Sacrament of Sacrifice - Interpretation of Porter's "Flowering Judas"
“Flowering Judas was written between seven o’clock and midnight of a very cold December, 1929, in Brooklyn. The experiences from which it was made occurred several years before in Mexico…”(Porter). These were five hours of clustered, categorized, and explained personage in the form of literature. Katherine Porter revealed the above statement during an interview with Ray West. She would continue to say that the character of Laura “was modeled upon a friend,” but she was a “combination of a good many people” just as her counterpart, Braggioni, was that of some less than admirable ones (Porter). Laura is a twenty-two year old American woman who has come to Mexico to work for the Mexican Marxist revolution. Braggioni, the revolutionary leader, intimidates her. Her courtesy extends to Braggioni in the form of listening to his music. Her attention is as an insulating agent from offense to the man. She feels that she has been betrayed. Although she is of Catholic training, in this struggle her training is left wanting. Her feelings are of disillusionment by circumstances, disappointment by life as it is within the revolutionary realm, and disunion bet
Humor aside, this diversity of characters is most admirable when viewed outermost circle of Laura’s being. Katherine Porter integrates the ficticious circumstances of a very real aggression with the sincere devotion to her character of Laura. The purity of Laura throughout the story is directly linked to the purity of the cause for which she fights her own battles. ween her life and the way life should be. As Porter summed Laura’s ideology, “Still she sits quietly, she does not run. Where could she go? Uninvited she has promised herself to this place; she can no longer imagine herself as living in another country, and there is no pleasure in remembering her life before she came here” (Porter 1701). Braggioni is of the continual “Yes” mind while Laura is of the “No” mind. As Braggioni continues to lust for Laura’s ample breasts throughout the tale, and as he questions her with “Are you not in love with someone? And no one is in love with you?” (Porter 1706-1707), she constantly responds with a painful “No. No. No.” (Porter)
Some common words found in the essay are:
Mexican Marxist, Katherine Porter, No” Porter, Sacrament Sacrifice, Murderer Cannibal, Superego Laura, Eugenio Laura, Ray West, Braggioni Id, Porter Laura, porter 1704, character laura, katherine porter, porter 1708, porter 1701, mind braggioni,
Approximate Word count = 887
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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