Like the Night (Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Alejo Carpentier
- First Published: 1958
- Type of Plot: Magical Realism
- Time of Work: From the Trojan War through World War II
- Setting: Greece, Spain, and France
- Principal Characters: The narrator, His fiancé
- Genres: Short fiction, Magical Realism
- Subjects: Self-discovery, Sex or sexuality, War, Women, Ships, Adventure, Soldiers
- Locales: France, Spain, Greece
The Story
The events of the story occur in a single day, but it is a day that takes more than two thousand years to be completed. The main character, who is also the narrator, is going through an ancient ritual for young men: leaving his homeland for war and conquest. In this traditional situation, the narrator undergoes several obligatory encounters. He says farewell to each of his parents, his fiancé, and friends; gets drunk on his final evening at home, then boards the boat in the cold light of day to leave his country.
Alejo Carpentier divides the story into five...
[The entire page is 1405 words long]
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