Mangy Parrot Essay -- Analysis, Fernández de Lizardi

Parrots are beautiful intelligent birds. Mange is a festering disease caused by parasitic mites that dig into the body and results in unsightly sores and unremitting irritation. Who or what does The Mangy Parrot refer to? Is Mangy Parrot simply Periquillo’s nickname or is it intended to be a metaphor for New Spain? If the parrot is symbolic of the lands and people of New Spain: the colonial caste system and government is the disease infesting the land. Unable to publish his views directly due to censorship, de Lizardi wrote his apparently humorous, entertaining tale as a cover for his ideas. Throughout the story Fernà ¡ndez de Lizardi cleverly interweaves his true objective which is to increase opposition to the colonial societal and governmental practices and encourage support for the coming revolution. Lizardi begins his tale with the story of binding babies’ hands. The old women bind infants’ hands simply because it had been done to them and therefore this made it the best policy and the old ways should be followed even when there is no evidence to support them. (de Lizardi, p. 2) When Lizardi began his serialized novel the Spanish had been exercising colonial control for three hundred years. During that time the Enlightenment and both the American and French Revolutions had taken place. The rights of man philosophies that fostered those revolutions made many of the aspects of Spanish colonial rule outdated and corrupt. The author is informing the reader from the outset that he is done with the old ways and that they no longer deserve to be supported. As the novel progresses, de Lizardi’s use of satire grow until his characters make such outlandish or unqualified statements that they cannot be taken for anything othe... ...bers and Indians to achieve parity in the system is to overthrow the system and demand equal treatment and opportunities. The use of humor and satire is only effective when the reader identifies with the kernel of truth at the core of the joke. The entertaining story of Periquillo’s misadventures was not just a funny story but also contained a bitter commentary on the state of colonial rule. Serialized publication in the native language allowed for the story to reach the masses and kept the issues in the public eye by spoon feeding weekly accounts that built up public awareness and increased discontent with the status quo. De Lizardi’s unapologetic fictionalized first person account of life in New Spain exposed the corruption, injustice, prejudice and inequities in society caused by the colonial caste system and encouraged public support for a revolution.