Pereira Declares

Pereira Declares deals with the concept of mentoring and teaching by using a non-traditional form of it. In the novel Pereira seems to be mentor the much younger Rossi by financing him and giving him a chance to become a part of the literary community. Under close examination however, Rossi is seemingly educating Pereira more so than the reverse. Rossi could then be seen as the mentor of Pereira which is quite unusual. Typically the mentor is the older one of the two, the one with the more experience and knowledge but in this case that role belongs to the younger. It could be easier to believe that neither is truly a mentor in the usual understanding of the word. Rather the two mentor each other. In most cases within the teacher student relationship, both gain insight from the others comments. This is clearly what is occurring throughout the novel. Pereira funds the youngster and allows him a chance to write, while Rossi galvanizes Pereira’s political belief and imparts an understanding of the connection between literature and politics.