I knew right from the beginning that Sab was in love with Carlota, so I was super excited when he finally confessed to Teresa his controllable feelings for her. I use the term controllable because Sab had so many oppurtunities to demolish Carlota and Enrique's relationship, but he never chose to. For example, he saved Enrique during the horrible storm, he gave Carlota the winning lottery ticket, he guided the entire the beloved couple through the dangerous caves, but he always put Carlota's happiness before his.
Another neat part of the symbolism in the novel is Sab's unclear heritage/background. Enrique is unsure of the social status of Sab when he first encounters him in the open plains. This symbolizes how he has a very indistinctive character and personality. It appears as though he is just a slave who follows his masters orders, but underneath his skin he has a thousand emotions bottled up.
to sum it up: Sab is an incredible, loyal, mysterious character who i would marry.
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4 comments:
Tessie, you're a born Romantic. There aren't many who would want to marry a guy who would give away the winning lottery ticket. I like you thinking about the indeterminacy of the descriptions of Sab. When you say that it's "neat", what do you mean? What is the effect of this ambiguity on the reader? How does in change our understanding of his actions? his interactions with other characters? his place in the Cuban society of the time.
Did you make me an author on this blog yet? If not, please do so.
I agree very much with what you have said Tessie. Now I wouldn't say I'd go as far as marrying Sab, but he certainly does have many desirable characteristics of man. He's strong, both physically and emotionally, he is totally capable of controlling his own actions and never seems to completely lose his cool, he is thoughtful, intelligent, great with words and communication, and has a pure heart. The audience immediately is sympathetic towards Sab upon learning of his dilemma. He is a man of no specific race, has an attractive face an figure, but is a slave; a slave who is madly in love with his mistress. Furthermore, regardless of his own 100% pure feelings and deep love for Carlotta, he pushes through his difficult life everyday just as honest, innocent, and understanding as he could be. I too was so happy he finally expressed his deep love for Carlotta to Teresa, and I liked the twist that i wasn't really expecting, when we learned that she was desperately in love with Enrique.
I completely agree with you, Tessie. I remember thinking to myself that it was about time that he told someone that he loved Carlota. I also think that Sab's unclear heritage was also interesting. I'm not really sure why the Avellaneda would do that but I think it was really interesting that she gave him an unclear heritage, but gave him distinctive features. I don't think that Sab is an indistinctive character because when we are first introduced to Sab, he was said to have been a young man with an average build but with "striking features" (28). I do agree with you completely that he is someone else beneath the surface because he never openly states his extreme dislike of Enrique and he doesn't confess his love for Carlota until the very end of the book to Teresa.
To respond to you Mr. Cummings,the ambiguity of Sab's heritage doesn't allow the reader to stereotype Sab. For example, if Enrique described him as a poorly dressed and dark skinned slave, it is sort of an instinct to feel immediate pity for Sab or judge him to be uneducated.
In this sort of novel where there is a definte distinction between the social classes (de B-'s are aristocrats, Sab is a slave, Martina lives in a shack), it is easy for the reader to stereotype certain characters, the rich personas have emotions and educated minds while the poor personas lack an identity.
However, Sab has a mixed skin color, he is higher ranked than a slave working in the fields and he lives in a house with the de B-'s. His character is so diverse that the reader has no choice but to be enthralled with him and what goes on in his mind. And that is why it's neat.
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