Rudy

In the poem //United Fruit Co.//, Pablo Neruda criticizes the excessive influence and negative impact of multinational corporations in Latin America. Through a satirical tone and allusions to Christian religious themes, Neruda questions the underlying values that are used to justify the authority of the companies in the region. Through imagery and simile Neruda further condemns capitalism and corrosive effect on nature and society. This essay will explore the above mentioned themes through examining Neruda’s commentary on the misuse of Christian ideals and his running comparison of Latin America to rotting fruit (due to the influence of the companies).

Neruda makes a very strong criticism of the religious ideals and values used to justify the power of the U.S. companies in Latin America. In the very first line of the poem, Neruda uses a satirical tone to question the way the Christian religion is used to rationalize the exploitation by the corporations; he states that “when the trumpet blared… Jehovah distributed the world to Coca-Cola Inc., Anaconda., Ford Motors”. By referring to a trumpet and specifically using the word Jehova, Neruda is alluding to the original Genesis story. Then, through the satirical tone and ironic way in which the two contradictory ideas are presented, Neruda makes the reader question the validity of the companies influence in Latin America.

Neruda then begins to criticize the influence of capitalism in general and its corrosive effects on society. Neruda states that the United Fruit Co. “rebaptized its lands the “Banana Republic””. The fact that the word rebaptized is used again draws the connection to the religious argument that is being used to support the companies influence. Furthermore, by using the words Banana Republic, Neruda is demonstrating the exploitation that is taking place in the region; the countries have been completely striped of their national identity, culture, and heritage and are only valued for their production and natural resources. Through the above mentioned quote, Neruda is directly criticizing the effects of consumerism on the nature and culture in a country.

- slightly repetitive in your second paragraph when you mentioned 'satirical tone' both before and after your quote. you might also want to explain more: why it is satirical rather than just stating.

- quote Banana Republic in 4th line of last paragraph? - explain more explicitly (perhaps provide some historical context) why Banana Republic = demonstrate exploitation that is.......

- you mentioned simile in your introduction but not in your body paragraphs - also, in your intro, you suggested a structure in which biblical allusions were used to support the first theme but not the second. since you did look at biblical allusion when exploring the second theme, you might want to make it clearer in your intro

Noble