Supernatural Character in Octavio Pazs Short Story, My...

Mexican-born author, Octavio Paz, in his short story, â€Å"My Life with the wave† suggests the protagonist is symbolic and then remains a supernatural character best understood in literal terms. He supports his claim by showing the reader the speakers difficulty of finding a place for the wave out of the ocean, how the protagonist suffers imprisonment for a crime he did not commit, and of how through the death of the wave the protagonist is able to free himself from the pain and torment he faced when he was engaged in a relationship with the wave. Pazs intention is to use the symbolism in order show the negative side of falling in love. Octavio Paz adopts an intense tone for the somber reader. The short story Life with the Wave, written by Octavio Paz leads us through an intense relationship between a simple man and a wave. Octavio Paz uses the â€Å"wave† to symbolize a woman. The wave can also be seen as changing just as humans do, she â€Å"was a white plume of vap or† then â€Å"soon†¦fell in a fine rain†(pg. 264). It seemed like love at first sight, she refused to go back No, her decision was made. She couldn’t go back. I tried sweetness, hardness, irony. (pg.263) I explained to her that it was impossible, that life in the city was not what she had been able to imagine with the ingenuousness of a wave that had never left the sea.(pg. 263) She cried, screamed, hugged, and threatened. I had to apologize. (pg.263) The wave is not a person; she is a thing with human emotions. The