Sergio Camargo Educational Institution. Miraflores 2020.

Ninth grade
Spanish Language
DBA: Analyzes literary language as an artistic expression that allows for creation
Fictions and expressing thoughts or emotions.
Activity number 2. Reading comprehension exercise.
Shipping method. Email:maresperanza.2000@gmail.com
Instructions. Carefully read the information related to the work La Vorágine and the
fragments that you find below and develop the exercise.

'The Vortex' by José Eustasio Rivera

The Vortex is a novel written by Colombian author José Eustasio Rivera. It was published in 1924, and
It is considered Rivera's masterpiece and a classic of Colombian and Latin American literature.
The novel is a work that denounces social issues regarding violence and the situation of exploitation that occurred in the
Amazon rainforest as a consequence of the rubber fever between the late 19th century and the early 20th century.
XX. The novel is written in a style that reveals influences from both romanticism and the
modernism, as shown by the following phrase that begins the book: Before I had become passionate
For some woman, I gambled my heart on chance and violence won it.

Summary of the novel. The Vortex contains a prologue, an epilogue, and is divided into three parts.
Most of the novel is narrated by the main character, Arturo Cova, a poet who decides to flee with
his lover Alicia towards Casanare.

Some of the standout topics are:

The nature of the Colombian-Venezuelan plains and the Amazon rainforest, and its influence on character
its characters.

The social denunciation of the violence and exploitation of rubber tappers affects many people, mostly.
Colombians, representative of all ethnicities, genders, and regions (Indians, women, whites, blacks,
children, mestizos, mulattos.

The failed romances.

Complete summary of the novel.

Prologue: (Text placed at the beginning of a work in which comments are made about the work or its
author, or is introduced into its reading; often it is done by a person different from the author).

It was written by José Eustasio Rivera and is addressed to the minister of Colombia. The author refers to the
situations of Colombian rubber tappers, and to the manuscripts of Arturo Cova, 'criticizing' his full style
of regionalisms.

First part.
Arturo Cova tells us his story and that of Alicia. Alicia was doomed to marry a landowner.
old but rich. She decides to have an affair with Arturo Cova, a cultured poet, womanizer, and poor,
hoping that this will save her from marriage. But Alicia's fiancé condemns to prison
Arturo and the couple of lovers decide to flee to Casanare. There, they find friends who welcome them.
they help: Mr. Rafo, and the couple of Griselda and Fidel Franco.

Franco, who has a foundation, pledges it with the promise that Zubieta, the owner of a large herd
With a lot of cattle, he sells 1000 cattle at a discount, but in return, he must take them. This turns out to be a
Zubieta's lie in order to get rid of Barrera, a tire dealer who promised gold and riches.
trying to convince everyone to follow him in the exploitation of rubber. Among these people were
find Griselda, whom Barrera was trying to convince with sweet promises and gifts.

Griselda and Alicia, who used to go out alone, often found Barrera. Arturo explodes with jealousy.
Faced with the possibility that Alicia might be unfaithful with Barrera, he gets drunk and decides to flee to Zubieta's estate.
There he confronts Barrera, who shoots him in the shoulder. Arturo leaves along with the mulatto Correa.
After Franco went to catch the bulls, upon his return he discovers that Barrera has ordered the assassination of Zubieta.
Barrera brings in a corrupt judge and forces the other workers to be witnesses that the crime was committed.
by Arturo and Franco. Both discover that Griselda and Alicia have abandoned them. They burst into anger,
madness and euphoria, set the plains on fire and flee:

Fragment: The devouring phalanx was leaving bonfires on the blackened plains, over bodies of
charred animals, and along the entire curve of the horizon the trunks of the palm trees burned like candles
enormous. The rustling of the bushes, the howling chorus of the serpents and beasts, the stampede of the
vicious beasts, the bitter smell of burnt meats, flattered my pride; and I felt delight for everything
what was dying behind my illusion (...).

Second part

Arturo Cova, Franco, Correa, and the Pipa flee to Vichada. There they find different indigenous tribes. They are
the aborigines of the bohío, described as docile, clever, and distrustful, who provide them with the
travel. Then they find the nomadic tribe of the Guahibos. They are described as an innocent tribe,
superstitious and rudimentary. Arturo and his comrades are welcomed by the tribe, which bids them farewell with
a big party to the rhythm of drums, dances, and fermented chicha.

Upon resuming the journey, they casually encounter Helí Mesa, who had been under Fidel's command.
Franco when he was still part of the army. Helí recounted how he was deceived by Barrera and how this
he had betrayed all the men and women who followed him. He had made them give up all their
possessions and left them as slaves under the dominion of two of their comrades. They chained them and
they threw a baby to the alligators. Amidst these abuses, Helí takes the opportunity to escape along with two
Maipireño Indians. The fugitives decide to continue towards the Vaupés, seeking revenge on Barrera.
Maipireños perish in one of the strong waterfalls of the river. El Pipa escapes with the Guahibo Indians.

