Analysis of Camilo José Cela’s ‘The Hive’
Prose and Verse
Verse
Verse is a form of expression, often literary, in which the text has to comply with rules and a predetermined time. Texts written in verse are called poems. Poems are divided into several parts: verses of minor art, verses of major art, and stanzas.
Prose
Prose is the form of expression in which the text is not subject to a determined extent or rate. Prose writings are made up of sentences, which form paragraphs.
Literary Figures
Literary figures are the mechanisms used by the author to ensure that their text is different from everyday language, making it beautiful, inspiring, innovative, and attention-grabbing.
Bimembración
The joint presentation of two elements that are synonyms or similar in meaning and play the same syntactic function. For example: The best man and honest friend.
Hyperbaton
The alteration of the normal order of words in a sentence. For example: Well you is that you will be thrown a little waist, baby.
Asyndeton
This involves the elimination of conjunctions in a list. For example: You have to go outside, hurry! Playing our flutes, Raising our soles, Burning joy.
Ellipsis
It consists of removing one or more words in a sentence or verse. For example: At a glance, a world, For a smile, a kiss, one kiss… I do not know what gave you a kiss!
Anaphora
The repetition of one or more words at the beginning of one or more verses. For example: My homeland is a wind […] My homeland is a dream […]
Polysyndeton
The repetition of conjunctions in a phrase or verse. For example: …and turns, […] gull cries and the man […]
Parallelism
The repetition of the same structure. For example: Free, […] But I love mine. […] But not mine
Alliteration
A phonic resource that consists of repeating the same sound to provoke a certain feeling. For example: In my hands raised a storm of stones, beams, and axes estridentesSedienta disaster and hungry.
Hyperbole
A figure of speech that exaggerates meaning to call the reader’s attention. For example: I told you a thousand times.
Antithesis
A rhetorical figure in which two terms with opposite meanings are related. For example: Light and shadow, black and white.
Paradox
It consists of using a seemingly contradictory expression in which the terms are reconciled by creating a new meaning. For example: I live without living in me.
Metonymy
A trope that appoints a real term with an imaginary one that is near or adjacent to the meaning. For example: I bet you a euro to it for me.
Synecdoche
A type of metonymy in which the whole is expressed for the part and the part for the whole object or the matter is done. For example: There were twenty head of cattle.
Synesthesia
A figure of meaning that combines two sensations perceived by different senses. For example: Sun noise
Personification
A figure of meaning that attributes human qualities to inanimate objects or animals. For example: I was told by a bird.
Simile
A figure of significance that compares a real term with an imaginary one, based on the similarity between them. For example: As a dog has forgotten that trace or smell.
Metaphor
A figure of significance that identifies a real word with an imaginary term, by virtue of a resemblance, real or imagined, between them. For example: The onion is frost shut in and poor.
There are two types of metaphors: pure and impure.
Allegory
A figure of significance that uses a continued metaphor to transform the overall meaning of a text. For example: Our lives are the rivers that flow to the sea.
Analysis of The Hive by Camilo José Cela
Characters
Over two hundred characters appear in The Hive, most of whom appear and disappear quickly. None stand out enough to be considered the protagonist; rather, the community itself could be considered the protagonist. Almost all the characters are mediocre and morally ambiguous.
- Martín Marco: Described as “one of many,” he is no longer a poor man but still stumbles through life.
- Doña Rosa: The owner of the café “La Delicia” and Visi’s sister. She is wealthy, stingy, and abusive towards her employees.
- Filo: Martín Marco’s sister and Don Roberto’s wife. She is trapped by economic hardship.
- Don Roberto: Filo’s husband, who works multiple jobs to support his family.
- Miss Elvira: A promiscuous woman condemned to solitude.
- Victorita: A young woman who sells herself to buy medicine and food for her boyfriend, who has tuberculosis.
- Doña Visi: Roque’s wife and Rosa’s sister.
- Don Roque: Visi’s husband, who is unfaithful to her.
- Julia: One of Roque and Visi’s daughters, who joins her boyfriend in a brothel.
Cela describes his characters in a detailed and often satirical manner, highlighting their flaws and idiosyncrasies.
Structure
The Hive is divided into six chapters, each with various sequences of variable length, and an epilogue. The novel lacks a traditional plot or conclusion, instead offering a glimpse into the lives of its characters over a few days. The chapters are told in a narrative style interspersed with dialogue, which introduces the characters and advances the story.
- Chapter I: Focuses on humiliation, particularly that inflicted by those in power. It covers the first day from sunset to night.
- Chapter II: Deals with the theme of poverty.
- Chapter III: Centers on the theme of boredom and takes place on the second afternoon.
- Chapter IV: Explores the theme of sex as an escape from humiliation and boredom. It occurs on the first night, linking with Chapter II.
- Chapter V: Presents the themes of concealment and individualization. It takes place on the evening of the second day.
- Chapter VI: Reflects on the societal attitudes towards the Civil War and politics. It covers the dawn of the second day.
- Epilogue: Describes what happened a few days after the events of the second day.
The chapters are not presented in chronological order. A more logical order would be II, IV, V, I, III, VI, Epilogue, reflecting the actual timeline of the events.
Summary
Through his masterful use of language, Cela paints a raw and realistic picture of post-war Spain in The Hive. Set in Madrid over three days, the novel follows a cast of characters struggling with poverty, hunger, and despair. Their lives intersect in a tapestry of loneliness, fleeting connections, and the search for solace, often through sex. Cela critiques the social conditions of the time, exploring themes of violence, desperation, and the human condition.