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In this novel, Isabel Allende wants to show us that we grow up largely through the influence or pressure of others. NOT FOR YOURSELF BUT FOR OTHERS. Alex growing up is for himself and for others (his mother); it is also by others. The environment of the forest also changes his experience of the world.

We are made depending on the environment around us and are not original. Role models (Walimai the shaman), team members, or friends (such as Nadia) also affect us (Alexander).

Narrative Events/Dialogue:

John Cold informing Alex of his decision to send him to Kate: (pg. 12): “Andrea and Nicole will go live with their grandmother Carla. You are going to go to my mother,” his father explained. “Kate? I don’t want to go to her, Dad! Why can’t I go with my sisters? Kate’s decision to not go and meet Alex at the airport, in order to test or train him to act like an adult (pg. 18-38): He could imagine how pleased Kate would be to see him so worried, and decided not to give her that satisfaction. He must act like a man. “I thought we agreed that you were going to pick me up at the airport,” he replied, struggling to hold back the tears. “We didn’t agree to anything. If you’re not capable of getting from the airport to my house, you certainly aren’t capable of going into the jungle with me,” said Kate. Pg. 249- Who among his friends would be able to imagine that he had been among Indians of the Stone Age and that he might even have found El Dorado? This is a rhetorical question showing us the fact that other people living in the cities have no chance of experiencing what he did, or even to imagine it. Other characters, the events that occur and their dialogue all affect our understanding of Alex. He took for granted Kate cming to the airport. By the end of the book, his own thinking is different. He no longer takes anything for granted. His independence is continuously challenged. There is no longer his quick decisions on which people to believe.

Characterization of Alex

Pg. 15- Up until a couple of months ago, Alex had been happy. He had never felt any great curiosity to explore beyond the safe boundaries of his own existence; he believed that if he didn’t do anything silly, everything would work out fine…He didn’t want to go to the Amazon with Kate.

Pg 90- It seemed unbelievable to Alex that in a few days’ time his life had taken such a spectacular turn that suddenly he found himself in a fantastic place where, just as his grandmother had announced, spirits walked among the living. Reality was twisted out of shape; he no longer knew what to believe. He felt very homesick; he missed his house and his family and his dog, Poncho. He was all alone, and light years from things he knew.

Pg 143- Now he could sit quietly for a long time, in silence, concentrating on his thoughts, forgetting his video games, his bicycle, and television. He discovered he could transport himself to that private place of stillness and silence that he had to reach when he climbed mountains.

Pg. 250- He had to admit it: His grandmother had done him a huge favour when she dragged him from the security of California and threw him out into this strange world. It wasn’t only Tahama and his fire ants that had initiated him into adulthood.

The change he undergoes is very much due to the people that surround him. Alex’s reflections show contrasting attitudes.

Setting of the novel

Pg. 142- “If the smell doesn’t kill you, it will make you strong,” said Kate, who was the only one unaffected by the stink. “It’s awful!” “Let’s say that it’s different. Senses are subjective, Alexander. Something that you find revolting may be attractive to someone else.” Kate gives advice to Alex and never consoles him, thereby increasing his reliance on himself.

Pg. 364- The bloodshed in the village was horrifying , and the moans of the wounded soldiers and the blood streaming from Mauro Carias’s head had been a harrowing spectacle…guide concluded that his daughter was disoriented from the brutality of recent events; there was no other explanation…

Circular Narrative Structure-Pg. 402- Alexander and Nadia were sitting on the dock of Santa Maria de la Lluvia, where some weeks before they had held their first conversation and begun their friendship…sky was dark and dotted with stars…he had never imagined there were so many thousands of stars. The young people felt as if they had lived a lot of life since they met; they both had grown and changed in those few weeks. Although they are back in the same surroundings, both of them have changed, grown closer to each other, and overcome their shortcomings.

P 122: Alex found once again that the music of his flute stirred the monkeys and birds. Boroba seemed particularly attracted. When Alex played, the little monkey sat stone still, listening with a solemn, curious expression. Sometimes he jumped up on Alex and tugged...delighted finally to have an interested audience after having fought for years with his sisters in order to practice in peace. To Alex, this would have increased his placement of value on his abilities. This allows people to recognise the freedom in the jungle and the many rules that exist in society. His development is also from understanding others. The Amazon is the 'other' with different perspectives.

In this novel, Isabel Allende shows readers the limits of learning in an urban environment, separated from nature. Living in nature will increase the chances of 'using your intuition' and allow development of ‘common sense and wisdom’. Discovery may occur if you start your journey towards a realm of real and threatening nature.

