Jacob Schulman
World Lit Analysis
September 6, 2006
Mrs. Grgas
“Two Words”
Analyzing Literary Technique
1. The fact that Belisa named herself tells us that she is very independent
and is a very determined woman. She named herself by finding the poetry of
the words ‘beauty’ and ‘twilight’ and she put it together to create her full
name, Belisa Crepusculario. The literal meaning of her name tells us that she
considers herself ‘beautiful by twilight,’ or that she is not only beautiful on
the outside, but on the inside as well.
2. In the short story, symbolism is used in regard to ‘words.’ ‘Words’ are not
only symbolizing actual written documents, or oral stories, but also pieces of
hope. When people pay Belisa to add a line or two to her story, they gain
hope that the people in the other towns can find out about them and the
changes in their lives. And the words that she gives to the Colonel are
especially important because they give him so much hope that he is so
emotionally drowned by them that he becomes weak.
3. The irony of the quote, “She did not dare to refuse, fearing that El
Mulato would shoot her between the eyes, or worse still, that the Colonel
would burst into tears,” is that she was more afraid of the Colonel’s emotion,
than the bullets of El Mulato. This just shows how much Belisa values the
emotions of people, and how her actual life comes second to that.
4. Belisa’s hold on the Colonel began once she gave him his two secret words.
At first, he didn’t even want them, but after receiving them, he realized how
powerful they were. He began to say them all the time: before his speeches,
while walking around, etc. They became incredibly important to them. This
supports Allende’s metaphor because it shows how much power words can
have, and that if the right words are used, they can have an incredible
impact.
5. At the end of the story, El Mulato went to find Belisa to try and get her
to tell them the words so they wouldn’t be as important. However, when he
finally found her and brought her back, instead of her ruining the words for
him, she found the goodness in him and they held hands at the end. From
here, I think that the Colonel will drop out of the election for president, and
settle down with Belisa. I think that El Mulato will continue in the Colonel’s
footsteps and try to become president unsuccessfully, because he never
received words from Belisa.
6. If Belisa was to give me a “secret word to drive away melancholy” I
believe that word would be ‘hope’. Hope, to me, is an incredibly strong and
powerful word. If one always has hope, and can truly see that there is always
a way to make something work, or to make something better, I believe that
that person is going to make themselves better in the long run. It is such a
tranquil and meaningful word, and it could bring peace to anyone who has it.
It is incredibly important, and has great powers as well.