Main Protagonists In The Novel example essay topic

Francisco Landa verde 10th Grade (661) 267-0478 News of a Kidnapping 1. Gabriel Garc " ia M'arquez was born on March 6, 1928 in Aracataca, Columbia. It is a northern town in Columbia. He is still alive today. His grandparents raised him with many aunts living in the same house. The establishment of the Liberal and Conservative political parties in 1849 played a part in many of the author's fictional works.

Another event that would influence his works was the Banana Strike Massacre of 1928. The war of a Thousand Days, Columbia's worst civil war, ended in 1902 with the defeat of the Liberals. The author's grandfather was involved in the war, and many of the veterans of that war would be used in Garc " ia M'arquez's works. La violencia, or "The Violence" was one of the worst times in Columbian history. Political corruption, guerrilla movement, riots, and assassinations led to the death of over one hundred fifty thousand Columbians in 1953. La violencia time period would be used in many of the author's stories like In Evil Hour.

He was extremely motivated from a novel by Kafka titled The Metamorphosis. Faulkner and Sophocles would become the biggest influences in the early years of the young author. His first really successful novel he wrote was One Hundred Years of Solitude. He won many awards and was critically acclaimed.

He won the Novel Prize in Literature in 1982. He was also worked for the Columbian newspaper El Espectador as a foreign correspondent in many major cities. 2. The novel consists of acknowledgments, eleven chapters, and an epilogue. The plot took about seven to eight months. There were a lot of references to past events to help the reader better understand the characters.

There was usually more than one event happening at any time. The author changed topics fairly frequently. The plot was about how the Extraditable's, led by Pablo Escobar, held nine people hostage so they can get what they wanted, which was most protection for themselves by the government. The hostages and their families suffered throughout the time until Pablo Escobar finally released the hostages and turned himself in.

What Pablo wanted the most was that the government guarantee that they would not extradite him or his followers to the United States, where they would face harsher sentences for their crimes. The government finally agreed to that condition and to other ones that he imposed and he finally turned himself and other important people involved with him in. The beginning of the story involved the kidnapping of the protagonist and her sister-in-law. It was very fast-paced and frantic. The ending involved a joyous moment for Maruja and Alberto, the main protagonists in this story. 3.

This novel is written in the third person in the past tense. The author wrote in third person limited omniscient. There are no shifts in point of view in the novel. The author is letting the reader know about events that have happened to the characters in the novel. He is not really involved with the plot of this novel. His point of view will help the reader understand what has happened and have the theme of the novel be noticed.

4. Most of the characters in this novel are round and static, but there are a few exceptions. Most of the characters are believable. The author reveals the characters when it is appropriate. He does not have an "order" in which he reveals the characters. He usually changes the topic and / or the scene when he reveals new characters.

There were quite a few complex characters with many character traits and personalities. The main protagonists in the novel were Maruja Pach " on and Alberto Villamizar. Maruja and "Alberto's personal stories are the central axis, the unifying thread, of this book. ", a quote by the author. The antagonist is Pablo Escobar. He is the most complicated character of the novel. Pablo is about 50 years old.

He is very demanding, very superstitious, and very ambitious. Pablo has a long, black beard and is of Columbian decedent. He likes to have total control of everything that involves him and is very smart at what he knows. He is the antagonist of the novel.

When Pablo said, "Lower your weapons, damn it". to the security of the prison where he is going to be held that shows how much power he truly has. Maruja Pach " on is between the ages of 45-55. She has a strong will, will not be let pushed around, and is not a good, practicing Catholic. She is definitely the one who was able to last her captivity the best. She is realistic. Maruja was one of the main protagonists in the novel.

She would say to the guards, "Go on, kill me!" She would not be pushed around. Marina Montoya was one of the weirdest characters in the novel. She was sixty-four years old. She was weird, depressed, and had fantasies which were hard to distinguish as either reality or a lie. She was described as a very beautiful woman who took care of her nails and had long, pretty white hair.

Unfortunately, she was killed as the only person who really was sentenced to death. When she says to Maruja and Beatriz to wear some nightgowns that she had for New Years Day that showed she was different. The other two hostages were sad and depressed. Alberto Villamizar is around the same age as Maruja.

He is determined, intelligent, and knows what it takes to get the job done. He is one of the main protagonists of this novel. He was able to convince Pablo Escobar to surrender for peace. No one was ever been able to that before. 5. The setting for this novel takes place in Bogot'a and Medell " in, Columbia, between the middle of 1989 and the beginning of 1990.

The environment is one of uncertainty and despair. This setting helps the reader better understand why the antagonist does what he does. The drug trafficking and violence taking place during this time emphasizes why this story could only have taken place here. 6. The diction is mostly formal, though there are quite a few Spanish and slang terminology used. Everyone, except the guards and, for a few instances, the hostages, uses formal speech.

When the author describes some of the guards sexual ways with phrases like, "erotic perversions" and "sadist pleasures", this definetly shows that the author uses big words that are meant to emphasize what he is writing about and to have the reader know the this novel is for the most educated. The dialogue is not that different from the narrative voice. Dialogue is used to stress what is going on at that moment. P. 119 "One of the guards finishing his tour of duty in January burst into Pacho Santos' room. "It's all fucked up", he said.

"They " re going to kill hostages". According to him, this was in retaliation for the death of the- Priscus, Escobar's close associates. The communiqu'e was ready and would be released in the next few hours. First they would kill Marina Montoya, then one hostage every three days in this order: Richard Becerra, Beatriz, Maruja, and Diana. "You " ll be the last", the guard concluded by way of consolation.