Verisimilitude- elements of magic and spirit are given a degree of authenticity

The plot makes sense, the setting is realistic, however certain concepts are not automatically believed by the reader.

At Manaus (Setting) Pg.52: It was a surprise to see the contrast between the wealth of some and the extreme poverty of others, all mixed together. [Professor Leblanc] didn’t want to spend a minute longer than necessary in that ‘godforsaken city,’ as he called it.

Pg. 318: Alex realised that his hopes had no logical base; he should trust the modern treatments of the hospital in Texas and not a gourdful of water and a few dried leaves given him by a naked old man in the middle of the Amazon, but on this journey he had learned to open his mind to mysteries… preferred just to hope for a miracle.

Pg.219: Alex realised that this was the shaman’s angel-wife and was thrilled that he could see her; meaning that something had opened in his mind or intuition… he had to see with his heart. Pg.233: he ceased to reason and gave himself to the strange experience of thinking with his heart. Pg.289: She settled the basket on her back, closed her eyes, and searched for internal calm… She imagined her arms stretching out… She experienced a tremendous sense of power, with all the eagle’s strength flowing in her blood. Pg.302: He located his centre, a red, vibrant place at the level of his navel...strength returning to his senses and his brain. These are obviously impossible in the real world, but this imagination reminds us of our lack of imagination. We would have to rely on tools and technology. see with his heart also means seeing with the brain. Heart is used here as it is in the centre of the body. It beats and can be felt in your body more than the brain.

Contrasting Tone of the Descriptions

There is a remarkably different mood between the descriptions of different settings.

Page 2: Outside, it was beginning to get light. He decided that this was going to be a terrible day… sometimes the air in the house felt heavy, like being at the bottom of the sea. On those days, the only relief was to escape, to run along the beach… But it had been raining and raining for more than a week-a real deluge- and on top of that… he had the dumbest dog in history. Alex was angry with his father, his sisters, Poncho, life in general… He rushed out of the kitchen... but tripped over the dog in the hallway. Page 5: The air of neglect began with the garden and spread through every room of the house. Pg 17: A crowd with suitcases and bundles, pushing by him, shoving and stepping on his heels. They looked like robots… like crazy people. Pg 31: Horns, police sirens… filled the air...He felt as if he were trapped in a sci-fi nightmare, in a terrifying megalopolis of cement, steel, glass, pollution, and loneliness.

The contrast is most evident between the urban and forest setting. The author portrays cities as being boring, segregated, and unfriendly.

Pg 82: They were surrounded by the sounds of the jungle, like background music: bird cries, chattering monkeys, croaking toads, and crickets. Pg 261: The lower they went, the hotter and more humid it became; the vegetation was thicker and more exuberant… the overall impression was not peaceful, but was, in fact, vaguely threatening, like a mysterious landscape on Venus. Nature throbbed, panted, grew before their eyes, as if waiting to ambush them.

This also works to influence our views of both urban and natural environments. We are reminded of the fact that nature is more mysterious and powerful than we can imagine; it deserves respect too.

The Anecdotes and thoughts of Alex

Page 27 to 30: He thinks about drugs and alcohol and reaches the conclusion that he is not a person for drugs or smoking. He ‘needed healthy lungs for climbing and for his flute.’ He reassesses his defects: ‘he realised that he had at least two he should try to improve, things his mother had pointed out to him more than once: his skepticism, which made him question almost everything, and his bad temper, which caused him to explode when least expected.’ It is obvious that living with a family that can no longer rely on the mother has made him not ‘easygoing and always in a good humour’ anymore. He cannot help smiling when he thinks of how Kate had made the ‘idea of smoking turn Alex’s stomach’.

Page 321: Walimai ‘takes a puff and then forcefully blows the smoke into the young people’s mouths.’ ‘Alex’s first experience with tobacco came to mind...symptoms were similar, except that everything was whirling around him.’ The difference between the two experiences of tobacco is the location. In the Amazon, horrifying visions such as ‘seeing monsters lurking in the dark and hearing hair-raising screams’ occur. The pair do not become sick after awaking the next day. The two experiences cannot be compared and also highlights the limitations of ‘tobacco of the civilised societies’ in the face of the strength of nature. Much knowledge is unknown to researchers and the characters of the novel recognise the many possibilities of the world.

Rethinking his own self begins before any of the adventures. Morgana acts as a mirror upon which Alex can decide what sort of person he will become. He has changed and no longer shows an extreme reaction towards events which may not be what he prefers.