1. WHAT IS COMMUNISM?

2. Pablo Neruda Interaction Oral #2 Jeffrey Cheng, Eric Ke, Eric Zeng, Imran McGrath, Adithya Mukund, Josh Chu

3. Brainstorming Discuss with your table group to see what you already know about 20th Century Chile, and write down your ideas. Brainstorm ideas about the evolution of Chile’s political scene, social classes, and literary scene. Hint: Write all this down so you have a “pre-enlightenment mindset” to show progress in your Reflective Statement

4. CHILE

5. General Overview of Chilean History PARLIAMENTARY ERA (1891-1925): ● Begins in 1891, at the end of the Chilean Civil War ● Fun Fact: the war was fought between the Chilean Army and the Navy. The President lost despite the Army’s Support. ● With the New Era, A “pseudo parliamentary” system was implemented. ○ The Executive Branch’s power was limited; no checks and balances for Congress ● During this period, Chile’s economy was dependent on saltpeter. ● Rise in GDP allowed the government to build infrastructure.

6. General Overview of Chilean History PARLIAMENTARY ERA (1891-1925): As a result, three main social classes emerged Upper Class: Landlords, Political Figures, Clergy Members Middle Class: Bankers, Saltpeter Owners, Intellectuals Working Class: Industrial workers and landless peasants. Vast majority fell into the working class Elections were often fraudulent; no universal direct suffrage. Lack of representation for the working class No minimum wage No work week Miserable living conditions

7. Mo’ Money Mo’ Problems Rise of Socialism Congress was dominated by landed elites. Cabinets came and went frequently; Governors were often useless and used laissez-faire policies. “There are only two kinds of problems: those that solve themselves and those that can’t be solved”-President Ramon Barros Luco World War I: Saltpeter fell out of world market Congress collapsed with the fall of saltpeter Massive economic upheaval: Spiraling inflation Massive urbanization WHAT DO YOU GET WHEN YOU MIX AN ANGRY URBAN CLASS AND A MARKET CRASH???

8. General Overview of Chilean History Cont. Presidential Republic (1925-1973): Desarrollo Hacia Adentro The emerging middle class managed to elect a reformist president: Arturo Arturo Alessandri (Radical, but not Socialist yet…). Palma focused on pushing new social legislation that empowered the working class The military attempted a coup Empowered Ibanez-The man enjoyed being compared to Mussolini. Took massive loans from American banks… Did not work out well 1929.

9. General Overview of Chilean History Cont. Presidential Republic (1925-1973) Socialist candidate Gabriel Gonzalez takes power The Socialist Party had split from the Democratic Alliance Improved economic stability and labor conditions BUT: His tough stance on social demonstrations: Martial law Outlawed the Communist Party; Communists like Neruda went into exile Economic instability 1965: Christian Democrats seize power Reforms in education, labor and land. BUT Marxist president Allende comes to power. Tried to restructure the economy. America had something to say

10. Table Groups… Please select the tablemate who you feel is the most “comradey” and select them to be exiled from your group. The Exiled, please raise your hands, and head toward the front of the classroom

11. Discussion Time Lads (Possible RS Topics…?) Based on what you just learned about Chile’s Parliamentary Era: Compare and contrast the different time periods and hypothesize how Neruda’s writing reflects the political changes through the time periods How would this affect Neruda’s writing style? What kinds of themes and motifs would you expect him to write about in each period? Discuss the important differences between the time periods

12. Pinochet’s Coup D’etat In the late 1960s, early 1970s, Salvador Allende ran for president in Chile. He was promoting socialism as a “concrete and effective project of national and social liberation, and structural transformation of Chile” (Valdez) At the time, the United States was fighting against the spread of socialism. CIA paid $6.8-8 million to right-wing opposition groups to “create pressures, exploit weaknesses, magnify obstacles and hasten Allende’s ouster” (Valdez). People who revolted were landowners and businessmen.

