The Dreamer

In this fictionalized biography of Pablo Neruda’s childhood, the character and experiences of Neftalí, the story’s protagonist, demonstrate how Neruda became one of the most important poets of the 20th century. They illustrate how the things he overcame made him stronger. Physically, Neftalí is thin, weak, and often sick. He’s always chosen last for street games and bullied by other kids. He longs for a friend, someone who understands him. Inside, Neftalí is imaginative, curious, and passionate. The contrast between his inner and outer selves establishes a conflict between Neftalí’s mind and body which develops thematic ideas about Inspiration, Influence, and Identity.

Neftalí’s father is the story’s main antagonist. He ridicules his son’s interests, habitually criticizes him in front of others, and tells him he won’t amount to anything. Father is controlling and easily angered. He dictates every detail of his family’s lives without regard for what they want. Neftalí and his siblings live in fear of him.

Father’s perception of Neftalí as weak, and his persistent efforts throughout the story to make Neftalí stronger, prompt an exploration of the concepts of strength and weakness. Author Pam Muñoz Ryan has said she tried to give a nuanced portrayal of a man whose own upbringing contributed to his overbearing personality. His explanation for why he won’t allow Rodolfo to study music adds depth and complexity to his character. This approach avoids passing judgment and a tone of harsh condemnation while still addressing the harmful effects of his dictatorial parenting style and verbal abuse on Neftalí.

Regarding their father, Rodolfo tells Neftalí, “We cannot sit in the salon. We cannot eat unless our hands have been scrubbed raw. We cannot make noise. We cannot sing. We must think as he thinks […] We can only be what he wants” (44). Neftalí tries to see a different version of Father than the one Rodolfo has come to know, the one who insists they fit his singular idea of a manly identity. Neftalí wants to define his own identity but struggles to shake off his father’s insults and assertions about his future. His father’s question, “Do you want to be a skinny weakling forever and amount to nothing?,” eats away at him (22). His journey into adulthood will force him to confront ideas about what shapes identity. He must question how much power others have over who he becomes, and how much power words have over the way he sees himself.

As characters, Mamadre, Rodolfo, Laurita, and Orlando play important roles as sources of love, support, and inspiration for Neftalí. Mamadre reads Neftalí stories—“legends of swashbucklers and giants” (13)—that help make his painful shyness recede. Orlando and his newspaper work represent The Power of Words, inspiring Neftalí not only to write, but to stand up confidently for what he believes is right. Orlando advocates fearlessly for the Mapuche, leading Neftalí to wonder if he’ll ever have the confidence to speak out for what he believes is right the way Orlando does. Rodolfo and Laurita inspire Neftalí in their own ways, contributing to a thematic exploration of inspirations in Neftalí’s life.

In addition to the main conflicts of Neftalí versus his father and mind versus body, these chapters establish a conflict between nature and development. The story uses the term “developers” to refer to businesspeople who profit from the land without respecting it or its Indigenous inhabitants. The Indigenous Mapuche are seen by these developers as an inconvenience and an obstacle to economic growth. One shopkeeper says, “We are trying to move them out of the area […] But many will not listen. These are difficult times for those of us who are trying to develop the land and make a nice community here in Temuco” (66). Such disregard for human rights, consistently demonstrated by the developers toward the Mapuche, foreshadows how such attitudes will later inspire Neftalí to write articles about the subject, which helps launch and define his writing career.

Muñoz Ryan’s narrative style in The Dreamer is achieved through several distinctive literary techniques and devices. She breathes life into Neftalí’s surroundings with personification. For example, the lazy zeros and nines of his math homework loll on the page (2), and the walls of his timid house tremble and cower from the roar of passing trains (15).

Sounds and rhythms are also emphasized through Muñoz Ryan’s use of onomatopoeia, metaphor, and word illustrations, referred to as “sound poems” in an interview. The sound of raindrops is called a “piano of wet notes” (8), for example. A full page in Chapter 1 is devoted to these onomatopoeic words: “plip—plip, plop, bloop, bloop, bloop, oip, oip, oip, oip, plip—plip, plip—plip, plop, tin, tin, tin, tin, tin” (6). The author cited the importance of rhythm in Neruda’s life and said she wanted it to translate to the book through a type of written soundtrack, in which readers would be able to recognize the parallels between poetry and the simplest repetitive sounds.