Environmental determinism asserts that the physical environment of a society predetermines its social and cultural development. Naturally, environmental determinists would say that Mexico's appreciation for nature and its agricultural roots influence its circular outlook and thus determine its laid-back mentality. The Underdogs by Mariano Azuela tells the story of Demetrio Macias, a rebel who became a general in Pancho Villa's army during the Mexican Revolution. Although Azuela quickly relays the events of the Revolution, he describes the Mexican landscape in vivid detail. The novel ends in the same sierra it began with Macias and his men still fighting the Federalists. Despite the lack of progress, The Underdogs is considered one of the greatest novels of the Mexican Revolution because its preoccupation with nature brilliantly encompasses the cyclical nature of Mexican society. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Mexico's environmental memory has been strengthened by decades of ritual and sacrifice. In the ancient world, the Aztecs believed in a deep connection between the human body and their chinampa agriculture. The different crops they cultivated had different representations: “human flesh being equated with corn, plant foods, and the earth itself; human blood with rain and flowing water” (Clendinnen 74-75). To ensure that the chinampas produced enough food, the Aztecs sought aid from cosmic forces through the practice of human sacrifice. They believed that the gods controlled the seasons and provided the sun and rain needed for plants to grow. The Aztecs believed that these cycles would continue until the ultimate destruction of the world. The Mexicans' ancient reliance on these planting and harvesting cycles resulted in their relaxed, cyclical concept of time. During the Conquest, the Aztec Emperor Montezuma did not initially view the arrival of Hernan Cortés as a threat: "The gods left because their era was over, but another era returned and with it , other gods and another era. (Paz 94). Mexicans are generally more concerned with religion, tradition, and relationships than with time, as they believe that time is infinite. Thus, Moctezuma interpreted the arrival of the Spanish as the beginning of a new cosmic period and welcomed Cortis to Tenochtitlan with gifts. The deeply ingrained laissez-faire attitude of Mexicans toward the times and events largely influenced the results of the Revolution. Aesthetically appealing landscapes dot The Underdogs. Azeula celebrates the land by describing the physical environment in greater detail than the battles of the Revolution. When Macias and his men leave Camila's ranch, Azeula elaborately describes how the men "went through the canyon up and down the steep, round hills, dirty and bald as a man's head, hill after hill." (Azuela 59). The comparison of hills with a man's bald head cleverly connects humanity to nature and the cosmos. However, the negative connotation of the word "dirty" suggests that Azeula does not support the Revolution because it covers the beautiful hills with worthless dead. Azuela's eloquent accounts of nature suggest that human actions are relatively insignificant in an environmentally determined society. The behavior of the rebels is the same as what they are fighting against. The novel begins with.