In Guaviare, they find the elderly rubber tapper Clemente Silva. The elderly man is very
sick, his legs are full of sores, and, among the sores, worms. He has suffered all kinds of mistreatment.
for 16 years. His back is covered in the scars of the whips. The old man recounts that he is
originating from Pasto, and set out in search of his 12-year-old son, who had fled with the rubber tappers. Later
having been searching for it for eight years, during which he himself was a rubber tapper and a slave, it
find already buried.
Third part

Cova and his companions continue their journey with Clemente Silva. They plan to collect the bones.
from the son of Silva, which were confiscated by the Cayeno, to then continue with his revenge.
Clemente Silva continues recounting how he changed from rubber worker to rubber worker. Silva sought to stay.
search for his son's grave, in the Brazilian jungles, until he could exhume his bones. During this time
he was lost for two months in the jungle, during which he lost his mind and his companions perished.

Cova and his companions go to see the madonna, Zoraida Ayram, who asks them to 'betray' Cayeno.
in the name of a debt he owes her. There they find Ramiro Estébanez, an old friend of
Cova, and to the Váquiro, who witnessed the massacre of San Fernando del Atabapo, under the dominance of
Colonel Funes. Cova, to win the favor and trust of the madam, becomes her lover. Cova and his
companions find Griselda, who was acquired by the madam, and brings news of Alicia. She assures
that Alicia was always faithful to Arturo, and is still like a slave to Barrera. Arturo finally manages to
reuniting with Alicia, and fighting he defeats Barrera. Alicia gives birth to a premature baby, the son of Arturo, and
fearing that the newborn will catch some plague, everyone flees to the jungle.

Epilogue: (final part of a speech or literary work in which a general summary of it is offered)
It is the fragment of a letter that the consul of Manaus addresses to the minister of Colombia and that gives
Cova and his companions' lucky account with this phrase: No trace of them. The jungle devoured them!

Historical context of the novel

Route of the rubber fever. The author belongs to the centennial generation, which had as
concern to reflect on the political, cultural, and border establishment of Colombia as a nation.
At the time, border issues were in vogue. Many territories were ceded to
the neighboring countries at the beginning of the 20th century.

The borders and the territories where the jungle predominated, in which it was difficult to penetrate, were
abandoned by the government. These included all the departments that are part of the Amazonas region:
Caquetá, Guainía, Guaviare, Putumayo, Vaupés, Meta, Vichada, and Amazonas. The abandonment allowed that
corruption, guerrillas, and exploitation by nationals and foreigners will prosper.

History of the writing of The Vorágine

The vorágine was written in two years during the trips that Rivera made with the Limiting Commission.
Colombo-Venezuelan, in 1922, whose function was to draw the borders in the jungle between the two countries. The
the conditions of the commission were so precarious that they did not have maps or instruments
elementary for work. For this reason, Rivera resigned and continued alone. The commission began its route through the
Magdalena River, then they entered through the Orinoco. Rivera continued his journey alone until he contracted malaria.
in a hamlet in Orocué, where he wrote a large part of his novel. There he found an old colleague of
commission and decided to reintegrate. Continued his journey to Manaus and then back, documenting
during his journey the exploitation of rubber tappers in the jungles of Venezuela, Colombia, and Brazil.

...those who once believed that my intelligence would shine extraordinarily, like a halo of my
youth; those who forgot me as soon as my feet descended into misfortune; those who remember me
if you ever think of my failure and wonder why I wasn't what I could have been, know that the
implacable destiny uprooted me from the incipient prosperity and threw me into the plains, so that
wanderer, vagabond, like the winds, and I would extinguish like them, leaving nothing but noise and
desolation.

(Fragment of the letter from Arturo Cova)

First part

Before I had become passionate about any woman, I gambled my heart on chance and lost it to violence.
I knew nothing of the intoxicating delights, nor of sentimental confessions, nor of the anxiety of the
cowardly glances. More than the lover, I have always been the dominant one whose lips did not know supplication.
Above all, I longed for the divine gift of ideal love, to ignite me spiritually, so that my soul
it would shine in my body like the flame on the log that feeds it.

When Alice's eyes brought me misfortune, I had already given up on the hope of feeling affection.
pure. In vain my arms —tedious from freedom— reached out before many women imploring for
they are a chain. No one guessed my daydream. Silence continued in my heart.

Alicia was an easy affair: she gave herself to me without hesitation, hopeful for the love she sought in me. Neither
At least he thought of marrying me in those days when his relatives hatched the conspiracy of his.
marriage, sponsored by the priest and resolved to subdue me by force. She reported my plans.
Arterios. I will die alone, she said: my misfortune opposes your future.

Then, when they cast her out from her family and the judge told my lawyer that he would sink me in the
prison, I told him one night, in his hiding place, resolutely: "how could I abandon you? Let's flee! Take
my luck, but give me love.

