Parrots are beautiful, intelligent birds. Scabies is a purulent disease caused by parasitic mites that enter the body and cause unsightly sores and incessant irritation. Who or what does The Galeux Parrot refer to? Is Mangy Parrot simply Periquillo's nickname or is it intended to be a metaphor for New Spain? If the parrot is the symbol of the lands and people of New Spain: the caste system and the colonial government are the disease that infests the land. Unable to directly publish his opinions due to censorship, de Lizardi wrote his seemingly humorous and entertaining account to cover up his ideas. Throughout the story, Fernández de Lizardi cleverly interweaves his true goal of increasing opposition to colonial societal and governmental practices and encouraging support for the coming revolution. Lizardi begins his story with the story of tying babies' hands. Old women tie children's hands simply because it was done to them, making it the best policy and the old ways should be followed even when there is no evidence to support them. (from Lizardi, p. 2) When Lizardi began his serial novel, the Spanish had exercised colonial control for three hundred years. It was during this time that the Age of Enlightenment and the American and French Revolutions took place. The human rights philosophies that fostered these revolutions rendered many aspects of Spanish colonial rule obsolete and corrupt. The author immediately informs the reader that he is done with the old ways and that they are no longer worth supporting. As the novel progresses, de Lizardi's use of satire grows until his characters make statements so outlandish or unqualified that they cannot be taken for anything serious. other...... middle of paper ...... bres and indians to achieve parity in the system must overturn the system and demand equal treatment and opportunities. The use of humor and satire is only effective when the reader identifies with the kernel of truth at the heart of the joke. The entertaining story of Periquillo's misadventures was not only a funny story, but also contained a bitter commentary on the state of colonial rule. Serial publication in the indigenous language allowed the story to reach the masses and kept issues in the public eye by fueling weekly accounts that raised public awareness and increased discontent with the status quo . De Lizardi's fictional, unapologetic first-person account of life in New Spain exposed the corruption, injustice, prejudice, and inequality in society caused by the colonial caste system and encouraged support for public to a revolution..