The Labyrinth of Solitude

The use of various metaphorical “masks” is essential to Paz’s interpretation of Mexican culture. Explain how Paz understands such masks work on both individual and collective levels of Mexican experience.

How does Paz understand the role of solitude in the life of the pachuco? Explain how the pachuco is emblematic of Mexican self-consciousness more generally.

What is the significance of the curse word chingar, according to Paz? How does it relate to Mexico’s history of colonial and racial violence?

What function does the fiesta play in the Mexican “dialectic of solitude,” according to Paz? Why does Paz draw a parallel between the fiesta and revolutionary violence?

How does Paz understand the revolutionary significance of love? Is this consistent with Paz’s analysis of the “wave” of revolutionary sentiment sweeping across the developing world in the mid-20th century?

How does Paz understand the role of religion in the success of the Spanish Conquest?

What does Paz mean by the “closed” and the “open”? How do these relate to Mexicans’ views of sex and gender in the mid-20th century, in Paz’s view?

How does Paz understand the role of myth? What is the role of myth in the modern world, according to Paz