The Animalistic Tendencies of Man
From the outset of Echeverría's "The Slaughter House" we are faced with violence, death, and dirt. We know that nothing good can come from this place of anger and cruelty. The Federalists would do anything for their mistress and display an incredible amount of love for her, but they are also ravenous and for that reason dangerous. The Unitarian initially is civilized and rather elegant, but later becomes a trapped animal fighting for its dignity. The end result of the story is of course the death of the Unitarian, but many questions remain unanswered which leave the reader with the task of making his or her own decision about the dignity of both sides of the Mexican Revolution.
The Federalists in "The Slaughter House" from the beginning are described as animals, very similar to dogs. Their loyalty to Doña Encarnación Escurral is similar to that of dogs to a mistress. "They enthusiastically proclaimed her patroness of the Slaughter House, stamping her name upon the walls of the castilla, where it will remain until blotted out by the hand of time" (71). Later when they are interrogating the Unitarian they ask:
"Why don't you wear a mourning sash on your hat in memory of the Heroine?"
"Because I wear it in my heart in memory of my country which you, infamous wretches, have murdered."
"Don't you know that the Restorer has ordered mourning in memory of the Heroine?"
"You, slaves, were the ones to order it so as to flatter your master and pay infamous homage to him" (75).
This discussion illustrates their ignorant dedication to this woman and the "Restorer" and it also exemplifies their loyalty to the Federalist cause. There are more negative animalistic features of the Federalists described in the story as well. The first of these very negative tendencies is illustrated when they are watching the meat get cut up.
Most prominent among them was the butcher, a knife in his hand, his arms bare, his chest exposed, long hair disheveled, shirt and sash and face besmeared with blood. At his back, following his every movement, romped a gang of children, Negro and mulatto women, offal collectors whose ugliness matched that of harpies, and huge mastiffs which sniffed, snarled, and snapped at one another as they darted after booty (71, emphasis added).
Another animalistic feature is the way in which they move as a group. They move away from things which they fear in a scattered pattern, but come back together because they cannot function on their own, "While some groups dissolved as if some stray bullet had fallen nearby or an enraged dog had charged them, new groups were constantly being formed" (71). In stark contrast, when they are attacking they work as a cohesive unit, because there is strength in numbers, "'Long live Masasiete!' shouted the mob, swarming upon the victim" (72, emphasis added). Another example of this idea on working as one is when they are attacking the Unitarian, "Always ganging up together and falling like vultures upon the helpless victim!" (73, emphasis added). As the story progresses, however, while they remain crude and uncouth, the attention is drawn away from them as animals, they become more stupefied and naive, almost child-like, as to how their actions affect the Unitarian.
The Unitarian, on the other hand, starts out resembling a noble man, he is very clean and put together, "The Unitarian was a young man, about twenty-five years old, elegant, debonair carriage, who, as the above-mentioned exclamations were spouting from these impudent mouths, was trotting towards Barracas, quite fearless of any danger ahead of him" (72). As the story progresses, however, and he begins to feel attacked, his animal tendencies appear. One example of this is when he is first captured and stands before the Judge his actions are similar to those of a trapped animal, " His fiery eyes bulged in their sockets, his long black hair bristled. His bare neck and the front of his shirt showed his bulging arteries and his anxious breathing" (74). Another example of the Unitarian described as a trapped animal is when they tie him up:
They muzzled him with a handkerchief and began to pull off his clothes. The young man wriggled, kicked, and gnashed his teeth. His muscles assumed now the flexibility of ruches, now the hardness of iron, and he squirmed like a snake in his enemy's grasp. Drops of sweat, large as pearls, streamed down his cheeks, his pupils flamed, his mouth foamed, and the veins on his neck and forehead jutted out black from his pale skin as if congested by blood (75, emphasis added).
To further the connection between the Unitarian and an animal, eventually, like many beasts do when they are trapped, he kills himself in order to escape torture and humiliation, "His strength exhausted, and having tied him down crosswise, they began undressing him. Then a torrent of blood spouted, bubbling from the young man's mouth and nose, and flowed freely down the table" (75-6).
An interesting twist to this tale is that as the Unitarian becomes more and more angry and beast-like, the Federalists talk of taming him and become, in a way, more human, "Don't worry, we'll tame him yet!" (74). While they still are bullies, they are no longer rabid. In the end, they are left bewildered and terrified about the consequences of their stupid actions. They become lost like children do when they have done something wrong and know they are going to be caught by their parents; the reader even feels a sort of pity for them.
When the story is over, the reader is left with a feeling of loss. Not because we are sad that the Unitarian died, but because we do not understand what Echeverría was trying to prove or claim. The initial impression from early on in the story is that the reader is supposed to sympathize with the Unitarian, but as the story progresses it is no longer clear. The Unitarian becomes the violent one and the Federalists become the fools who were simply trying to play a joke on the man. It seems as if Echeverría did not really have a side which he supported, that he saw the danger and evil of both sides. The Unitarians were distant and became violent and self-mutilating, and the Federalists were loyal to their cause, but ignorant and without real direction.
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