Summary Of The Place Of The Swallows By Rudolfo Anaya
1380 Words6 Pages
In “The Place of the Swallows” written by Rudolfo Anaya, the narrator slowly changes throughout the story. When he is put into a difficult situation and forced to make a decision, he has to decide between doing the right thing or build up more guilt by doing what he is supposed to do rather than what he should do. The narrator initially was a hesitant boy that followed others to look for guidance and approval. As the story progressed, the narrator became more truthful as a result of the remorse and guilt built up inside him from their adventure which allowed him to become more self confident and dependent.
At first, the narrator was not confident and seeked help from the tribe members to make his choices for him. For instance, when the narrator…show more content… For example, the narrator is telling the story with honesty when he declares, “I am about to remind the tribe of their sin when a grunt from the leader cuts me short. I feel a cold sweat wet my body. He does not want the mood of the tribe spoiled, and I realized I have already gone too far” (70). In this instance, The narrator is in the middle of telling the tribe the story of their adventure when he hears a groan from the crowd coming from the leader suggesting he has gone too far. Even though the leader is unhappy, the narrator continues after because he believes it’s better to tell the truth if it means exposing the leader than lying to them. Also, it’s a rule for the storyteller to not lie. This occurs in the part of his change when he has choice. The narrator can either go back to his conservative self, or do the right thing and when he chooses to do the right thing by telling the truth even though the tribe and leader may not want him to, it shows he is changing. In addition, after the guilt had finally built up to high inside him to the point where he had to relieve it he decided to continue telling the story truthfully when he announced to us, “The leader clears his throat, as if to stop me, but I continue, and the uneasiness I have felt all night leaves” (72). In other words, Anaya is highlighting that the narrator…show more content… Specifically, after the narrator told the truthful story and the leader was clearly angry, he responded, “The leader stands and looks at me; his icy stare cuts through me, but he cannot hurt me” (73). To briefen, The narrator told his story with truth because he felt that it was better to be honest than lie to innocent people just so he can protect the leader who is not worth protecting. Also, this shows that because he changes into a confident enough man to tell the story truthfully, this affects the leader because it makes him look bad thus making him angry. In this quote, Anaya is showing us that no matter how much anger is built up inside the leader toward the narrator, there is nothing that will shoot him down or make him take back what he had done. This is a critical scene in the narrator's transition from himself initially to now because it shows that he is handle how others think of or about him whereas in the beginning it was a struggle. Likewise, when the narrator is forced to leave after telling the truthful story of what happened at the Place of the Swallows, he states, “I know that I spoke the truth and that my power has been greater than his. We both know that I won’t be here in the morning, but I don’t care, I have made my choice. He turns and leaves, and for a long time I sit alone, staring into the glowing embers” (73). Anaya is