Chile

            English Honors Philip Rosenberg.
             Reading Journal October 24th, 2002.
             Chile and The House of the Spirits.
             During the early 20th century Chile was separated into a higher class and a lower class without much in between. However during the late sixties there was a period that saw heightened pressure within Chile for economic and political change. In 1970, to much suprise, the socialist candidate was elected president, breaking the cycle of conservatives president. Enraged from defeat the conservatives immediately began to suck the economy dry, eventually leaving the government in shambles which quickly became a military dictatorship. These historical events are mirrored in the novel The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende through the Trueba Families triumphs, afflictions, and day to day life.
             The major characters in The House of the Spirits come from two opposing classes, the aristocracy and the peasants. This aspect becomes a direct correlation of the socialists verses the conservatives. Most of the population of Latin America, as well as all of the characters in the novel, belong to one of these two classes. Almost all of the characters in the story belong to either the del Valle-Trueba family, or else to the Garcia family. The family name to which each character belongs determines her or his class position, while simply biological parenting does not. The blood lines of the Trueba and Garcia families cross repeatedly, however Esteban Trueba works hard to assure that their family names do not mix. The del Valle and Trueba families represent the landowning upper-class and a criollos. A criollo is a person who is born and lives in South America but is a direct descendant of Spaniards. Esteban Trueba himself can be looked at to represent the conservative view, and the idea that there is no reason for the peasants to share in the upper class's wealth or to change their situation.