Fifth Blog

Although we haven't discussed "Requiem por un campesino espanol" together as a class yet, I wanted to post my blog comparing this story to "San Manuel Bueno, Martir", a story that we read in Spanish 450. I found these stories to be so similar and after finishing "Requiem por un campesino espanol", I decided to look back at information on "San Manuel Bueno, Martir", and I found out that they both took place during "La generacion del 98".
The first similarity is the narration of the two stories. "Requiem por un campesino espanol" is told in third person omniscient and allows the reader to see in the minds of both the priest and the alter boy. "San Manuel Bueno, Martir" is told through Angela but then at the end the reader learns that this is a legend being retold by the author. Although the stories are not narrated in the same form, their unique narration engages the reader because the reader is able to see the thoughts of many different characters. The second similarity is the main character in each story. Both stories focus on Catholic priests that live in Spain. "Requiem por un campesino espanol" takes place in a church but the thoughts in the priest's mind take the reader back to different settings in his life. In both stories, the priests are very well liked and form a strong friendship with another main character; Paco in "Requiem por un campesino espanol" and Angela in "San Manuel Bueno, Martir". Finally, as I mentioned above, both stories were written during "La generacion del 98" and thus contain similar messages and themes.