What is this labyrinth Paz refers to? "It is an ancient metaphor, translating the literal (Labi) into the figurativeaPaz calls it 'one of the most fertile & meaningful mythical symbolsa.the object of restoring health and freedom to a people at the center of a sacred area.'" (Krauze 1998 1) Paz is writing about his people of Mexico, and their expulsion, literally, from a meaningful world. He does not really put the blame on the rest of the world. Instead, he is waiting for "the hero's return either to save or redeem his city or to found a new one" (Paz 1985 208) Who is Octavio Paz, and why is he so concerned with the fate of his native people? For one thing, he seems to represent the conscience of Mexico, urging them to be who they are and not have any inhibitions or self-consciousness about their Mexican heritage and traditions.
Octavio Paz won the Nobel price for Literature in 1990. He deserved it. Even though he was a Mexican writer, his essays and poetry go beyond language barriers and ethnic barriers. As he himself said in his Nobel acceptance speech: "Languages are vast realities that transcend those political and historical entities we call nations" (Paz 1990 1) And yet the nine essays in this book are so poignantly Mexican. They are aimed at Mexican readers, first and foremost. He tries to point out the marked differences between "Americans" and "Mexicans," in terms of two cultures, which can (but not always do) coexist. "He seeks t9o peel back the layers of personality that mask these twin identities brought into brutal conflict for the possession of the land, the resources, and the souls of the southwest" (Gale 2002 1)
These essays, along with his more famous poems point out the needs of his people, and the differences with Americans. (He lived in the U.S. for a while but did not seem to relish it very much.)
The very first essay "The Pachuco and Other Extremes "examines the character of Pach...