John Cegielski

History 162
Professor Alexander
10/30/14

Mariano Azuela was a very skilled novelist that was born in Lagos de Moreno,

Jalisco. During the 1910 Mexican Revolution, Azuela served as trained medical doctor.

At this time he was also publishing several novels where one became known as one of the

masterpieces of the Mexican Revolution, The Underdogs. In the novel he uses many of

the characters to portray the experiences of himself and many others during the time of

this hard Revolution.

In the novel The Underdogs, Demetrio Macias is an illiterate poor Indian who

faces many obstacles he has to over come due to the Mexican Revolution sweeping

across Mexico. Macias grew up under a rural land holder and under the domination of

Don Monico. Forced to leave everything behind and sending his wife and child off to his

Fathers house, Demetrio joins the rebels in order to save his family from the Federales

and gain equal rights for everyone. After watching his house burn down from the ravine

Demetrio gathers up his men and get them ready for an attack on the soldiers. Macias is

the leader of his revolutionaries and his men let him know that they are willing to go fight

with him by chanting Long live Demetrio Macias(11) Taking lead in the morning

before sun up they camp out in the trials waiting to let the soldiers know that they are

starting to get tired of them coming into their towns and taking everything valuable they

own and also some of the mens wives. Not knowing how many Federales they were

going to come across when they set up took guts because some of the men were unarmed

other then knives. Azuela compares it to Julian Medina, a general during the time of
Pancho Villa when he was a medical officer. Medina led his men into battle with knives

an outnumbered and still came out with a victory. Macias and his men followed Francisco

Pancho Villa one of the most important leaders in the Mexican Revolution. Hard

working people made up Villas army such as cowboys, rural workers, and some

peasants. Showing great leadership and marksmanship, Macias and his men take out

many of the Federales but then way to many showed up spraying bullets at the rebels and

Demetrio gets shot in the leg and becomes very ill from the infection. One of Demetrios

men Pancracio, was a light-haired, beardless, with freckled face, protruding chin, flat,

slanted forehead, ears smeared onto his cranuium, and all in all he displayed a bestial

appearance(24) walked back up to camp with a Federale. Luis Cervantes was a middle

class medical student and a journalist. He was made a prisoner by the Federales and was

forced to join the group. Escaping from them and trekking on foot he finally met up with

the group of revolutionaries he wanted to associate with. Everyone at camp refers to Luis

as a curro, a derogatory term for city slicker who in turn looks pretentiously down on

the poor.(137) Still very unsure about what this curro has to offer, many of Demetrios

men still question as to why he is still alive. He cured himself with the help of Camila

and later would gain respect from Macias for cleaning up his wound and getting him back

out ready for the battlefield. The Federales had fortified El Grillo an La Bufa, the hills

surrounding Zacatecas(38) was the best news that Macias and his men heard. They are

going to team up with Villa and his men to put rest to Huerta. Demetrio and Cervantes

may not be from the same background but he and his men are all on the same page of

getting rid of the Federales. Macias askes curro, so you really want to come with us?
Your water of a different river than we are, an honestly, I cant understand how you like

this life.(39) Cervantes has a different view on the revolution then Macias.

Many women were mistreated, raped, and beaten during the time of the Mexican

Revolution. The Federales would come into poor towns and take valuables from the

houses. The women could not do anything about this because they were armed and were

willing to shoot you dead. In the book Azuela portrays two of the main characters as

women to be almost two completely different girls. Warpaint was a character that could

sit around with the boys and play cards and drink all night then when it came to battle she

was up on the front lines always in the ear of Demetrio. On the other spectrum is Camila,

she is a very sweet innocent girl that is looking for love and a husband that has money. I

think that Azuela should have put more into the novel about girls and how some of them

lived. When the Indian asks about the letter he got from his wife he says it notified me

that we have another child now? How can that be? I havent seen her since the days of

senor Madero.(48) That part really stood out to me because the Federales would go into

random houses and make the women cook food for them, then after would rape them and

get some pregnant.