Heartbreak Tango by Author Manuel Puig Analysis

Introduction

Heartbreak Tango is a recount of the life and the loves of Juan Carlos in a small town recognized as the Argentinean bureaucrat; the story is expressed in the direction to his deathbed as he slowly dies of tuberculosis. Well mannered and good looking Juan Carlos is identified as a prize that is jealously guarded by his sister Celina and the apple to his mothers eyes. In Juan Carlos' relationships, he is recognized to pursue Mabel, a teacher from a wealthy local family and Nene, one of the local shop girls who was tainted by various scandals. In the story, Juan Carlos' romantic pursuit which was in line with the evening out with his carousing card playing with friends, and a light night visit to a local widow, in the long run, lead to his exhaustion. Considering the sexual life of male characters in the novel; Juan Carlos, Pacncho, Dr. Nastini, and Mr. Massa, and the sexual experience of the female characters in the novel; Nene, Mabel, Fanny, Celina and the widow, heartbreaking stories are identified in the stories. Also considering all these characters motivation and actions against the backdrop of their societys expectations and judgment of Heartbreak Tango suggest about the rules of sexual freedom for men versus women.

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Heartbreak Tango Narrative Voice Analysis

Even though Heartbreak Tango is capable of being classified as a realistic novel for its representation of a normal and a familiar reality, it is not all traditional in the narrative development. At the beginning of the story, the portrayal of Juan Carlos Ertechepare, dying from tuberculosis is primarily impacted through testimonies developed by other writers and his letters. Considering the sexual life of the female characters in the novel and rule of sexual freedom for men versus women,the novel's characters are directed not through the overseeing narrator.As demonstrated in the most traditional realistic novels, but instead through what they reveal about themselves in their testimonies and through the things that they speak about one another. Analyzing both the male and the female characters, what comes out is that the characters are substantially grounded in the popular culture of the mid-twentieth century of Argentine society. Good looking and rich men are loved by different women who hunt and desperately go for them; this is expressed through the lifestyle of Nene, Mabel, Fanny, Celina and the widow.

Stereotypes in Heartbreak Tango

The characterization of Juan Carlos as one supreme Latin lover brings a great reflection of the famous stereotypes demonstrated in the films of the juxtaposed to the truth on the experience Juan Carloss had with the men who envied him and the women who had loved him. What is expressed as a pitiful and a desperate attempt of these characters finding happiness and fulfillment through love is contrasted as one of the idealized perceptions of life that is being presented in the mass media.

Heart Break Tango is undoubtedly one of the least sentimental elegies ever written, with more details about the ladies who occasionally encountered and felt the love with Juan Carlos Etechepare. Bertolucci's moments involved a beautiful blond consumptive dying bit by bit in Vallejos which is his hometown. Later, Cosquin, still in the window house, follows him there when the family was not capable of paying the severe cost of living in the process. Joan Carlos goes gambling, drinking, stealing and is even identified as the hypocritical son of a bitch attempting courting the shop girl Nene as he continues to bed Mabel, the window. He continues to group out others that he was able to either run into by design or by chance. Juan Carlos continued to indulge in such behavior since he had a good appearance, good spirit and his prowess in bed.

Heartbreak Tango Characters

The novel is portrayed through colorful and hysterical characters more so women, who were driven by emotions to carry out reckless, passionate, even macabre acts. In building every episode, the novel is designed, to begin with, an epigraph that drives most social interactions; snippets of movie dialogue; passionate tango lyrics and the requests that are realized in advertising. Even though Juan Carlos was a ladies man who was suffering from tuberculosis, going through the novel, the reader cannot with full confidence know his character and personality. Since the novel starts after Juan Carlos death one could get more information from some of the unreliable sources that include memories and the letters of one who loved him so much though didn't know him that much.

Heartbreak Tango Summary

On the surface, the story is narrated in a typical tale that was more of a romantic mess. Puig was famously recognized as the kiss of spider woman and is identified to be reframing the story to form a series of excerpts from diaries, newspapers, letters, and plays with chronology. Women sexual life is demonstrated through the letter that Nene wrote to Juan Carlos mother after his death and travels forward and backward with time hence driving the characters together and at the same time driving them apart. The death of Juan Carlos was a great heartbreak since all the women idealized him and could pity the loss which was so tragic that left most of the women heartbroken. This showed the love life of Juan Carlos.