13. Pinochet’s Coup D’etat The military abandoned the government and established a group to repress Allende’s effort. Augusto Pinochet, the army’s chief, eventually rose to power within a year. After Pinochet took power, all the political activities were in “recess” He tortured and killed suspected leftists He cared about political stability more than human lives. Uses repressive tactics to achieve his goals.

14. Impact on Neruda’s writing style During Allende’s regime, Neruda wrote for the people and complimented the system of socialism. After Pinochet took power, Neruda was already hospitalized for prostate cancer. He spent his last year writing his memoir I Confess I Have Lived and his poem "Right Comrade, It's the Hour of the Garden" The poem included his hopelessness as it talks about the end of Allende’s regime.

15. Modern 20th Century Imperialism

17. ‘Murican Imperialism in Chile Before 1970, important sectors of Chilean industry was completely controlled by three U.S. Companies. Allende (Socialist) nationalized U.S interests in Chile’s copper mines, land holdings, and banking sectors Economic Depression begun in 1967 Runaway inflation, 10% Richard Nixon ordered an economic blockade combined with CIA operations to “make the economy scream” in Chile “That son of a b****!” CIA forces worked with Pinochet; the U.S. provided material to Pinochet and funded a anti-Allende propoganda campaign

18. Relationship with United States - Economic imperialism Focus on critique of capitalistic practices that come at the toll of Latin American workers United Fruit Company: solely at benefit of Americans because it dominated Guatemala’s economy, and the bulk majority of the profit went to United States. The indigenous people were merely outsourced. In the poem: treat UFC as a source of dictators (we’ll talk more later….) Felt that US’s capitalist ways did not reach out to the common man “The United States, with an overwhelmingly literate population, and Europe, with an ancient tradition, can’t be compared to our multitudes in Latin America without books or means of expressing themselves. But to pass time throwing stones at one another, to spend one’s life hoping to surpass this or that continent seems a provincial sentiment to me.” - Pablo Neruda in an Interview

19. Relationship with United States He hated the United States primarily due to economic imperialism NERUDA WAS A COMMUNIST! U.S. anti-Communist paranoia motivated Chilean government to persecute Communists like Neruda → his exile Blocked from entering United States due to Communist Views Neruda supported Salvador Allende, whom the United States did NOT like (he was also a communist, you should see the pattern now…) U.S. denied Neruda a visa for a while… Can anyone guess why?

20. Practice Time Lads Take two minutes to reflect on what you have learned for your Reflective Statement based on the historical information you have received. A before and after chart could be helpful for your Reflective Statement.

21. Neruda’s Poetry

22. Relationship with Chile  Deeply patriotic  Loved the landscape of Chile so much that he had three houses located in Santiago, Valparaiso, and Isla Negra  Strongly supported Allende and the communist rule in Chile

23. Chilean Setting Neruda uses lots of different settings to convey certain moods to the readers Many times, Neruda is very ambiguous and unclear about the setting of the poem and requires the reader to infer with background context Some settings that appear: Macchu Picchu His personal houses Pacific Ocean Madrid Cordillera Mountain Range

24. Neruda’s Houses I Explain Some Things: “ My house was called the house of flowers, because everywhere geraniums were exploding” “Do you remember my house with balconies on which the light of June drowned flowers in your mouth?” La Chascona La Sebastiana Isla Negra

25. Cordillera Mtn. Range Heights of Macchu Picchu: “A thousand years of air, months, weeks of air, of blue wind, of iron cordillera, that were like soft hurricanes of footsteps polishing the lonely boundary of the stone”

26. Pacific Ocean Twenty Love Poems “Leaning into the evenings I throw my sad nets to your ocean eyes” “I cast red signals over your absent eyes which lap like the sea at the lighthouse shore”

27. Madrid I Explain Some Things “I lived in a neighborhood of Madrid, with church bells, with clocks, with trees.”

28. Madrid Bombing I Explain Some Things “And one morning everything was burning and one morning the fires were shooting out of the earth devouring beings... Bandits with airplanes and with the Moors…kept coming from the sky to kill children and through the streets the blood of the children.”

