An Analysis of Pablo Neruda’s The United Fruit Co.

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Pablo Neruda is from Chile and gives a voice to Latin America in his poetry (Bleiker 1129). “The United Fruit Co.,” the poem by Pablo Neruda that will be analyzed in this essay, is enriched with symbolism, metaphors, and allusions. These allusions have great emphasis to the Christian religion, but some allusions are used to evoke negative emotions towards the United States (Fernandez 1; Hawkins 42). Personification and imagery along with onomatopoeia and metonymy are also found in “The United Fruit Co.” Neruda’s use of these literary devices makes his messages of imperialism, Marxism, and consumerism understandable (Fernandez 4). In this essay each of these literary devices with its proper meaning will be further analyzed in the hope of achieving a more complex understanding of Neruda’s message. “The United Fruit Co.” uses religious mockery to attack the United States’ arrogance criticizing America’s morality (Hawkins 42). Pablo Neruda begins his poem, “The United Fruit Co.” with the sounding of trumpets unleashing a variety of symbolic meaning and commencing the Biblical allusions that set the sarcastic tone of the poem (Fernandez 1; Hawkins 42). These trumpets are an introduction to Jehovah who “divided his universe” inevitably adding more biblical allusions by symbolizing God’s presence (Fernandez 2; line 3). The use of trumpets as a means of introduction is a metaphor for the acknowledgement of the United States who thinks they are the kings of creation (Fernandez 2). For this reason some of the biblical allusions translate best to the Book of Genesis as Neruda’s poem is a metaphor for the Biblical creation myth (Fernandez 2, 3). In Neruda’s creation myth, the United States symbolize God and distribute “wealth and territory... ... middle of paper ... ...ed Bleiker, Roland. "Pablo Neruda and the Struggle for Political Memory." Third World Quarterly 20.6 (1999): 1129-142. JSTOR. Web. 19 Mar. 2012. Felstiner, John. "Reconsideration: Paul Celan-The Biography of a Poem." Contemporary Literary Criticism Select 190.6311 (1984): 27-31. Literature Resource Center. Web. 25 Mar. 2012. Fernandez, Carlos. "Opera Buffa and the Debunking of U.S. Hegemony in Neruda's "La United Fruit Co."" Romance Notes 49.2 (2009): 185-90. Academic Search Complete. Web. 17 Mar. 2012. Hawkins, Jason. “An Analysis of ‘La United Fruit Company’ de Pablo Neruda.” Tribute to Pablo Neruda Educational Guide for Teachers. n.p. 2005. 42-43. PDF file. Neruda, Pablo. “The United Fruit Co.” Trans. Ben Beltt. One World of Literature. Ed. Kristin Watts Peri, Lynn Walterick, and Robin Bushnell Hogan. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Copany, 1993. 793-794. Print.

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