Monday, September 8, 2008
Sab's Characteristics
When i was first introduced to the novel "Sab", I immediatlty thought that it was going to be like all the other books that are written abotu slaves; a slave that falls in love with the master's daughter and then ends up being punished by the owner. However, Avellaneda fills Sab's personality with mystery, passion, intensity, love, and desperation. One of the moments in the novel that seems to support the idea of Sab having a mysterious personality is the event that occurs the night of the storm in which Enrique gets injured. Right after Enriques fall, Avellaneda describes that Sab made a "terrible smile". (Page50) His soul was divided into two opposite thoughts; Sab smiled beacause part of him was content with what had happened to Enrique, but Sab's smile wasnt entirley positive. His terrible smile meant that he did not want to be the cause of Enrique's death or be put in a situation in which he has to decide his fate, which is why ultimitly Sab saves Enrique's life. One would think that Sab, like any other man who is despertly in love with a woman, would do anything in order to have Carlota's love just for himself, but instead there are many moments throuhgout the novel in whcih Sab sacrifices his chances of being with Carlota.
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4 comments:
Mel, you're absolutely right about the importance of the scene. I would challenge you, however, on your interpretation of why Sab decides neither to kill Enrique nor to leave him for dead. My interpretation is that he knows that if Enrique were to die, his romantic image would live on in Carlota's memory, whereas alive Enrique will have to opportunity to spoil his own image in her eyes.
Sab's eyes, though, are alluded to throughout the novel, and I'm not sure that I totally understand why. Recall the eyes that appear observing Enrique from the bushes, or the reference to Sab's eyes in the opening scene. Any ideas on the reason for Avellaneda's insistance on referring to Sab's (and Teresa's) eyes?
Sab "sacrifices his chances of being with Carlota" because he was a slave and even though he was freed he still thinks of himself as a slave and subordinate to both Carlota and Enrique. Having been a slave seems to stay with him forever, as he does not seem capable of thinking himself worthy of Carlota.
Also, I would not say that Sab was "content" with what happened to Enrique. He was in a way momentarily happy, but the enormity of Enrique dying perhaps confused him emotionally. Deep down if Enrique would die he feels that he still perhaps would not be worthy of Carlota, as he believes himself to be subordinate to her. He is not "content", as not being with Carlota forever plagues him.
I agree with John on this one. Sab would never be content with Enrique dying for several reasons. First, had Enrique been killed, Carlota would be eternally sad, as mentioned, she is someone who was over sensitive and would never get over first true love. Second, I agree with John's point about his status in comparison to that of Enrique and Carlota. After Sab realizes that Carlota would never love him, Sab's heart is broken and eventually dies of this realization. Sab simply wants the best for his love. That's why Sab never attempted to kill Enrique, distrupt the relationship between Enrique and Carlota, and gives Carlota a winning lottery ticket.
You say here that Sab does not want to be in a position to decide Enrique's fate. I would disagree on this seeing that there are many occasions that Sab puts himself in a position to do just that. Sab can be seen looming over Enrique with a knife at many points in the story. These would again be times in which he has put Enrique's fate into his own hands. Another example is when Sab gives Carlota the lottery ticket and writes the letter to Teresa. Here Sab is able to very well control what happens to Enrique and does it with gladness.
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