The Underdogs Essays

The Underdogs Essays The Underdogs Essay The Underdogs Essay The Underdogs by Mariano Azuela The Underdogs is a novel written by Mariano Azuela. It is based on the Mexican Revolution and tells us the story about the lives of the people Azuela served with. The revolution lasted 10 years, starting in 1910 and officially ending in 1920. The Underdogs is famously known as the classic story of the Mexican revolution. In the novel, Azuela mixes actual historical facts so one can imagine what is was like. He also illustrates many of Mexicos natural landscapes in great detail. This book xamines the political and historical aspects of the revolution as well as the social aspect of the civil war. The novel reveals the prototypes of the kind of people that can be attracted and involved in these movements. The characters in this novel are made to represent different aspects of the revolution from its innocence to its brutality at the most extreme The main character of this book is called Demetrio Macias. His character represents the people who are leaders. In any society there are certain people who stand out and have leadership qualities. We look to these people for answers and an example of this is Demetrio. He is basically the heart and soul of the novel. He is what we can portray as the essence of the Mexican revolution. He is a fearless man, very smart and well built. He leads the Revolutionaries, also known as the rebels, against the Federalists; which are the government troops. Demetrios character seems to be well respected by the Federalist since he has proven to be a strong adversary. However, only good qualities are not what define Demetrio. On the other hand, he has weaknesses. For example, although married, he happens to run into Camilla when staying in a town after one of the battles against the federalists, and convinces her that she should get involved with him. Also, at the beginning Demetrio has a clear head of his purpose in this revolution, fghting against the injustices of the federalist. However, towards the end he seems to lose focus of the reason behind his and his peoples actions. On the other hand we have Luis Cervantes. His character represents the people who change from one team to the other. Many times, one can Join a team with a certain deal and once you are involved you realize that you should be on the opposing team. A perfect example of this is Cervantes. He is a medical student once part of the federalist group but deserted once he felt offended. He saw what they did to innocent people and peasants and realized what the revolution meant for the federalist and decided to Join forces with the rebels. Cervantes is seen as an idealist and maximalist much like Anastasio Montanes, Demetrios best friend. Opposite from Demetrios temporary lose of purpose, Cervantes at many times is the one reminding he Revolutionaries the purpose behind all their efforts. He serves as a voice of reason for Macias. We can clearly see this when he is reminding the rebels why they snou10 contlnue tnelr Tlgnt ana says, We are tne Instruments 0T aestlny wno wlll vindicate the sacred rights of the people. l Cervantes character provides ambition and purpose to this group of people. Anastasio Montanes is a close friend to Demetrio. His character represents the people who follow the crowd. Like any other movement, there are people that get involved and support the ideals without having a real connection to it. In this case Anastasio. He Joined the forces of the rebels only because he is Demetrios friend. He is a very apolitical man yet very intelligent. He was the first person to take in Cervantes as part of the rebels when having intellectual conversations with him and recognizing his intelligence. There are many examples of different aspects of the revolutionary movement pertaining to the characters. Other than the three already mentioned you also have La pintadas character, which represents the female soldiers of the revolution, or Pancracios character that represents the ruthless aspect of the revolution. Another example is Guero Margarito, who is a ruthless man who finds find Justification of his actions in the intensity of these times. Endless aspects were given to every specific character and many prototypes were exposed through each character. All of the characters real or fiction tell us the story of the most violent years of the Mexican revolution. Azuela found a way of telling the story of what he went through during his time serving as a field doctor in the war and the impact it had.

Using Spanish Infinitives as Nouns

Using Spanish Infinitives as Nouns The infinitive is the most basic of the verb forms. Unlike the conjugated verb forms- the ones used most often in speech- an infinitive standing alone says nothing about how many people or things are performing the verbs action or when. In Spanish, the infinitive is the verb form that appears in dictionaries. The infinitive always has one of three endings: -ar, -er or -ir. Standing alone, the infinitive is usually translated to English as to followed by the verb. For example, ver is usually translated as to see, hablar as to speak. But as we shall soon see, in sentences the Spanish infinitive can be translated a number of ways. Fast Facts Infinitives often function as singular masculine nouns.As nouns, infinitives can act as subjects or predicates of sentences as well as objects of verbs and prepositions.The most common translations of infinitives as nouns to English are to verb and verb -ing. Infinitives Can Fill Most Roles of Nouns In this lesson, we look at instances where the infinitive functions as a noun.  When used as a noun, the Spanish infinitive is always masculine and almost always singular. Like other nouns, it can be the subject of a sentence, a predicate nominative (usually a noun that follows a form of to be or ser) or the object of a verb or preposition. The infinitive noun sometimes retains the characteristics of a verb; it sometimes is modified by an adverb rather than an adjective and can sometimes have objects. It is often translated into the English gerund (the -ing form of the verb). Infinitives used as nouns are always masculine and singular. Some infinitives can become nouns in their own right when they are made plural, however. For example, seres humanos (from ser, to be) refers to human beings. Here are some examples of the infinitive being used as a noun: As a subject: Nadar es el mejor remedio para el dolor de espalda. (Swimming is the best remedy for a backache.)As a subject: Es prohibido botar basura. (Dumping garbage is prohibited. Note that in Spanish, unlike English, it isnt unusual for the subject to follow the verb.)As a subject: Beber puede conducir a la intoxicacià ³n e incluso a la muerte. (Drinking can lead to poisoning and even death.)As a subject: No me gusta cocinar. (I dont like to cook. Literally, the sentence would be translated as cooking doesnt please me.)As a predicate nominative: La vida es un abrir y cerrar de los ojos. (Life is an opening and closing of the eyes.As a predicate nominative: La intimidad es un hablar honesto y profundo de lo que se siente y se piensa. (Intimacy is speaking sincerely and deeply about what one feels and thinks.)As the object of a verb: Yo preferirà ­a salir. (I would prefer to leave.)As the object of a verb: Odio estudiar algo que creo que no necesito. (I hate studying something I believe I dont need.) As the object of a verb: Te vi andar entre los rboles. (I saw you walking among the trees.)As the object of a preposition: Pienso de salir contigo. (Im thinking about leaving with you.)As the object of a preposition: Ten moderation en el comer o el beber. (Show moderation in eating or drinking.)As the object of a preposition: Al entrar al Sistema de Salud, usted y su empresa recibirn enormes beneficios. (Upon entering the Health System, you and your business will receive great benefits.) Using the Definite Article El With Infinitives As you may notice, the definite article el is not consistently used with the noun infinitive. Although there are no hard and fast rules, here are some guidelines. A very common way of using el is as part of the contraction al, for a el. It typically as the meaning of on or upon meaning at the time of: Al encontrar a mis padres biolà ³gicos logrà © una estabilidad. (I found some stability upon finding my biological parents.)El is usually used when the infinitive is modified by an adjective or a phrase acting as an adjective: El respirar rpido puede ser causado por varios desordenes. (Rapid breathing can be caused by various disorders.)The article is option in many situations, but when it is used it may give the sentence a more personal or informal sound.