"You Can't Say Ain't in Spanish - Or Can You?"

After reading the article by Harry Morales that summarizes his interview with translator Gregory Rabassa, please answer the following two questions. Your responses (combined) should be between 400 - 500 words (more if needed). Have fun!

1. When asked about ongoing translation and the need to reconsider what he has translated, Rabassa says: "I am always having second thoughts. Sometimes after I have made a change I find myself going back to the original choice. Nothing ever seems static." When you consider the complexity of Marquez's work, what does Rabassa's comment show you about the nuances of translating literature? (Build on what you learned from Susie Jie Young Kim's article as you respond to this prompt.)

2. Rabassa also says, in the interview, that no "translation can really be called either definitive or final. Ambivalence and ambiguity come to the fore; words change subtly over the years; there is a sort of Doppler effect in meaning as time passes, so that both translation and original will present a different meaning now from what they did a hundred years ago." Consider what Rabassa is saying in terms of language, and literature, being living entities that morph and evolve over time. Think about a favourite book of your own and whether or not you believe it will have anything relevant to say to readers in 50 or 100 years.

Theme in Chronicle of a Death Foretold...

After our discussion in class today (led aptly by John in Block 8 and Tejvi and Cole in Block 6), please post your own theme statement for Marquez's Chronicle of a Death Foretold below.

Here is mine: Chronicle of a Death Foretold explores timeless and controversial themes of tradition, family and honour in Latin American cultures, with Marquez ultimately suggesting that cultural norms can result in decay and death if the whole community is mired in outdated ideas.