The Flies: Analysis of Setting
"The Flies: Analysis of Setting" delves into the complex environments depicted in the novel, focusing primarily on a train journey from Mexico City to Irapuato during the Mexican Revolution. The hospital car of the train serves as the main setting for the first half of the story, illustrating a microcosm of society under strain, as the Reyes Téllez family and other passengers interact amid the chaos of war. As they navigate their cramped surroundings, a stark contrast emerges between those seeking stability in the hospital car and the impoverished individuals riding on the train's roof and in between cars, highlighting class divisions. The landscape outside the train, marked by gray hills and vibrant homes, contrasts with the turmoil within the train, symbolizing the cyclical nature of conflict and the enduring essence of the land itself.
Irapuato, the provincial market city where the train unexpectedly halts, further amplifies the themes of displacement and uncertainty. As passengers disembark, they witness local residents hastily fleeing their homes amid rumors of approaching Carranzista troops. The bustling market, filled with soldiers and the remnants of everyday life, quickly transforms as panic sets in, reflecting the rapid shifts caused by war. Key moments in the narrative emphasize the precariousness of life during this period, as characters negotiate with their circumstances and each other. Ultimately, the setting serves not only as a backdrop but also as a critical element in exploring the intricacies of human experience amid societal upheaval.
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The Flies: Analysis of Setting
First published:Las moscas, 1918 (English translation, 1956)
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Historical realism
Time of work: Early twentieth century
Asterisk denotes entries on real places.
Places Discussed
Train
Train. Railroad train traveling from Mexico City to Irapuato whose hospital car is the principal setting for the first half of the novel. The Reyes Téllez family, fleeing with their portable belongings, is first to find this relatively empty space on a crowded train. Soon others join them, revealing a cross-section of humanity under stress as the train chugs forward through the night. Because there are no sick or wounded in the car the doctor in charge cannot turn the able-bodied away. The Reyes Téllez women set up a makeshift cooking area and offer him eggs and toast, ensuring his goodwill. People sprawl out on the floor or discuss rumors, which are as plentiful as the sparks flying off the train’s wheels.
The furnishings within the hospital car are rudimentary but not primitive, reflecting both the era and place and the middle-class status of the riders. Riding atop the roof and in the dangerous spaces between train cars are other people, presumably poorer and more desperate, of whom readers catch brief glimpses. The division is more significant than it first appears. People inside the hospital car are trying to hang on to what they have, be it General Malacara’s big gray motorcar or Matilde Reyes Téllez’s caged canary. The peasants and migrant workers, lacking land, have nothing to hang on to. The author, as a supporter of Pancho Villa, is sympathetic toward the latter, but his focus during the train journey and in the novel is on how the minor functionaries are not certain where their own best interests lie.
The train’s jerky motions and belches of smoke form a metaphor for the Mexican Revolution, whose turmoil lasted many years, with noise and action obscuring the hoped-for social reform. Outside, the train, as it travels all night and early morning, is a landscape of distant gray hills, mesquite-dotted valleys, and bright yellow-painted houses. If the train symbolizes the wars wracking Mexico, the scenery may stand for the land’s eternal value, serene and impervious to history. One passenger—the attorney Donaciano Rios—sees it differently. Unable to sleep, Rios looks out the window and imagines telegraph pole shadows becoming attacking soldiers. With daybreak, he finally sleeps, but when the passengers leave Irapuato, he is still so shaken he forgets his expensive leather travel bag.
*Irapuato
*Irapuato. Provincial market city in west central Mexico where the train makes an unexpected stop, and its passengers disembark. Most decide to go into the city’s center, as the train’s stop promises to be lengthy. Carranzista troops are rumored to be closing on Villa’s rear guard outside the city, and the rebels are preparing to abandon the city. The train’s passengers know this only by seeing the panicked Irapuato residents loading their belongings into carriages and carts, preparing to flee their homes, just as the train’s passengers themselves did the day before. Nevertheless most of the passengers go to the market—an enclosed square full of soldiers and peasants, overripe fruit and farm produce, and useless toys. While the Reyes Téllez women buy supplies, the merchandise rapidly disappears. Soon the crowd disappears as well. The rapid changes that war, and even rumors of war, bring occur before the characters’—and the readers’—eyes. Nevertheless, the women stay focused enough on the main chance to persuade the doctor to buy the daughters some fine footwear at a boot shop.
Irapuato resembles most cities in the path of war. Mishaps—such as a tire blowout on the general’s car with no tools left to fix it—occur several times. However, Rubén Reyes Téllez is able to find a former schoolmate who claims to know General Alvaro Obregón, who is rumored to be advancing on the city. Nobody in town knows what is really going on, and few tell the truth about where their loyalties lie. Meanwhile, trains full of troops leave the local station, puffing black smoke. The book’s last scene shows Pancho Villa in his own Pullman car, pulled by a shiny locomotive with an eagle decoration, leaving Irapuato. On this day, he may be the only character who knows where he is going to be the next day.
Bibliography
Clive, Griffin. “The Structure of Los de abajo.” Revista Canadiense de Estudios Hispánicos 6, no. 1 (Fall, 1981): 25-41. Azuela’s best-known novel is analyzed within the context of the literary movement of the Mexican Revolution. Emphasizes Azuela’s literary craft as a departure from older patterns.
Dean, James Seay. “Extreme Unction for Past Power and Glory: Four Fictions on the Mexican Revolution.” Revista de Estudios Hispánicos 17, no. 1 (January, 1983): 89-106. A comparative study of Azuela’s novels and of novels by Malcolm Lowry, Luis Martín Guzmán, and Graham Greene, all of whose works are deeply influenced by historical events surrounding the Mexican Revolution.
Herbst, Gerhard R. Mexican Society as Seen by Mariano Azuela. New York: Abra Ediciones, 1977. Azuela’s novels of the Mexican Revolution are studied for historical, eyewitness accuracy. Focuses on Azuela’s use of realist techniques in his descriptions of key historical incidents of the revolution.
Leal, Luis. Mariano Azuela. New York: Twayne, 1971. An excellent starting point to Azuela’s life and works. Offers an analysis of his works and a strong biographical and historical background.
Martínez, Eliud. The Art of Mariano Azuela: Modernism in “La malhora,” “El desquite,” “La luciérnaga.” Pittsburgh: Latin American Literary Review Press, 1980. Azuela is considered a precursor of Latin American modernism, one of the first literary movements of the twentieth century. Modernist analysis of three representative novels focuses on Azuela’s interest in the Mexican Revolution.