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Political Realities in Argentina in the Sixties
“All About Suicide” is an example of challenging literature work written by Luisa Valenzuela. It is a brief and shocking story that is a part of growing literal type all over the world. Luisa purposely violated the standards of literature expectations to make her point about the political realities in Argentina in the 1960s. In her story, she narrates about Ishmael, but not just about Ishmael. She used this character to reveal the secrets of the country, in this case, Argentina. She wants the reader to think about how it feels like to live in a country where it is impossible to speak freely, a country where it is easy and acceptable for a government to kill. She tries how that affects one’s character and their way of dealing with challenges. Luisa does not narrate her story straightforwardly. Similarly, people may not be able to be straightforward in her country. So, the truth gets complicated and one may never know.
1960s in Argentina arrived late. With meager descry of protest and counter-culture in the second half of the decade, people whole took part in politics were maimed or coerced to exile by the mid-seventies. During this period, the country was under the successive weak military regime that was often interrupted by aptly elected and also incapacitated civilian government. The country underwent through a lot of political upheavals. It was politically unstable and is characterized by forceful resignations and unnecessary killings. Ordinary citizens did not have a say at all. Those who attempted to go against the dictatorship government were immediately silenced. For instance, in 1958, Arturo Frondizi of Intransigent Radical Civic Union was elected as president. Even with Peronist succor, he was still forced to leave the office four years later. Peronist was a political movement in Argentina that based their ideas on President Juan’s legacy. In September 1962, conflict within the military over those who rejected Peronism policies exploded into an aggressive clash in the streets of the capital city of the country (Buenos Aires).
In her short complex story, Luisa Valenzuela tries to demonstrate the chaotic political situation of Argentina around 1960. During this time, the country was a mess with the military taking over the government and killing anyone who opposed it. She tries to depict the nature of power in Argentina and how it was abused. Valenzuela uses the short story to connect the reader to the Argentinian social-historical context, in this case the sixties. During this time, there was torture and those who were on the wrong side mysteriously disappeared; this act instilled fear and with fear came silence. In the story, Valenzuela reveals reality in its all sickness. In the “All About Suicide” she not only undermines reader’s presumptions about the narrative, but also about the story itself. She uses the story to express a hidden information. She used flashbacks to reveal several themes of instance truth, to reveal the situation in the country.
Now looking closely at the concept of suicide in the story, one can deduce two types of suicides; the physical suicide and the theoretical suicide. Physical suicide is where a person kills him or herself. On the contrary, theoretical suicide is when a person commits a crime that will in turn gets him or her shot. So, in “All About Suicide,” Ishmael, who works at his friend’s (The Minister) office kids the Minister. He has been forced to be silent for so long by the government that he eventually reacts by murdering the Minister to reveal the secrets of the government. His outrageous will ultimately kill him. This not only show the theme of truth in the story but also the cruelty in the government. Ishmael knows that the punishment for his crime is death. The author used the theme of truth and flashback to show that the government is up to good.
How does “All About Suicide” apply in our contemporary society? Well, the author tries to show the reader that they need to be more aggressive and assertive in order to reveal the truth. For instance, they could start the demonstration, a political campaign, or a website to expose government secrets and get the truth to the people. The civilians have the right to know everything that their leaders do. Ishmael had to kill the Minister in order to get the truth to the public. He technically sacrificed his own life for the public. This shows that although some governments try to hide the fact from the public, there will always be freedom fighters who will make sure the truth gets to the public.
Work Cited
Valenzuela, Luisa. “Reading: Luisa Valenzuela.” (1984).
Cossalter, Javier. “The figuration of the child in the Argentinian social and political documentary short film of the sixties and seventies.” STUDIES IN SPANISH & LATIN AMERICAN CINEMAS 15.1 (2018): 83-101.