29. United Fruit Company The United Fruit Co “The Fruit Company Inc. reserved the juiciest for itself, the central coast of my land, the sweet waist of America.”

30. Macchu Picchu Heights of Macchu Picchu: VI “And then on the ladder of the earth I climbed through the atrocious thicket of the lost jungles up to you, Macchu Picchu. High city of scaled stones, at last…”

31. Neruda and Whitman  Huge pictures of Whitman in each of his houses  Embraces Whitman’s technique of embracing the WHOLE world. -Felt a sense of debt to Whitman for opening the door for American Poetry -“Ode to Walt Whitman” Where do we see echoes of Walt Whitman’s style in this poem?...Chilean settings?

32. Changes in Neruda’s style Early work (1920s): Abstract, Romantic-style ex. Twenty Love Poems: “Leaning into the Evenings” Middle work: Alienation, Despair, Existentialist ex. Residence on Earth: “Ars Poetica” After the influence of Communism: Emotions/Feelings -----> societal change/advocacy ex. “I explain some things”, “The Heights of Macchu Picchu”, “The United Fruit Co.” Late Life, 1953-1973: Shift from highly politicized to focus on common, ordinary objects in close detail. Final Poems: Awareness of his death’s approach “Right Comrade, It’s the Hour of the Garden” His final poem. Pinochet’s Coup: 9/11/1973. Death: 9/23/1973

33. Discuss & Reflect:  Where do we see possible political allusions in “Comrade”?  Knowing Neruda’s background and Chile’s, as well as Neruda’s impetus for writing poetry (Ars Poetica), what is the purpose of this poem?  What differences in style do we see between the two poems in front of you?

34. Topics for your Reflective Statement Impact of the constantly changing political scene in Chile Plight of the working class/Rise of Socialism Allende’s attempt to nationalize the economic sectors Rise of Pinochet and American Imperialism in the 1980s Changes in Neruda’s writing style/Different themes and motifs Rise as a political commentator Rise as an advocator for socialism

35. Works Cited Bucheli, Marcelo, and Ian Read. "Chronology." United Fruit Historical Society. United Fruit Historical Society, 2001. Web. 04 Nov. 2015. Chasteen, John Charles, and James A. Wood. Problems in Modern Latin American History: Sources and Interpretations: Completely Revised and Updated. Wilmington, DE: SR, 2004. Print. Feinstein, Adam. Pablo Neruda: A Passion for Life. New York: Bloomsbury, 2004. Print. Gilmour, Matthew. "The Pinochet Regime and Chilean Politics." E-International Relations. E-International Relations, 3 Apr. 2013. Web. 1 Nov. 2015. Gray, Jeffrey. "'United Fruit Co.,' Canto General, and Neruda's Critique of Capitalism." Exploration and Colonization. Ed. Harold Bloom and Blake Hobby. New York: Bloom's Literary Criticism, 2010. 201-03. Print. Lamrani, Salim. "50 Truths About Gabriel García Márquez." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc., 5 Aug. 2014. Web. 02 Nov. 2015. Neruda, Pablo. "Pablo Neruda, The Art of Poetry No. 14." Interview by Rita Guibert. The Paris Review. The Paris Review, n.d. Web. 02 Nov. 2015.. Rumeau, Delphine. "Walt Whitman and Pablo Neruda, American Camerados." Revue Française D'études Américaines No. 108.Celebrating Walt Whitman: "Leaves of Grass," 1855- 2005 (2006): 47-62. JSTOR. Web. 01 Nov. 2015. Valdez, Maria G. "Chile Remembers 9/11: Why This Date Is Important To The South American Country’s History." Latin Times. IBT Media, 9 Sept. 2015. Web. 3 Nov. 2015.

36. Interactive Ideas Neruda: Chile:: Skyline Students:: Sammamish