Literary analysis Tuesday Siesta

Tuesday Siesta by Gabriel García Márquez is a story about a mother in conditions of poverty that travels with her daughter by train to visit the grave of her dead son, who was killed by a widow named Rebecca after he tried to rob her house. The woman is questioned by some people in the town, but she keeps her self-control and dignity. In the story, the names of the woman and her daughter are never revealed. Gabriel José de la Concordia García Márquez was born in Aracataca, Colombia. He was a novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter, and journalist, born, most commonly known as Gabo throughout Latin America. He won the Nobel Prize for literature, for his book of magic realism: Cien Años De Soledad, 1967.

The characters in Tuesday siesta are: the woman, her young daughter, the priest, the priest's sister, Rebecca, and Carlos Centeno Ayala (the thief). Through the story, they portray poverty, dignity, pride, underestimation, and social judgment, all of which were caused by a killed man who was a thief. In the story, we can see that the woman is the one that portrays dignity. She keeps her head up and her pride while she faces constant judgment and underestimation from the people in the town. We can see that in: (Márquez 2) “The woman and the girl entered the town without disturbing the siesta.” Also, in: (Márquez 2) ““It’s an emergency” the woman insisted. Her voice showed a calm determination.” She preserves this attitude when she faces a slight judgment coming from the priest in (Márquez 3) ““He’s the thief who was killed here last week,” said the woman in the same tone of voice. “I am his mother.” The priest scrutinized her. She stared at him with quiet self‐control, and the father blushed.”  And finally, at the end of the story we get to see how the woman doesn’t want anybody to help her, or see her as someone poor who needs help, (Márquez 5) ““Wait until the sun goes down,” said the father. “You’ll melt,” said his sister, motionless at the back of the room. “Wait and I’ll lend you a parasol.” “Thank you,” replied the woman. “We’re all right this way.” She took the girl by the hand and went into the street.” There, the woman saw people offering help as if they were underestimating her. That is exactly what she was avoiding, and that is why she acted like that with them.

The mood of this story is related to the character’s personalities, their way of acting, and how that makes the reader feel. In the story, it’s clear that there is a mood of poverty, dignity, and mourning caused by grief. It is shown in (Márquez 1) “They were both in severe and poor mourning clothes.” … “She bore the conscientious serenity of someone accustomed to poverty.” Both of those quotes imply the theme of poverty, by describing their mood and outfit, also, later when the woman is shown as if she was accustomed to mournful situations, knowing to just be serene. Later as shown in the paragraph earlier, dignity and some emotional intelligence are shown in the story after the woman told the priest she was going to visit the thief Carlos Centeno because he was her son, (Márquez 3)  “She stared at him with quiet self‐control, and the Father blushed.” The reader can understand that the priest was ashamed of the attitude he had earlier due to the woman’s self-control against an uncomfortable situation for her, which implies more of the theme of dignity. And later the woman shares a memory with the priest about her son (which implies the theme of grief) because she was trying to prove that he was a good man. Somehow, she manages to say it in a calm and secure tone, implying, even more, the themes of dignity, serenity, and self-esteem regardless of social class. (Márquez 4) ““I told him never to steal anything that anyone needed to eat, and he minded me. On the other hand, before, when he used to box, he used to spend three days in bed, exhausted from being punched.” “All his teeth had to be pulled out,” interrupted the girl. “That’s right,” the woman agreed. “Every mouthful I ate those days tasted of the beatings my son got on Saturday nights.””

Tuesday siesta it’s a non-stop imagery, Gabriel Garcia Marquez describes settings, and events in a way that transports you to the place in the story, and feel what the characters are feeling. He describes even the smallest detail in the story, to give the reader a better visual of the events. An example of this is in (Márquez 1) “The train emerged from the quivering tunnel of sandy rocks, began to cross the symmetrical, interminable banana plantations, and the air became humid and they couldn’t feel the sea breeze anymore… Beyond the road, in uncultivated spaces set at odd intervals, there were offices with electric fans, red-brick buildings, and residences with chairs and little white tables on the terraces among dusty palm trees and rosebushes.” For a moment the reader can feel as if he could close his eyes and feel the heat, the cumbersome movement caused by the train, the view of banana plantations, residences, palm trees, and rose bushes. Later in the story, we can get a specific picture of the woman perfectly described using figurative language, as an old woman, with all of what that implies, in a way that allows the reader to know more about her background story and how she physically portrays the moods of poverty and serenity. (Márquez 1) “The woman seemed too old to be her mother, because of the blue veins on her eyelids and her small, soft, and shapeless body, in a dress cut like a cassock. She was riding with her spinal column braced firmly against the back of the seat, and held a peeling patent‐leather handbag in her lap with both hands. She bore the conscientious serenity of someone accustomed to poverty.” Another example of imagery is: (Márquez 1) “Outside, in the mysterious silence of the plantations, the shadows seemed clean. But the still air inside the car smelled like untanned leather. The train did not pick up speed. It stopped at two identical towns with wooden houses painted bright colors.” In that quote, it is shown how meticulously every detail is described and results in imagery. Which is used to create a picture of the story in the reader’s mind to connect him even more with the characters and settings. After the reader has been able to understand the woman’s feelings, one can imagine being in her position for a second, entering a town and people looking at you because you are the mom of a thief. And understand her need for dignity and calmness in her situation. Márquez continues using imagery to engage the reader with the story. It results in a very delightful reading because the reader can visualize every little detail up until the point where the reader feels inside of the story.

What the author is trying to convey in this story is how morbid is society when there is a scandalous notice, such as a man who became a thief and was killed. as shown in: (Márquez 5) ““The people have noticed,” murmured his sister. “You’d better go out by the door to the patio,” said the father. “It’s the same there,” said his sister. “Everybody is at the windows.””. Gabriel Garcia Marquez is trying to show how society often antagonizes people they don’t even know just because it is easy to judge. But it also shows how someone can somehow not get carried away by grief and scandal caused by other people, (Márquez 2) “They entered a room permeated with an old smell of flowers. The woman of the house led them to a wooden bench and signaled them to sit down. The girl did so, but her mother remained standing, absentmindedly, with both hands clutching the handbag.” and instead preserve her self-control and dignity to not get affected by society’s thoughts of what is good and what is bad, they never actually get anywhere and are used in convenience for certain people. We can get this conclusion after we have made an analysis of the characters, because by analyzing them, we can understand the way they think, and the reasons for their actions. Mood, because this makes the reader identify what elements are giving a sad, mournful, mad, happy, etc. Mood to the story. And imagery, because this makes the reader get a clearer picture of what is happening in his mind, connect with the story, and understand it better.

Works Cited

Márquez García Gabriel. Tuesday Siesta, translated by Gregory Rabassa and J.S. Bernstein, WordPress, 1962. p. 1-5