Plot Summary: The Nine Guardians
The Nine Guardians
�Nine Guardians� takes places in the State of Chiapas, in Mexico, where from the remains of the Mexican revolution came the presidency of Lazaro Cardenas. His presidency takes places between 1934 and 1940, during the time this novel takes place. Cardenas expropriated foreign-held properties, distributed land to peasants, and instituted reforms to benefit indigenous people and Mexican workers. Cardenas found it unfair for the Indians to not be treated as equals, so he demanded rights for Indians. Land holdings were controlled by a ruling elite. The Indians were encouraged to rise against the landowners and demand their rights.
They have the law on their side and they start to realize they don�t deserve to be treated as slaves.
With the help of others, Cardenas breaks up large estates and forces families off of the lands.
The novel is written from the point of view of the author, Rosario Castellanos. However, a seven year old girl is the narrator through most of �The Nine Guardians�. She takes us through the book by introducing the people surrounding her life and her family�s life.
The seven year old girl is the daughter of a wealthy landowner, Cesar Arguello. Since the
Arguellos are wealthy, the girl is not raised by her parents, but mostly by an Indian servant, she calls Nana. Nana has nurtured and cared for the girl and her little brother, Mario, since birth.
Nana is an Indian that lives with this elite, controlling, possessive, landowning family. Despite the fact that she is treated as a slave, Nana loves the Arguellos. Nana becomes a big influence on the little girl, along with her parents, and the retaliation of the landowners and the Indians against one another. The girl and her brother will become innocent victims mostly because of her father, who will try desperately to hold on to their land for Mario�s future. Some of the damage done cannot be fixed and will remain permanent. It is a tragedy of money, power, and
�Nine Guardians� takes places in the State of Chiapas, in Mexico, where from the remains of the Mexican revolution came the presidency of Lazaro Cardenas. His presidency takes places between 1934 and 1940, during the time this novel takes place. Cardenas expropriated foreign-held properties, distributed land to peasants, and instituted reforms to benefit indigenous people and Mexican workers. Cardenas found it unfair for the Indians to not be treated as equals, so he demanded rights for Indians. Land holdings were controlled by a ruling elite. The Indians were encouraged to rise against the landowners and demand their rights.
They have the law on their side and they start to realize they don�t deserve to be treated as slaves.
With the help of others, Cardenas breaks up large estates and forces families off of the lands.
The novel is written from the point of view of the author, Rosario Castellanos. However, a seven year old girl is the narrator through most of �The Nine Guardians�. She takes us through the book by introducing the people surrounding her life and her family�s life.
The seven year old girl is the daughter of a wealthy landowner, Cesar Arguello. Since the
Arguellos are wealthy, the girl is not raised by her parents, but mostly by an Indian servant, she calls Nana. Nana has nurtured and cared for the girl and her little brother, Mario, since birth.
Nana is an Indian that lives with this elite, controlling, possessive, landowning family. Despite the fact that she is treated as a slave, Nana loves the Arguellos. Nana becomes a big influence on the little girl, along with her parents, and the retaliation of the landowners and the Indians against one another. The girl and her brother will become innocent victims mostly because of her father, who will try desperately to hold on to their land for Mario�s future. Some of the damage done cannot be fixed and will remain permanent. It is a tragedy of money, power, and