ARTSCIEN\ENGL\INSTRUCT\grimes\1302\Amy

“Three Dirges” from Requiem Guatemala is a horrific tale of war and its impact on the small Guatemalan village of San Martin Comitan and its inhabitants. The author, Marshall Bennett Connelly, transforms Father Fernando Bermudez’s factual account of the execution of five young church workers that teach Indians to read, in Penny Lernoux’s book People of God, into a powerful portrait of the inhumanity of war. While the plot of the story follows that of Lernoux’s book, Connelly’s use of the first person narrative allows the audience the opportunity to put a human face on this tragedy. The reader cannot help but be touched by the dehumanizing hopelessness expressed by the theme.

The theme of the story is first expressed by Marshall Bennett Connelly’s use of characters. While the author relies on the dialogue to develop his characters, the author exposes the reader to the helplessness the villagers must feel at the hands of the military. Don Lazaro Emilio Cardenas, the protagonist of the story is the mayor of his village, which indicates that he is respected and powerful. However when Don Lazaro is introduced to Colonel Julio Alfredo Guzman, the antagonist, he is systematically intimidated and shown little respect. This intimidation is best evidenced when Don Lazaro "dropped his eyes to the chair beside him, looked back at the colonel, and gingerly took a seat on the front edge of the chair.” Further evidence of the protagonist's increasing loss of stature is provided when the character is described as "the diminutive Mayan peering deeply into the crown of his hat.” The author does not develop the characters beyond this, except to assign non-human characteristics to the antagonist. For example, the soldier, whose role is superfluous to the plot, is described as “wooden-faced,” and the colonel is given the nickname “dog of Satan.” These descriptions are important when considering they are the only insight into a feared yet unknown entity and prevent the audience from empathizing with them. Marshall Bennett Connelly’s characterization is a brilliant attempt to expose the audience to the fear and despair that the villagers face.

In addition to the character development, the villagers begging for the priest further the theme. “Where is our priest to be away from us at such a time, but to ‘kill our own sons’!” This question is asked in spite of the knowledge that the church is not in good standing because of the war. The actions of the church and that of the five church workers are viewed as subversive by the occupying military; the priests and nuns are forced to flee the area and work underground in an attempt to continue their work. In fact this desperate question, which is a refrain repeated throughout the climax of the story, is one factor that has caused the dire dilemma. The devout villagers are torn between their faith and the reality of the world around them, which further engages the reader. . How can they reconcile the choice they must make with the doctrine of their faith? The inhabitants of the valley are forced to the realization, “Yes, the Padre is not here, so what choices do we have?” This lament echoes the hopelessness the villagers are facing due to the grotesque situation.

Further complicating the predicament of the villagers is the knowledge of what has already occurred in other villages. The introduction of stories from other villages advances the theme to a more desperate level.
“Can you not remember the massacre of Puente Alto,” interrupted Josue Valles, “how they locked all the women and girls in the school house, threw the grenades, and burned them up? How they placed all the men in the protestant church and clubbed them to death?"

With a clear idea of the consequences in mind, should they disobey, the villagers can only conclude, “Surely, they will come and kill us all!” With the forced assumption that the only alternative that they have is mass destruction, the desperation is elevated to a point where the unthinkable becomes the only viable option.
In addition to the knowledge of prior acts the author escalates the drama by beginning the selection with the ultimatum.

“And then he said, ‘Don Lazaro”—to my face!—the Colonel himself, he said, ‘Don Lazaro, you’ve got five boys in Comitan teaching the campesinos how to read. That’s subversive. That’s communist. So tonight, you have to kill them.’…Now, what can I say?—you tell me! What can a man say to something like that, and what’s a man supposed to do?”

Once this is uttered, the desperation of the theme of the story becomes palpable. This message is also reiterated throughout the story making it more urgent confronting the audience’s ethics and morality, thus causing the theme of the story to affect the life of the reader. When Don Lazaro asks the rhetorical, "So what choices do we have?” the realization has been made that the bloody sacrifice must be made in order to save the village. No matter how the parents debate the issue, the five young boys will be executed. The poignant tale reveals the harsh realities of war and the disturbing choices individuals must make in an effort to survive.

Marshall Bennett Connelly’s distressing tale of the sacrifices a small Guatemalan village must make in order to protect itself from annihilation reveals its theme in both subtle and overt ways. The author’s use of characters and dialogue profoundly impact the readers social awareness. The theme of hopeless in war is very complex because the situation is so heinous; however, the decision to protect the masses is simple. The author imparts the knowledge that only the actions of others not directly involved in the violence can end the violence.