Sunday, September 2, 2012
Sexual References in the Tin Drum and One Hundred Years of Solitude
While I was working on my paper, I found it odd how the authors of both the Tin Drum and One Hundred Years of Solitude use almost euphemistic descriptions to describe sexual encounters (i.e: the fizz powder incidents Oskar has with Maria or the descriptions of Jose Arcadio's penis which Pilar refers to by saying, "he will be very lucky", instead of clearly saying what she meant. I am not exactly sure why both authors use this technique when referring to sexual events, but could it be because it gives their novels an increased sense of magical realism?
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I think that the authors veiled these sexual encounters with euphemisms because:
1. they didn't want to shock their readers with the details. Talking about sex opening is uncomfortable for most people. In casual conversation most people talk about it in abstractions. Authors don't want to scare away the reader, or potential readers.
But if that was the case, then why are some of the sexual encounters in "One Hundred Years of Solitude" so vividly described, making the reader feel as if he/she was seeing the event themselves?
Personally, I found the euphemisms for sex more entertaining to read than a plain statement of facts. I think that in speaking in sexual euphemisms, it not only gives the entire encounter a more whimsical or unrealistic tone, but leaves a certain amount of wiggle room for the reader to make their own judgments and implications. It's almost as if the authors were vague and provided nonspecific descriptions so the reader can participate in the unfolding of the story as well.
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