"The Rain God"

Paper Summary:

"The Rain God" is a tale of desert and rain, of blooming plants and dying people. This paper questions how all of these ideas and images relate.It shows how the three images have to be considered as one, because all represent the continuance of the cycle of life. A blooming and flourishing garden represents life as much as death, just as the desert and rain represent both. The paper explains that the correlation between life and death is best explained by examining the many images of the desert and water presented in the work.

From the Paper:

"In the book rain and desert are present as symbols synonymous with life and death, and the earth and gardens that grow from it represent the same. The desert is present throughout the story as a metaphor for pain and suffering. In many instances throughout the novel Islas expresses human emotion and behavior, particularly the negative and painful aspects of life, through earth imagery. The desert in many chapters represents the pain of life felt by primary characters and the pain inflicted on characters that results from family sins. Many people within the novel try to escape "the desert", or pain and suffering, but become injured or die while attempting this feat."

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