference and ignorance spread, even triggering a constant discussion of the topic of "civilization and barbarism" in Latin American culture and literary history. The colonists saw the Indians sacrificing themselves with living people, incomparably bloody and terrible, and decided that this was a manifestation of cruelty and barbarism, and their subsequent act of "countering violence with violence" seemed to have gained ethical support. The above-mentioned Asturias encountered in France the Mayan holy book Popor U, which is considered the cornerstone of American culture, and the creation myth recorded in this book provides us with the possibility of understanding the behavior of the Indians. We know from the book that in the belief of the Indians, man became the lord of the world only because of his ability to praise and sacrifice to the Creator God, and that once they stopped this activity, they would be severely punished by God like other animals created before man. Thus, the living sacrifice of indians is an embodiment of their faith, which is also the magical reality of the Americas.

So if the magical and realistic Kingdom of Man, or all of Carpentier's novels, are based on the unique things of the Americas, what is the difference between it and the damagnetistic novels and indigenous novels mentioned above? The difference between the two is mainly reflected in the level of writing skills. In the works of predecessors, the characters and environments in the story are mostly simply thematic services, in order to show contradictory relationships, the Indians in the Indigenous novels are mostly kind, honest and dutiful, the white people are tyrannical, and the environment in the daturist novels is either the background for shaping the characters (such as the Pampas and Gauchos in Don Secondo Sambra) or a synonym for some stereotypical characteristics (such as the terrible jungle that eventually devours the protagonists in "The Whirlpool"). Compared with these writers and works, Carpentier went further in that through careful design, the theme and technique of the novel were perfectly matched. Consider the passage from McCondal's poisoning: "The poison spread across the northern plains, invading pastures and livestock pens. No one knows how it spreads in tripwire grass and alfalfa, how it mixes into bales of hay and falls into the trough of livestock... Soon came the terrible news: the poison had entered the house... The poison that is always waiting for an opportunity to attack lurks in the cups on the small table, hidden in soup pots, medicine bottles, bread, wine, fruit and salt. The ominous sound of nailed coffins can be heard at any time, and funeral processions can be seen everywhere... The silver cross came and went on the road, and the green, yellow, and colorless poison, under its protection, continued to crawl like a snake, or fall through the kitchen chimney, or burrow into the house through the crevices of the closed doors. ”

Here Carpentier conceals the activities of the poisoners, writing the originator of the poison spread as the poison itself, and the poison moves freely and autonomously as if it had a life, which is in line with the aforementioned Indian animistic belief (in the same way, the three cannons in the castle of La Ferriere are named Scipio, Hannibal, and Hamilla in the book is not just a humorous bridge). This method of writing, which Vargas Llosa called "selective hidden material method" (that is, selectively hiding certain important information, where it is the human manipulator who manipulates the object) runs through the novel, which is difficult for the reader to perceive in the process of reading, but after reading the whole book, it will leave this impression: the animals, plants, decorations in the novel are extremely "alive", as if they all have life. Also noteworthy are certain sentences from Popol U: "When the mountains were created, the rivers found their source between the valleys"; "'You have caused us so much suffering, and you have eaten our flesh as food, and now it is our turn to eat you!'" Dogs and other animals said. Stone Mill accused them of saying... The dog echoed... Even corn frying pans and rice cookers began to rebuke the wooden people. "The reader subtly accepts some of the most essential characteristics of Indian culture.

Mexican writer Carlos Fuentes once pointed out that the broad concept of "utopia" is concerned with "some impossible space", but the "utopia" in Latin America can only be a concept of time, and people always seem to recall a golden age that is irreproducible. In his creation, Carpentier also worked the time factor, such as Journey to the Source (also translated as Return to the Seed) and other famous passages where time factors played a prominent role, and the time design of Kingdom on Earth was also unique. In Kingdom on Earth, whether white or black or mestizo, once they become rulers, they will eventually lead to tyranny, and at first glance, the story time corresponds to the real time of Haitian history between 1751 and 1830, and the story seems to develop according to linear time. But if you think about it more carefully, you will find that this "oppression-resistance-power-tyranny-oppression" model of end-to-end articulation appears repeatedly, there seems to be no end, and the story seems to be designed according to the circular time structure of "One Hundred Years of Solitude", as if Latin American history is really constantly drawing circles and returning to the original point. However, if you look closely, there is no obvious text connection between each part of "Kingdom on Earth" (from the first part to the fourth part), but a leap forward, and even each part has a different preface like an independent novel, and Carpentier's extremely delicate baroque description makes the story development time of each part extremely slow, almost stagnant, as if slow motion sweeps through one picture after another, is this not the other side of Latin American history: standing still, as if never moving forward.

After Carpentier, the writers of the Latin American "literary explosion" were able to sensationalize the world literary scene, not simply by relying on exotic themes or novel techniques that highlighted Latin American elements, but a perfect combination of the two, which is actually the most important enlightenment that Carpentier brought to Latin American novels, And Carpentier can be praised as "the pioneer of the 'literary explosion'" and "the master of the masters", which is why. At present, with the rapid development of the economy and urbanization, the younger generation (or young writers) experience a seemingly surreal life (like Carpentier who joined the surrealist camp), is what they urgently need to return to the seed and trace back to the roots? What they have to do is to think and explore the path to this return? This is the thinking that Carpentier brought, and it is also the eternal value of Carpentier's literary works.

(The author is a teacher in the Department of Spanish, European College of Xi'an University of Foreign Chinese)