And we fled!

***

That night, the first in Casanare, I had insomnia as my confidant.

Through the mesh of the mosquito net, in the limitless skies, I saw the stars twinkling. The foliage of the
palm trees that sheltered us fell silent upon us. An infinite silence floated in the surroundings,
bluing the transparency of the air. Next to my "chinchorro", on its narrow travel cot, Alicia
he was sleeping with agitated breathing.

My troubled soul then had overwhelming reflections: what have you done with your own destiny? What about
this young girl who immolates your passions? And your dreams of glory, and your desires for triumphs and your first fruits
Of celebrity? Foolish! The bond that ties women to you is tied by boredom. Out of childish pride you
You knowingly deceived, attributing to this creature what you never discovered in anyone else, and you already knew.
that the ideal is not sought; one carries it within oneself. Once the craving is satisfied, what merit does the body have that to
How expensive a price you acquired? Because the soul of Alicia has never belonged to you, and even though you now receive the
the heat of her blood and you feel her breath near your shoulder, you find yourself, spiritually, as far from her as
from the taciturn constellation that is already leaning over the horizon.
At that moment I felt pusillanimous. It was not that my energy faltered in the face of my responsibility.
acts, but the annoyance of the mistress was beginning to invade me. It would have been little effort to possess her,
even for the sake of the greatest madnesses; but what after the madness and possession?...

Casanare did not terrify me with its terrifying legends. The instinct for adventure urged me to
to challenge them, confident that he would emerge unscathed from the most liberated pampas and that someday, in unknown
cities, I would feel the nostalgia of past dangers. But Alicia hindered me like a shackle. If only
less out more risky, less inexperienced, more agile! The poor woman left Bogotá in distressing circumstances;
I didn't know how to ride a horse, the rays of the sun congested her, and when she preferred to walk short distances, I
I should have patiently imitated her, leading the mounts.

I never showed such proof of meekness. As fugitives, we moved forward slowly, unable to
twist the path to avoid encounters with the passersby, mostly farmers, who stopped
As we passed, they asked me, moved: boss, why is the girl crying?

It was necessary to spend the night in Cáqueza, in anticipation that the authorities would stop us. Several times
I tried to break the telegraph wire by tying it to my horse's rope; but I gave up on such an endeavor.
for the intimate desire that someone would capture me and, freeing me from Alice, would restore that freedom to me
spirit that never gets lost in confinement. On the outskirts of the town, we passed on the first night, and
diverting then towards the floodplain of the river, among noisy cane fields that our horses were trampling down
we passed, we sheltered in a "bough shelter" where a sugar mill was operating. From afar we felt it moan, and
through the glow of the stove, where the honey was being cooked, the shadows of the oxen crossed endlessly
who moved the pestle and the little one who pricked them. Some women prepared dinner and gave it to Alicia.
an herbal brew to bring down the fever.

We stayed there for a week.

Exercise

1. Ask your family members about any story related to the job search in the
eastern plains of Colombia. Do you find any connection with the history of the work? Record it.
2. Inquiry What is the function of the Caro and Cuervo Institute. There is an original of the work there.
mention.
Identify the themes present in the novel. Copy the excerpt and the theme.
4. Investigate the author's biography and present it creatively.
5. Review the terms whose meaning you do not know, look them up, and record their meanings.
6. In the excerpt of Arturo Cova's letter, there are 8 words in bold; copy it again.
fragment, changing them for a synonym. Keep in mind the context.
6. In the excerpt: In vain my arms - tedious with freedom - reached out before many women, the
expression between dashes, means:
The character felt very bored.
The character longed for a commitment
c. The character was annoyed with Alicia
d. The character had sore arms

7. From the reading of the third paragraph of the first part of the work, it can be inferred that Alicia:
a. I was hopelessly in love with Arturo Cova
b. I longed to live adventures by the side of Arturo Cova
 c. She left with Arturo Cova to avoid getting married
d. I wanted to explore the eastern plains alongside Arturo Cova

8. At the end of the presented text, it can be concluded that Alicia is for Arturo Cova:
the woman that Arturo had longed to share his life with
b. The woman who allowed him to fulfill his dreams of being an adventurer
c. The woman who showered him with affection and made him dream.
d. The woman who hindered him from fulfilling his dreams of freedom.

9. Pay attention to the formulation of the three ICFES-type questions and create one with your own.
answers. Mark the one you consider to be correct.
10. The epithet and the simile or comparison are rhetorical or literary figures; the former consists of the
use of unnecessary adjectives that do not add any supplementary information: example:
green grass and the second is used to establish a comparison between two things; the
similes appeal to relational elements such as "that", "like" or "which". Identify them in the
text.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the proposed activities, you can call from Monday to
Friday, to the number 3118083002

God bless you, Maresperanza.