Isabel Allende's novel, Eva Luna, blends many of the techniques and conventions associated with the picaresque tradition, magical realism, and the Bildungsroman to present a critique of the dominant Eurocentric ideologies of the patriarchy and oligarchy in 20th century Latin America and valorize the voices and experiences of the marginalized and oppressed. An important aspect of Eva Luna that serves as a vehicle for the novel's critique of patriarchal oligarchy is the numerous motifs and symbols used throughout the novel. The way Allende introduces and develops symbols and motifs throughout the novel serves to create a series of oppositions that portray a sense of loss of freedom and expression under the oppression of the colonizing oligarchy, illustrate the superficiality of oligarchic power, and they align the reader with expression above silence and transgression above oppression. In Eva Luna the symbols of freedom are contrasted with those of oppression, and these contrasts could be interpreted as valorizing the experiences of the colonized and simultaneously representing a sense of loss of freedom under the oligarchy of the colonized. colonizers. A motif that frequents Allende's Eva Luna is that of birds, especially in the exposition and in the final chapters of the novel. In the first chapter, birds are introduced as a symbol of female freedom and expression. Birds are often associated with freedom, expression, and the ability to "fly" from the problems of everyday life, and their placement in the novel serves as a counterpoint to the oppression of the patriarchal society in which Eva lives. Such a contrast can certainly be seen in the first chapter where “doves, thrushes and hummingbirds” are contrasted… in the center of the card… representative of the detrimental effect of silence and lack of expression on the mind and body. By joining the guerrilla, Huberto “learned the meaning of silence.” However, this lack of expression is proven to lead to a detrimental impact on both his mind and body. This can be clearly seen later in chapter seven where Huberto “stopped smiling (…) his cold expression.” This transformation symbolizes the corrosive impact of silence – as Huberto seems to lose his human qualities such as happiness and empathy following his silence. Evidently, by contrasting the benefits of verbalization with the corrosive implications of silence, Allende encourages the reader to align himself with the traditions of verbalization commonly associated with colonial Latin Americans and to reject the oppressive silence imposed by the colonizing oligarchy..