THE ART AND THE CARTESIAN RATIONALISM SEEN IN REVERSE IN THE NOVEL ”EL RECURSO DEL MÉTODO” OF ALEJO CARPENTIER
THE ART AND THE CARTESIAN RATIONALISM SEEN IN REVERSE IN THE NOVEL ”EL RECURSO DEL MÉTODO” OF ALEJO CARPENTIER

Summary/Abstract: The novel of Alejo Carpentier, El recurso del método, exposes the disturbing reality of Latin-American dictators through the protagonist, the First Magistrate. This character is the embodiment of what the dictatorial period represented in Latin America, summing up characteristics taken from various leaders of this bleak period. Deft in illustrating the plausibility of the reality, Carpentier uses a wide range of tools in the construction of the novel. In this sense, we mention one of the most important techniques that are often represented in the epic thread: the artistic multi-diversity. This one is put in the hands of the protagonist just to outline the difference between two worlds, two different cultures, yet united by their Latin origins: the civilized European world and the barbarian Latin American world. Furthermore, the incompatibility and bad application of the Cartesian principle and the European art and concepts on the vast Latin-American continent are observed. As the Spanish speaking countries of Latin America are not mature enough, various antitheses are exposed: between classic and modern, both in a literary sense and in the reality of the time; the antithesis between essence and appearance, including the ideological level in terms of Marxist ideals and the expansion of communism; the antithesis between there (Latin American reality) and here (European world, especially the French culture). The Cuban author reveals the importance of literature worldwide and uses in his work all the cultural, artistic and political aspects, in order to show the reader new perspectives of understanding.

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