chivo Flashcards
ramfis nickname
feroz fornicador
end of chapter 11 why does trujillo want a fuck
para saber que no estoy muerto, que no estoy viejo
trujillo buys into the premise of Balaguer’s speech
‘eran los argumentos justificando aquella alianza lo que había sobrecogido a Trujillo como una aplastante verdad. No era facil sentir en sus hombros el peso de una mano supernatural’.
Balaguer theorises in an early speech that the Dominican Republic had until Trujillo’s leadership been saved directly by Divine Providence, but that God had since passed the baton on to Trujillo, what’s the speech called
Dios y Trujillo: una interpretación realista’
speculation that trujillistas seem to get kicks off being humiliated
Trujillo les sacó del fondo del alma una vocación masoquista
trujillo christlike allusion
‘Trujillo podía hacer que el agua se volviera vin o que los panes se multiplicaron’
regime motto
rectitud, libertad, trabajo y moralidad
why does trujillo retract a temporary suspicion of balaguer
no, si había uno entre todos los hombres del régimen, incapaz de verse envuelto en un complot, era el circunspecto Presidente. Sabía que sin Trujillo no existiría, que el Benefactor era la savia que le daba vida, que sin él se esfumaría de la política para siempre jamás’
how does trujillo ‘trataba siempre a las muchachas bellas’ según Manuel Alfonso
Él, tan severo en cuestiones militares y de gobierno, había convertido en filosofía el refrán: <a> </a>
parameters Vargas Llosa sets himself when writing Chivo (stated in interview
It’s a novel, not a history book, so I took many, many liberties. The only limitation I imposed on myself was that I was not going to invent anything that couldn’t have happened within the framework of life in the Dominican Republic.
in an interview with Dominic Moran Vargas Llosa states his purpose in writing the novel
to write a novel about a particular dictatorship and the effect which that dictatorship had on virtually every level of society and every aspect of social life. I wanted to show just how deeply that dictatorship had permeated life in the Dominican Republic over the course of its thirty-one years.
example of how Vargas Llosa employs cliff-hangers at the end of many chapters, which thanks to the alternating plot structure are never resolved until much later in the novel
chapter 7, of Urania and her father, ends on the unexpected ringing of the doorbell; ‘suena el timbre de la puerta del calle. Queda repicando, vibrando en la ardiente mañana’. The reader then must wait another three chapters to discover who is ringing the doorbell
example of diálogos cruzados in Chivo
Seamless changes between Urania beginning to explain to her family about her father’s decision, and the conversation between Cabral and Manuel that influenced this decision
what’s T’s greatest acheivement
2nd October, 1937: the massacre of the Haitians.
Antonio Imbert backstoryppnn0
a politician who becomes disillusioned with the barbarity of Trujillo’s regime - his first attempt at the murder of Trujillo was foiled by the unsuccessful attempt of the overthrow of Trujillo’s regime by Cuban paramilitary forces - realising the difficulty of his task, he joined the other conspirators in their attemp
end of Imbert
stayed in the penthouse of Cavaglieri, an official at the Italian embassy - got into a strict daily routine - only one of the four conspirators to escape after the assassination - Balaguer rewards him ‘por servicios extraordinarios prestados a la nación’ (
Antonio de la Maza backstory
➔ had always been an anti-Trujillista - the De la Mazas all accepted the government’s peace offers, apart from Antonio - wrote a letter to his father telling him not to ask Trujillo for clemency - he was then summoned by Trujillo to the Government House where he offers him a position as a military adjutant assigned to guard Trujillo himself - Antonio worked for him for 20 years yet was never a genuine Trujillista - Antonio’s brother Tavito was arrested after the Galíndez kidnapping and was killed, after which his body was thrown in the heartseas in the garden at the entrance of Tavito’s house, telling his wife that he hung himself in jail - a letter was then published a few days later allegedly written by Octavio de la Maza explaining his suicide, Trujillo presenting Tavito as a killer (Ch 6)
de la Maza end
shot by caliés whilst on the run in a taxi with Juan Tomás - died with memory of Tavito in his mind
amadito backstory
he was accepted into the most prestigious unit in the Armed Forces, the military adjutants responsible for Trujillo’s personal safety - fell in love with Luisita Gil - requested authorisation from the commanding officers of the military adjutants to marry her and this was greatly delayed; he was then summoned to Trujillo’s office who tells him that marriage to the sister of a communist is unacceptable (her brother is one of the June 14 subversives) - subsequently he renounces his love for her - he is awarded a promotion but to prove himself he first has to kill a ‘traitor’, which he does, later finding out that it was the younger brother of Luisita Gil
amadito end
the caliés find Amadito at his Aunt Meca’s house - as he opened the door, he shot, killing one officer and wounding two more before dying himself - he was then tied to the roof of the Volkswagen and paraded to people in Independencia Park
On what day of the week does Trujillo usually go to San Cristóbal? Why does he change his routine on the night of his assassination?
He usually goes to San Cristóbal on Wednesdays but on the night of his assassination he goes on a Tuesday because he wished to erase his memory of Urania by taking another woman in the same bed ‘ir esta noche a San Cristóbal, a la Casa de Caoba, lavar la afrenta en la misma cama y con las mismas armas’
chirinos nickname
Constitucionalista Beodo
abbes garcia nickname
El Malvado Inteligente
Why (and with what success) does Trujillo send Ramfis to Fort Leavenworth?
Why? - Ramfis gang rapes Rosalía Perdomo, a girl from Urania’s school whose family were rich, highly respected and ‘trujillista’. Trujillo has no moral objection but sees this behaviour as reckless and inconvenient with the potential to destabilise the regime.
Success? - Ramfis repeatedly escapes from the academy to spend a great deal of time and money in LA, where he indulges in cars, women and partying (so much that it equated to the funds the US were sending the DR in military support).
In what year does Urania return to the Dominican Republic? What is the significance of that year?
1996 - from 1961 to 1996, Balaguer ran the DR instead of Trujillo. Whilst his regime was less brutal and better received by the USA, it still wasn’t democratic and had bad human rights records (the prisons were still open and Ramfis was still torturing and killing conspirators). 1996 Balaguer lost the election for the first time, to Leonel Fernández of the Dominican Liberation Party, so this year represents the start of real, positive change and a break from the past.
what phrase do dominicans keep in their homes
“En esta casa Trujillo es el Jefe”
example of trujillo’s style of public address
‘Hierático, teatral, levantó las manos y las mostró a sus invitados -por este país, yo me he manchado de sangre - afirmó’
urania on family trujillo
Una familia para reír y para llorar, no para tomar en serio.
lines printed at the beginning of the book from the popular dominican merengue ‘mataron al chivo’
El pueblo celebra
con mucho entusiasmo
la fiesta del chivo
el 30 de mayo
how does Trujillo fondly reflect on the infighting in the men in his close circle
como las hembras del harén para ser la favorita
In chapter 8 how does Trujillo reflect that he should have dealt with Urania
‘Hubiera sido mejor pegarle un tiro, regalarla a los guardias, que se la rifaran o compartieran’
Why does Imbert decide to kill Trujillo (quote)
‘Mientras viviera, él y muchísimos dominicanos estarían condenados a… ser dos en uno, una mentira pública y una verdad privada prohibida a expresarse’
