The Island in a Well: a Reading of Sand and Water

Abstract

The text works with the parallels between the poem “La isla en peso” by Virgilio Piñera and the story “El pozo” by Augusto Céspedes; These, despite being in opposite geographical contexts, share a similar desperation due to the isolation and oppressive conditions of their environment. While on the island of Piñera the water surrounds like a sentence; At the Céspedes well, soldiers desperately search for water in a desert environment. Both scenarios represent closed spaces that oppress their inhabitants, generating anguish and a sense of loss.