Thus Chac Mool is truly representative of the ancient world of Filibert’s forgotten ancestors and the true beliefs of his people.Īgain, there are numerous elements of his character that build him as a symbol of the ancient peoples. Although he identifies himself with the past world of his statues, his statue makes it clear to him that he has no conception of the past. A footnote to the story introduces the Chac Mool as the ancient Mayan god of rain, an important deity for an area that frequently experiences drought. No, they no longer recognized me” (Fuentes 2). His connection to the past is manifested in his dislike of the modernized world he finds around him, “With the café that I almost didn’t recognize, with the city itself, they had been chiseling themselves out to a rhythm different than mine. These important characteristics make him a strong symbol for the conquering worldview of the Spaniards over the ‘indigenous’ Mexicans.However, it is clear from his early diary entries that Filibert envisions himself as a symbol of the past world like the statue he collects. Era 'simptico cuando quera.' Contaba 'historias fantsticas.' Comenz a debilitarse y esclaviz a Filiberto para que. Cobr vida inundando la casa con sus poderes. (Antagonista) Es el dios de la lluvia de la cultura maya. This idea is also shown in his attitude about collecting “indigenous Mexican art” clearly not to worship them, as he is a professed Christian, but instead seems to be for the pride of ownership – he even makes reference to the need to keep the stone statue in his basement until “I reorganize my trophy room to make space for it” (Fuentes 3), demonstrating his power over the ancient gods in his choice of language. Prefiri huir e ignorar sus problemas en lugar de enfrentarlos. His connection to the conquerors is revealed in Pepe’s observation that Filibert is Christian because he is a product of the Spanish system. Further clues indicate that Filibert was a quiet, solitary man who preferred staying in his parents’ old home, itself a symbol of Spanish domination, rather than taking a more comfortably-sized apartment in town. He apparently had a decent job in an office with people working under him, taking a position of superiority in the world of European business. The average reader, reading at a speed of 300 WPM, would take 2 hours and 36 minutes to read Chac Mool by Carlos Fuentes. Filibert is introduced in the story as a 40-year-old man who drowned while trying to swim across the Acapulco Bay at midnight but as his story is told, he becomes a symbol of the Spanish conquerors of Mexico.
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