Tell Them Not to Kill Me!" is a story about revenge. An old man pleads to his own son, Justino, to intervene on his behalf, and try to save his life. Another son, colonel, has come back and orders the old man to be shot - years ago during a drought he had killed the colonel's father: "There he was, slumped down at the foot of the post. His son Justino had come and his son Justino had gone and had returned and now was coming again." (Rulfo: 289). Fear is the main feeling driving the old man; he begs for his life and struggles to survive in every way he can think of. His fear of dying is opposed to the colonel's coldness and decisiveness as he does not change his mind despite the old man's begging and crying. In the case of this story, machismo is not the trait of superiority of men over women, but the superiority of man over man.
Fury and the thirst for revenge engulf any other feelings. Love does not exist. It is not the love of a son that is fueling the colonel's thirst for vengeance, but hatred. Although the colonel himself has lost his father who had been cruelly murdered, he does not find it in his heart to forgive the old man who was responsible for the murder. However, the colonel does show some mercy when ordering his men to make the execution as painless as possible for the old man: "Immediately the voice from inside said, 'Tie him up and give him something to
The old man, on the other hand, admits to his crime and is aware of its implications. His is not so much a struggle to survive but one not to be killed. That could perhaps account for the fact that he begs his son to go and talk to the colonel on his behalf, and try to convince the latter to spare his life.
In this world there seems to be no room for
compassion or forgiveness. Neither the colonel nor the old man can truly hear what the other one is saying because the
conclusion that Rulfo wants to convey is that man is lonely and isolated. In this sense, there is an almost Biblical feel to this story in which human nature struggles to reassert itself through the old man's desire to live, and his pathetic anxiety to convince the colonel that he has already paid for his sins by living the life of a "leper." Mexican
society as described by Rulfo especially in this story is dominated by the idea of revenge, and does not feature forgiveness. Instead, this society is based on the concept of "eye for an eye," and the colonel is not moved by human suffering, but by vengeance and hatred..
Rulfo, Juan. "Macario." The Burning Plain: and other Stories. University of Texas Press, 1971. 2-9.
Rulfo, Juan. "Tell them not to kill me!." The Burning Plain: and other Stories. University of Texas Press, 1971. 83-105.
