The Search for Satisfaction of Basic Human Needs: A Maslowian Reading of Juan Rulfo’s The Plain in Flames

Abstract

This paper analyzes Juan Rulfo’s short-story collection The Plain in Flames , first published in 1953, in terms of its presentation of characters’ striving for need satisfaction. It emphasizes the importance of small glimpses of hope that motivate disenfranchised individuals to continue in their pursuit of need satisfaction regardless of unfortunate circumstances. In doing so, it uses the framework of need satisfaction provided by Abraham H. Maslow, especially in his 1954 work Motivation and Personality . After presenting the constant struggle for survival in The Plain in Flames and summarizing Maslow’s theory of human motivation, the paper focuses particularly on the works “Paso del Norte,” “Macario,” and “Talpa” to illustrate the connection between hope and need satisfaction. It leads to the conclusion that the characters in The Plain in Flames , regardless of their particular circumstances, reveal the common tendency of humans to look for a small dose of hope in order to move forward.