Myth

The thinking of Octavio Paz, in his book The Labyrinth of Solitude, reads more like historical or sociological literature, and in reading it in this way, those readers who have no notions of literary criticism or analysis tend to distort his ideas into a "truth" or into a "deterministic" and/or "positivist" thesis. Instead of giving meaning to this philosophy, it is considered an absolute truth. Here, then, the goal is not necessarily to accept or reject the idea, but rather to reflect upon what it means. From my perspective, history can be seen as that "literary artifact" which White mentions, as a carrier of ideas. These ideas can include conceptualizations of historical figures and their significance within their historical context (plot). History is also invariably oriented toward poetic thinking as it reflects certain formal realities (such as national anthems, ballads, etc.).

Literature, like history, can be interpreted broadly: history is conceptualized to include the different studies made of the history of culture, the history of beauty, the history of certain ideas, etc. Literature is similarly profiled: historical literature, scientific literature, etc. Returning to the case of Octavio Paz, we must analyze his intentions: make ourselves mediators of his work supported by an argumentative basis. Literature cannot be separated from the other dialogues within a society, as it forms part of social ideology. Octavio Paz's The Labyrinth of Solitude is inextricably related to the cultural history of Mexico. Within that cultural history is mythology, from which basis a culture is formed and transformed. This need not signify that I believe in those myths, but each culture sees daily references to them in its media of communication. For example, coming out of the two World Wars the American government created the image of the U.S. as savior of the world; the resulting belief in its ability to win any war affects its ability to reflect and make decisions, as can be seen in the war in Iraq today. From this point of view, the perpetuation of these myths makes history "deterministic".