[Marxism] A nickname or not?

[Greg McDonald]

Nester Gorojovsky wrote:

"Horacio Oliveira is the name of one of the main characters in Julio  
Cortázar's novel "Rayuela". Out of curiosity: is "Horacio Oliveira"  
the name of a person, or just a nick? No hidden intentions. Just  
curious. You may answer offline, if you prefer".

I always liked the seemingly random, multiple readings in  
"Hopscotch". Perhaps our Sr. H. O. has multiple identities, or  
perhaps he is the original upon which the novel's character is based,  
or maybe the initials of his real name are the same.? Quien sabe?  
Like the multiple readings of the novel, I suspect we will be left to  
our imaginations to discern amidst the murky and opaque smoke  
surrounding the mystery...

Wikipedia discusses Cortazar's "Rayuela", or "Hopscotch" "The main  
character, Horacio Oliveira, is a well-read and loquacious bohemian.  
He is a spectator and spends most of his time philosophizing. At  
first it seems Horacio is content to merely exist but really he is  
desperately searching for a purpose to his life....Horacio says of  
himself, "I imposed the false order that hides the chaos, pretending  
that I was dedicated to a profound existence while all the time it  
was the one that barely dipped its toe into the terrible waters" (end  
of Chapter 21). Horacio's life follows this description as he  
switches countries, jobs, and lovers. The novel also attempts to  
resemble order while ultimately consisting of chaos. The book  
possesses a beginning and an end but traveling from one to the other  
seems to be a practically random process. Horacio's fate is just as  
vague to the reader as it is to Horacio himself. The same idea is  
perfectly expressed in improvisational jazz. Over several measures,  
melodies are randomly constructed by following loose musical rules.  
Cortázar does the same by using a loose form of prose, rich in  
metaphor and slang, to describe life.

G.