The United Fruit Co. - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

The United Fruit Co.

By: Thiemo, Andrei, and ChrisSlide2

Historical Context

It was first published in Neruda's

Canto general

in 1950. During 1948-1950’s Neruda was threatened with arrest and on the run.It was during this time that the hired a Chilean singer named Matilde Urrutia to take care of him, leading to their eventual marriage. Written not to long after the U.S. backed dictators in South America were ousted from power, which is what this poem comments onSlide3

Themes of Canto General

It was a catalog of the history, geography, and flora and fauna of South America, accompanied by Neruda's observations and experiences.

Many of them dealt with his time underground in Chile, which is when he composed much of the poem. Slide4

The Dictators

Lines 21-24: “attracted the dictatorship of the flies, Trujillo flies, Tacho flies, Carias flies, Martinez flies, Ubico flies, damp flies of modest blood and marmalade.”

Trujilo: Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina was a brutal dictator of the Dominican Republic.

Tacho: Formed what was known as the ‘Somoza’ Dynasty in Nicaragua.Carias: Served as president of Honduras in 1924 and again from 1933-1949.Martines: Likely referring to Maximiliano Hernandez Martinez, who was president of El Salvador.Ubico: Jorge Ubico, served as the dictator of Guatemala from 1931 to 1944.Slide5

The Companies

Coca Cola:

An American beverage company that has a bad track record with its bottling plants in Columbia

Anaconda: An American copper mining company that was deeply invested in the copper rich land of ChileFord Motors: An American automobile company that encountered being targeted by Argentinian terrorism because of its labor practicesThe United Fruit Company: Now known as Chiquita, the United Fruit Company, faced labor violations throughout South America and is what really created the “Banana Republics” Slide6

U.S. Economic Imperialism

After WWII, the United States was the

undisputed world economic leaderInstead of land centered imperialism the United States focused on economic imperialismThe justification was the Monroe Doctrine as well as American intervention was for the best for the South American people Slide7

Dominant Effect

Neruda uses sweetness as a metaphor to corruption and symbolizes South American dictators as fruit flies to create an allusion to how U.S. companies controlled South America.

Marking Key

: Red = Religious Allusions Orange: Irony Blue = Historical Allusions Green: Corruption Theme Purple: Sweetness themeSlide8

Stanza 1: Lines 1-9

When the trumpet sounded, everything

on earth was prepared

and Jehovah distributed the worldto Coca-Cola Inc., Anaconda,Ford Motors

, and other entities:The Fruit Company Inc.

reserved the

juic

iest

for itself,

the central coast of

my

land,

the

sweet

waist of America.

Allusion to the genesis of the world and how the Earth was divided

Irony of how the fruit company gave itself the “juiciest” land

Allusion to the fact that

t

he land was that of the

i

ndigenous people

U.S. companies that have large interests in South American industries and resources

Theme of sweetness

a

nd its vulnerabilitySlide9

Stanza 2: Lines 10-19

It

re-baptized

the lands“Banana Republics”and on the sleeping dead,on the restless heroeswho’d conquered greatness,

liberty and flags,it founded a comic opera:

it alienated free wills,

gave

crowns of Caesar

as gifts,

U.S. companies turned newly independent South American countries into “Banana Republics”

It turned the work of many great revolutionaries into a joke

Creates an arrogant tone that gives the companies a sense of divine right

- False Crusade

Caesar was corrupted with from his power while ruling over the Roman EmpireSlide10

Stanza 2: Lines 19-28

unsheathed jealousy,

attracted

the dictatorship of the flies,Trujillo flies, Tachos flies,Carias flies, Martinez flies,Ubico flies, flies soppy

with humble blood and marmalade

,

drunken flies that buzz

around common graves,

circus flies, learned flies

adept at tyranny.

Theme of sweetness and how it attracts corruption

U.S. backed dictators/ puppets who are dehumanized into fruit flies

Fruit that eventually turns into alcohol and “corrupts” those who consume it

The sweetness of South American natural resources Slide11

Stanza 3: Lines 29-34

The

Company

disembarksamong the bloodthirsty flies,brim-filling their boats

that slidewith the coffee and fruit treasure

of our

submerged lands like trays

.

Reference to the United Fruit Company in a “He who must not be named” sense

Boats/ transportation methods were used to export resources and leave natives to starve

Trays as in the metaphor of South America as a free buffet of resources

Figurative and literal sweetness of resourcesSlide12

Stanza 4: Lines 35-42

Meanwhile, along the

sugared-up

abysms of the ports,indians fall over, buriedin the morning mist:a body rolls, a thing

without a name, a fallen number,a bunch of dead fruit

spills into the pile of rot.

Corruption causes fruit and human life to have the same value, which causes the continent as a whole to rot

Labor conditions by U.S. companies were atrocious. There was a high rate of fatality by natives who worked for the companies

“Sweet” exports were very lucrative, which made business more “flexible” Slide13

Important Allusions/Summary

Bannana Republics

American companies that had large stakes in South American industries

False divine right and the fight against the indigenous populationU.S. backed South American dictators allusion as fliesRelation between themes of sweetness and corruption

DE:

Neruda uses sweetness as a metaphor to corruption and symbolizes South American dictators as fruit flies to create an allusion to how U.S. companies controlled South America.Slide14
Slide15
Slide16

ConclusionSlide17

Works Cited

"Butte Montana Mining History." 

Montana Mining History

. Mining History Association, n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2014.Fischer, Brendan. "A Banana Republic Once Again?" PR Watch. Center for Media and Democracy, 27 Dec. 2010. Web. 17 Nov. 2014."International Labor Rights Forum." The 14 Worst Corporate Evildoers. Internation Labor Rights Forum, n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2014."Monroe Doctrine, 1823 - 1801–1829 - Milestones - Office of the Historian."Monroe Doctrine, 1823 - 1801–1829 - Milestones - Office of the Historian. Office of the Historian, n.d. Web. 16 Nov. 2014."

Pablo Neruda." Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation, n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2014."Pablo Neruda." University of Chile. University of Chile, n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2014."

United Fruit Historical Society." 

United Fruit Historical Society

. United Fruit Historical Society,

n.d.

Web

. 17 Nov. 2014

.