La Soledad, By Octavio Paz - 900 Words

‘In these works the nation emerges as an on-going process of narration, negation, and negotiation.’ Discuss. La historia de Mà ©xico es la del hombre que busca su filiacià ³n, su origen. Sucesivamente afrancesado, hispanista, indigenista, pocho, cruza la historia como un cometa de jade, que de vez en cuando relampaguea. En su excà ©ntrica carrera  ¿quà © persigue? Octavio Paz, El laberinto de la soledad, 1959 The concept of nation in Mexico is one that is continuously sought ought in Latin America. As Latin American countries moved from Pre-Columbian societies, to colonies, gained Independence and went through Revolutions and civil wars, they have had to adapt and mould their view of nationhood to reflect the dynamic societies of which they are a part. In El laberinto de la soledad, by Octavio Paz, this constant search is described multiple times with relation to Mexico. As seen in the epigraph above, Paz views the history of Mexico as a search for a true origin, which is a task made harder by the multiple influences and interventions of outside countries. He questions what it is that they seek; this question is later answered by Paz who asserts: â€Å"Toda la historia de Mà ©xico, desde la Conquista hasta la Revolucià ³n, puede verse como una bà ºsqueda de nosotros mismos† (Paz, 2008:175) The Mexican preoccupation is not just a search for an origin, but also a search for one’s self. It is the combination of the self and in some cases the origin, which defines the nation, because a nation