Pablo Neruda's Height Of Machu Picchu And United Fruit Co.

Pablo Neruda, who was known to be a communist Chilean poet, often reflects on his beliefs and how they affect his persona and his deliberations about humanity. With this, he explores the expansive perception of how the Western world centers its interests on artificiality in his works Height of Machu Picchu and United Fruit Co. By contemplating about the struggles of humankind, the writer observes the way in which society bases its way of living on hollow values instead of natural ideals. Perhaps, the episode in which Neruda goes through, comprising of his exile from Chile for being a communist, is what triggers the creation of such concern-based poems. Since the poet’s politics lie on the left-sided government, it seems that he is not satisfied

This work operates as a protest, not solely against the abuse and avarice of the North American companies in Latin America, but also against the consumeristic advertising utilized by companies. The writer commences his criticism by mentioning icons of consumerism that took over the planet, such as “Coca Cola Inc., Anaconda, […] and other entities” (Schmitt 179). Such companies are depictions of the American industry, which “[reserves] the juiciest for itself” (Schmitt 179) and benefits from the resources Latin American countries offer. The nations filled with “greatness, liberty and flags” (Schmitt 179) become submissive to external dominance and, once powerhouses sucks out their richest supplies, they are relinquished and forgotten, for they deliver no more efficient use. Neruda undertakes to bring attentiveness to these discriminations brought upon local Central and South American populations, who were dominated by dictators and American companies. The irreverent attitude that North American corporations display in regards to the culture and history of the demoralized lands, which hide behind the term “Banana Republics” (Schmitt 179), reveals a sense of shallowness in the interest that corrupt humankind’s perception. In order to comprehend the connection between these

Additionally, the repetition of the assorted flies present in the text intensifies the meaning of the extended metaphor, for the fruits are being consumed by parasites. The use of the names of some dictators, including Rafael “Trujillo”, Maximiliano Hernandez “Martinez”, and Jorge “Ubico” (Schmitt 179), is meaningful, since Neruda envisions these U.S.-backed rulers as individuals who enrich themselves through their people’s expenses. Such “bloodthirsty flies” (Schmitt 179) are the elements that turn the fruits into a “pile of rot” (Schmitt 179). The juxtaposition of the tones in the piece of writing triggers distinctive effects on its purpose. Originally, the poet utilizes a biblical tone that leads to an epic and even mystical feeling, for the sound of the trumpet marks the commencement of the distribution of the entities that “Jehovah” (Schmitt 179) introduces to the world. Nonetheless, as the poem reaches its termination, the mood develops into a lament, as Neruda witnesses the rapine of his country. Similarly, the structure of the work suffers transformations: the first stanza consists of the creation of the planet, the birth of different countries, the dictatorship in South and Central America, and the idea of success of the American business. However, the next