The ambiente of five Latin American novels by Graham Greene

Abstract

Graham Greene has written five novels with distinctly Latin American setting: The Power and the Glory, set mainly in the rural Mexico of the 1930's; Our Man in Havana, focusing chiefly on Havana just prior to the Castro rebellion; The Comedians, depicting Haiti during early Duvalier days; Travels with My Aunt, concluding in Stroessner's Paraguay; and The Honorary Consul, between Peron's two administrations in Argentina. In this Latin American canon, Greene employs both natural and man-made ambiente (the Spanish equivalent of "ambiance") to support his theme, characters, and/or plot. Beyond indicating duration, Greene uses time to indicate both distance and a suspenseful sense of countdown, the shortness of life, and governmental control. His use of climate accurately indicates two basic Latin American seasons: hot, dry summers and rainy, warm winters. His accurate description of geographical location and topography levels how place can function to show demarcation, a pathway, or either positive or negative stasis. Greene's inclusion of vegetation reveals both the occasional barrenness and the typical lush density of much of Latin America. Greene's emphasis on huts in contrast with his brief descriptions of middle and upper-class housing attests to a society dominated by poverty while his description of commercial buildings indicates a society where commerce is still somewhat scarce and industry, almost nonexistent. Both the architecture of some of these buildings as well as of the statuaries indicate an historical past for the region. The conveyances he describes show modest European vehicles contrasting to the showy, old Cadillacs representing misdirected American aid. All of this ambiente is a natural outgrowth of the rich British and European tradition to which Greene has been exposed as well as of his extensive travel in Latin America. He creates his ambiente more often through cataloging than detailed description. Making conscious choices of details, including what he thinks his audience either needs or wants to know, Greene demonstrates an acute audience awareness as well as a desire to provide realistic, credible scenery.