To me, this book seemed to intentionally contain stereotypes on steroids. Through the gangster attitudes of her father, to the parental neglect, to the idea that America is the land of the rich, to the vast number of girlfriends, Indiana got me thinking about how our perceptions on these issues can sometimes be (to put it bluntly) childlike. The narrator’s descriptions and observations were so extreme they couldn’t help but come across as embellished and unreliable. In the age of mass media and extreme politics, I thought this book made a statement on how unreliable perceptions could be when classifying people and their position in society.
To start off, in a weird way, I thought I was reading a more modern version of Pedro Paramo. The idea that the narrator in Papi is chasing down a metaphorical ghost of a father without truly knowing him and instead relying on the perceptions of others to "discover him" or be connected to him was very similar to me. However, I found Papi to be more compelling to read since it was told from the perspective of a young girl (which was more relatable), it was somewhat more straightforward in narrative, and included more modern references.
The concept of masculinity was also on my mind while reading this novel. To have a father figure embody the stereotypes of the gangster and maucho man with flashy cars, lots of women, and an access of money, but neglect his children was an interesting scope on what machismo and fatherhood means and how it is evolving. Reading this as an adult is also interesting because never at any point did I think that the narrator thought that her father did anything wrong. Thinking back to how I was at eight and my attitude towards my father, I probably would have felt the same. It made me think about how non-judgemental children can be and it is often through environmental factors and learned experience through age that we learn to hold others accountable.
So much of the narrator’s perspective is also focused on the vast number of her father’s girlfriends. Perhaps this makes a statement on how she is searching for a maternal role model more than a paternal one, or this symbolizes the beginning of her questioning her father’s values over her own. She often also blames the actions or faults of her father on his girlfriends.
In conclusion, I really enjoyed reading this book. I also wanted to talk more about the stereotype of money and having the perception of vast wealth upon coming to America as this was also handled in a really interesting way throughout this book, however, I'll save it for when I chat with you all in class.
Question for the class: How have you noticed the theme of fatherhood evolve or change throughout the readings this semester? Considering this is one of the more modern readings on the list, how do you think it speaks to modern fatherhood and its expectations?
For sure, the comparison with Pedro Páramo is interesting! Though Santo Domingo in Indiana's account is far from a ghost town... if anything, it's full of frenetic movement. But yes, Papi is a bit of a phantom ghost (as I say in my lecture!). Does she ever pin him down? Could anyone?
ReplyDeleteHi Julia,
ReplyDeleteI really liked your interpretation about the narrator's focus on her father's girlfriends - possibility indicating her interest and search for the maternal in a hyper-masculine world of her Papi.
Of course, with Pedro Paramo, you have a father who is absent physically throughout the book, yet the influence and sway of him lingers throughout eternity (quite literally in the story). Same with Papi, he is physically not there yet his presence, in the mind of his daughter, plagues most of the novel. I feel this contrasts quite strongly with the father in Mama Blanca's Memoirs, a father which, in my view, was very absent from the children's physical day-to-day and also from their minds. I only remember him having a role in managing the affairs of the plantation, which only cropped up a few times in the story. There, the children seem to have to close attachment with their father at all.
Any other stories come to mind? I'd be interested in how someone discusses fatherhood as portrayed in 100 Years of Solitude!
Take care,
Curtis HR
Hello Julia, I loved your post! It is very interesting how the book analyzes the steryotypes of money, wealth, and masculinity. Although I didn't make the connection to Pedro Paramo at first, I do see the similarities between both stories and its narrators. Both novels analyze the struggles of not having a father figure in your life, both in childhood and adulthood. It is definitely different in a way because in "Papi" we see a kid that would want to spend more time with her father, who left her behind and now has a new life and a new family. This portays the pain of this absence during childhood, while in Pedro Paramo, the character wants to find his father as a way of discovering himself and his family heritage. Therefore, I think that "Papi" is analyzes the absence of a dad in a more critic way, which is party accomplished by having a young narrator.
ReplyDeleteHey Julia! Great post. I especially like your thoughts on "stereotypes on steroids" and the idea that the young narrator is honing in on her father's relationship to women as a means of questioning his values. You've made a thoughtful connection between this novel and 'Pedro Paramo'; in both narratives, the speakers' mourn their fathers throughout the course of the tale. In 'Pedro Paramo', it is established early that the father figure has passed, whereas 'Papi' sits on this info until the very end. However, the narrator is mourning Papi's absence from the very beginning, and I believe her young voice allows us to see into her mind clearer than the narrator of 'Pedro Paramo', who seems to facilitate a sense distance between himself and the reader through the ever shifting vignette style narration.
ReplyDelete