THE AVATAR IN PANAMA - Theses - Flinders University

3.1 Shoes and Mirrors: Images of Doubling The Avatar in Panamathem. This point is remarkable as Jaramillo Levi's own words reinforcethe purpose of the shoe as a shelter. He states that “El vecino” was awholly spontaneous invention but that the only aspect of which he wascertain before he began writing was the conclusion. Even though hemaintains the shoes were not meant to be interpreted as a particularsymbol, the footwear in the story is clearly not used in its conventionalcapacity. 38 This observation is supported by the fact that the vocabularyand specific parts of speech used with reference to the footwear is notlanguage related to its primary function. There are no verbs ofmovement used in relation to the shoes yet there are many parts ofspeech which refer to vision, sight and their brilliance as if they werereferring to a mirror. 39Whether Sebastián penetrates the black pair with his stare toavoid reality, or averts his eyes to reveal another facet of hispersonality, or even whether he sports the other pair to expose acontrasting identity altogether, a pattern reveals itself in terms of whichshoes he is wearing and when. When Sebastián wears the brown pair,the narrator asserts:en ningún momento se miró los zapatos, otrospor cierto, de un inconcebible café claro que enél se veían exóticos. En realidad era otrapersona. El asunto de su usual armonía interiorya no parecía pertinente. Como si nuncahubiera existido (91).Totally out of character and in a social context, Sebastián isextremely loquacious and demonstrates qualities not previouslymanifested. In contrast his former harmonious temperament is as if ithad never existed. The shoe image is clearly utilised as a means tosummon Sebastián’s alternative self, in this case his exact physicaldouble. Sebastián's alter ego emerges when his gaze is diverted fromhis black shoes or when he is wearing his brown shoes, “tan ajenos a38 For Jaramillo Levi’s comments on shoes, see Appendix A2 questions 2 and 3.39 For the most part, verbs referring to shoes in this story relate to vision and sight:mirarse, buscara, fijar la vista, dejar de mirarse, verse. Other parts of speech relatingto vision include: mirada, la vista fija, su mirada. Other verbs used with shoes include:vienen a ser, dormía, se acostaba, se los quitaba, guardo, he esmerado en conservar,calzártelos. It is worth noting the principal function of the shoe is to cover the footwhich is an instrument of movement, transport.154