Our House in the Last World: Analysis of Major Characters
"Our House in the Last World: Analysis of Major Characters" delves into the lives and complexities of the Santinio family, highlighting their experiences as Cuban immigrants in America. The character of Hector Santinio, the youngest son, is marked by his childhood struggles with health, overprotection, and familial resentment. Growing up in a challenging environment with a violent father, Alejo, and a mentally strained mother, Mercedes, Hector's journey involves grappling with his identity and the legacies of his parents. Alejo, once a hopeful figure, succumbs to bitterness and alcoholism, affecting his family's dynamics and ultimately leaving them with mixed feelings after his death. Mercedes, a frustrated poet, finds solace in her fantasies, especially after her husband's passing, further complicating her relationship with reality. In contrast, Hector's older brother, Horacio, embodies resilience and independence, seeking escape from their troubled home. The narrative also introduces Buita and Luisa, relatives whose contrasting fortunes and attitudes towards the Santinio family provide additional layers to the character landscape. Overall, the analysis emphasizes themes of identity, family dynamics, and the immigrant experience, inviting readers to explore the characters' emotional depths and struggles.
Our House in the Last World: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Oscar Hijuelos
First published: 1983
Genre: Novel
Locale: Cuba and New York City
Plot: Family
Time: 1929–1975
Hector Santinio (EHK-tohr sahn-TEEN-ee-oh), the youngest son of Mercedes Sorrea and Alejo Santinio. Born in New York City in 1951, Hector spends part of his childhood in Cuba with his parents. A near-fatal infection contracted in Cuba turns him into a sickly, lonely, and overprotected boy. Hector grows up in a dingy apartment in New York City resenting his overprotective, superstitious mother and his violent, alcoholic father. Although his parents are Cuban, he rebels against their Cuban ways and refuses to learn Spanish. In his mind, Cuba is associated with illness and with his unhappy home life. At the same time, however, he considers himself inferior to his father, whom he fears. Even after his father dies, Hector remains haunted by Alejo, who appears to him in dreams and visions. Only after Hector moves out of the apartment is he able to achieve a measure of autonomy and spiritual peace.
Alejo Santinio (ah-LEH-hoh), the head of the Santinio family. A mail carrier in Cuba, he meets and marries Mercedes Sorrea; shortly after the wedding, they immigrate to the United States in search of a better life. Although Alejo is at first full of hopes and ambitions, material success eludes him, and he resigns himself to being a cook in a large hotel, where he works from the mid-1940's until his death twenty-five years later. Seeing other members of his family arrive in the United States and prosper, Alejo becomes embittered and turns to drink and to other women for temporary solace. A big, friendly man with a winning manner and a tendency to live beyond his means, Alejo has many friends. At home, however, he is sullen and authoritarian. Often coming home drunk in the evenings, he brutalizes his wife and his two children. When he dies suddenly of a stroke, his children are relieved as much as aggrieved.
Mercedes Sorrea (mehr-SEH-dehs soh-RREH-ah), Alejo's wife and Hector and Horacio's mother. Although initially in love with her husband, Mercedes soon comes to resent him for being a failure. A poet in her youth, Mercedes is frustrated at not being able to cultivate her literary inclinations. In New York, she leads a life of drudgery and poverty. Considering herself something of a medium, she finds consolation in a fantasy world of spirits. Even though her life with Alejo is full of discord, after he dies, she loses touch with reality and retreats further into her fantasies.
Horacio Santinio (oh-RAH-see-oh), Alejo and Mercedes' oldest son. Unlike his brother Hector, Horacio is tough and independent. He is not intimidated by Alejo and learns very early to take care of himself. When he is old enough, Horacio joins the Air Force, thereby escaping the unhappy Santinio household. Horacio cannot understand why his brother does not distance himself from Mercedes and Alejo. The contrast between the infirm Hector and the strong Horacio is a principal theme in the novel.
Buita (BWEE-tah), Alejo's sister, who also emigrates from Cuba and spends some time living with the Santinios. Buita, who never approved of Alejo's marriage to the eccentric Mercedes, is a stern and unforgiving woman who does not miss any opportunity to humiliate her sister-in-law. After Alejo's death, Buita tries to convince Hector to leave his mother and live with her in Miami.
Luisa (lew-EE-sah), Mercedes' sister, who also spends some time living with the Santinios after arriving from Cuba. Unlike the Santinios, Luisa and her husband do very well in the United States and soon are able to afford a nice house in the suburbs. Of his relatives, Luisa is the one Hector likes best, for he has fond memories of her kindness to him when he was a small child in Cuba.