The House of the Spirits, Essay Example

The character of Esteban Trueba as portrayed in the novel takes a materialistic, violent and obsessive character. The desires of Esteban are to get rich and then get powerful. The character devotes most of his life in politics and business. Although the success of this character has a link to the peasants he does not, however, treat these peasants with respect and equality. Esteban has the characteristics of violence and selfishness, and the character does not change even towards his wife. The violence and selfishness displayed by Esteban makes him successful in the achievement of material desires, but also ensures that he is lonely. He fails to get close to anyone and spends most of his life in solitude. It is essential to note that, towards the end, Esteban realizes how his character has resulted in a negative impact and becomes aware of the loneliness around him. The character of Esteban personifies the patriarchal Latin American culture where the society was male dominant, and the place of the woman in the society was irrelevant. The society centered on the male gender, and every thing revolves around the man.

The women in the book focus on the assertion for the acknowledgement of gender equality. The women it this case face dissatisfaction with the treatment of the female gender, although the do not assert for gender equality explicitly they do this in various indirect ways. The protagonists in this book are al women, and they employ feminine methods to achieve gender equality. The traits associated with the male gender are violence and activity, but these women choose gentleness and passivity to attain their goals. The novel is a feminist work. This position supported by the presentation of the characters in the story. Although the novel depicts male characters, it is essential to note that these characters incorporated into the plot because of involvement with the female characters. It is imperative to note that the novels emphasis is on the lives and achievements of women in the book. The books events dominated by the female characters through the detailed description of their lives.  The changes achieved in the book have a connection to the activities of women in the book.

The life of the peasants as represented in the book is a hard one. The peasants are the workers and depend on working for the upper class for sustainability. The view of the peasants is the equal distribution of wealth portrayed by revolutions by the peasants. The desire for the sharing of wealth by the peasants with the upper class is the drive for these revolutions.  The change in the social classes can be achieved through the attainment of education. Although the upper class has an opinion that the status quo should remain intact and that there reason for the peasants to share the wealth with the upper class, the peasants have a desire to change the situation. .  These revolutions aim at making these changes. Esteban does not respect these peasants and asserts that the status quo must be sustained. The peasants who embrace the socialism have a desire for the equal distribution of wealth while others view socialism as irrational, inhumane and ineffective concept. Although the support for the revolution does not stem from all the peasants, it is necessary to note that the Trueba women support the revolution by the peasants against the patriarchal society.

The position of the author on the issues of civilization and barbarity is that the while nature is plentiful and has the power to restore civilization is essential in the productiveness of the society.  The greatest difference between the classes depicted in the novel founded on the concept of civilization and barbarity. The consideration in this case is that civilization is a concept of the upper class while barbarity associated with the lower class. While the perception, of civilization considered being orderly and rational that of the peasants shown as being levelheaded and successful.  Civilization here characterized by inhumanity, ineffectiveness, and irrationality. The author attaches more sympathy to the indigenous culture.  The interaction of these concepts creates some sympathizers for the concept of the indigenous culture even within the Trueba family considered a civilized household.  This position displayed by the character of Jean de Satiny. The author of the book shows that regardless of the civilization of the individual the character is not immune to changes in society.

The title the house of spirits depicts the focal theme in the book which is the fight of the social classes represented in the book. The struggle between the upper class in the society with the lower class forms the principal theme in the book and attaches to the book’s title. The link between the title and theme elaborated by the conflict between the upper class who own the land and the lower class who work on this land. The upper class own and control all the infrastructure and utilities such as schools, hospitals, banks and transportation. The conflict between these two classes mounts when the wealth lacks displacement equally and the upper class prospers while the lower class lacks behind. The most prominent character in the book is Esteban as the plot of the novel revolves upon the life of this character. The plot of the novel follows the development of the life of Esteban through his success and shortcomings and into the self awakening of the character.

The lives of the children of Esteban change drastically after the death of Clara. The change in the character of children can be connected to the death of Clara. This implies that the characters of the children before her death were due to respect the children had towards Clara. The drastic change exhibited by the children depicted the rejection of their father’s way of life. The children portray that they do of approve of their fathers lifestyle by engaging in activities that go against the principles believed by Esteban. The rejection of the life of Esteban, however, does not invalidate his accomplishments. The accomplishments by Esteban were not invalidated since he turns the situation around and provides a solution for the problems off the rejection. Although the accomplishments affected by the rejection, it is, however, essential to note that the accomplishments do not become invalid altogether.

The socialist victory as depicted in the book is a slow and gradual one where the peasants struggle for equal distribution of wealth an idea opposed by the upper class, who feel that the social classes should be maintained and that the peasants entitled to nothing. The success of the socialists here is through hard work and perseverance. The politician in this case portrayed as being self-centered with the support of the conservative position. The conservative reaction is that the status quo should be preserved, and there is no need to facilitate the equal distribution of wealth. These events affected the Trueba family through the development of opinions contrary to that of Trueba from his children whop subsequently revolt after their mother’s death. Although the events do not have a direct correlation to the situation in Truebas house it is crucial to note that the outcome of the behavior of Trueba founded on these events. The lack of cohesion in Truebas household can be connected to these events through the position of the family members on these issues.

In this novel, the idea that Allende is trying to put across is that of the development of Latin American society. The book shows the gradual progression of the sate of society in the Latin American setting to the present day position. The novels revolve around characters that have a strong hold on the direction of the society. The author tries to paint a picture of the Latin American society dominated by the male gender. The author also depicts the struggle between the two classes in society and also the struggle by women for gender equality.  The book shows the Latin American history as one full of struggles for the attainment of better lives. The moral from the book is that although struggles may not yield immediate results persistence always leads to attainment of the goals of the struggle.