The House Of Sprits Analysis

Allende’s Stylistic Choices in The House of Sprits In The House of Spirits the reader sees many mentions of other countries outside Chile. Most of the time these countries bring something that Chile may not have such as a new invention or technology. However, these new things brought to Chile are not helpful in the slightest and in truth, damage the Chilean people more than help. In this novel, Allende shows how foreign influence is useless in Chile. She creates this effect by setting up a contrast between indigenous methods and foreign methods while also using irony. Allende uses contrast to show how foreign methods are impractical for the people of Chile. For example, when the ant plague struck, Esteban goes to a “gringo” for help, “’How

First, the car both Nivea and Severo met their fate in is described, “It was lined with polished wood and Russian leather… Despite its British origin … the brakes didn’t work well” (120). It would seem that a foreign car would be well-made but in reality the brakes “didn’t work well”. This causes the accident which leads to the end of Nivea and Severo. This proves that foreign influence is inadequate because the foreign car not working properly led to the demise of Clara’s parents. Later in the novel, after the earthquake the main home was being rebuilt the same but with one new feature, “The water was like light chocolate, and sometimes there were even tadpoles in it, but it poured out in a strong cheerful gush – the German pump was a wonder.” (176). A water pump is expected to give clean water to whoever is using it but in this case the pump is pouring dirty water with “tadpoles” in it. Adding to the fact that this was a “German” pump shows how foreign commodities don’t help the problems that Chile was facing. Also just a like a little jab Allende adds in “German pump was a wonder” almost sarcastically, rubbing the uselessness in. A short time after this event, Jean de Satigny arrives to Tres Marias where his “title” is spoken about, “The title of count put him on a different footing from the other immigrants who had arrived” (182). A “count” usually means someone who is extremely noble and proper but in reality Jean had some major problems that the reader saw. All the things Jean did, such as the chinchilla farm, were overshadowed by these problems. This shows how foreign influence is useless because all the positive things Jean did try to do were erased by all the negative things he