"But don't worry, this government can't stomach more than two bodies". The diction is very serious but the guard tries to make it better for Pacho. The guard is not very educated in the way he speaks. The tone is very scary for Pacho Santos, but the guard seems to take this like it is nothing really bad.

This passage foreshadows events that might happen later in the novel. P. 6 "Beatriz, who had long, hard nails and good military training, confronted the boy who tried to pull her from the car". Don't touch me!" she screamed. He gave a start, and Beatriz realized he was just as nervous as she, and capable of anything. She changed her tone. "I'll get out by myself", she said.

"Just tell me what to do". The boy pointed to the cab". Beatriz changes her tone when she realizes that the kidnapper is very nervous. She thinks things through thanks to her military training.

The diction is pretty intense for both people involved. The ironic thing is that Beatriz seems to be handling the kidnapping better than the kidnapper. P. 273 "At nine the next morning, as planned, Villamizar landed in Medell " in with less than an hour's sleep. The night had been a boisterous celebration of resurrection. At four in the morning, when they were finally alone in the apartment, Maruja and he were so elated by the day's events that they stayed in the living room until dawn exchanging belated news.

At the La Loma hacienda he was welcomed with the usual banquet, but this baptized with the champagne of liberation. It was a brief respite, however, because now the only in a hurry was Pablo Escobar, hiding somewhere in the world without the protection of the hostages. His new emissary was very tall and loquacious, a pure blond with a long golden mustache who was call the Monkey and had full authority to negotiate the surrender". The diction used here is happiness for the main struggle to be over with, but the last obstacle needs to be taken care of. Pablo Escobar has to surrender for the protagonist to truly say they have done it and are safe. 7.

There is not a lot of imagery used in this novel. The story more or less is told straight up to the reader with not a lot of figurative language. He does describe the setting pretty well, especially Medell " in as ghetto and violent. Some of the figurative language used in this novel describes how the characters might look like. The places where the hostages were being held at were described well. 8.

There are a few symbols. Pablo Escobar's surrender for peace was very symbolic. Father Garc " ia Herrero's used as the person who got Pablo and his men to surrender symbolizes that God can be out the best out of people and peace and good will always prevail over violence and evil. One of the few symbols also used was the ring that Maruja had to take off the night of the abduction. When she got it back, it symbolized the end of the trials and tribulations for Maruja and Alberto. It symbolized that everything turned out all right.

9. This novel has almost no figurative language. The used some similes and metaphors to describe characters and the setting. Figurative language has practically no effect on this novel.

It is used only to help the reader visualize how the characters look like, or to help us see how the setting might be like. This novel was told like a newspaper article. 10. There was some irony. Dramatic irony is the only one that is really used. A great example is when Pablo Escobar escapes from his prison and eventually gets shot down dies.

He escapes from a prison that was specially made for him for his protection. He calls his son who tells Pablo that the police will trace his call and kill him. Pablo is a very protective and superstitious character. The police do trace his call and kill him. Pablo despised the national police for brutally assaulting many of his followers in his hometown.

These events are ironic. 11. The tone is mostly serious, with a few lighter moments. The plot is about something very serious, and it involves many important people, so the tone seems to be set by this. When Pablo Escobar sent many of his communiqu " es, all of them were said in serious and professional tone.

One of the lighter moments in this was the New Years Eve party the was held by the people who were holding Marina, Maruja, and Beatriz Everyone there seemed to have a good time, especially Marina. 12. The main theme in this novel is human understanding and compassion will need to eternal peace. Maruja and Alberto were finally back together when Pablo released her.

He understood that they both suffered, but he suffered as well. All of them understood this and were just grateful that this war was over. A very prominent secondary theme is protection of human rights will need to the solution of many great divergences. One of Pablo Escobar's main requests was the protection of himself and his followers. The prison was built so that would happen. The government would make sure his rights were protected.

In the end, this was a huge reason why the protagonists were able to overcome the conflict and have a peaceful resolution. 13. The title of the novel News of a Kidnapping summarizes what the main plot is about. The title also shows after I read it how clear-cut this book's main ideas are. The title, though, does not seem to have enough of an impact to really say how the characters felt. It was more than "news of a kidnapping" to almost all the characters in this novel.

The title makes it seem like the reader is about to read a newspaper article more than a novel. 14. P. 22 "The main reason for the war was the drug traffickers' fear of extradition to the United States, where they could be tried for crimes committed there and receive extraordinarily harsh sentences, like the one given Carlos Leader, a Columbian drug dealer who had been extradited to the United States in 1987 and sentenced to life imprisonment plus 130 years". This was very important to be known. This is the main part of the exposition and it sets up the action for the rest of the novel. P. 53 "Diana's captivity was notable too for its migratory nature. During their long imprisonment the hostages were moved, with no explanation, at least twenty times, in Medell " in and near it, to houses of differing styes and quality, and varying conditions.

Perhaps this mobility was possible because their abductors, unlike those in Bogot'a, were in their natural environment, over which they had complete control, and maintained direct contact with their superiors". Inconsistency was very common with the hostages. It was a way to control the hostages. They would not know where they would be at or what was happening around them. P. 290 "I'm hanging up", he said to his son on the telephone, "because something funny's going on here". Those were his last words". Pablo Escobar did die and that was something that did not seem to be expected.

He was someone who is clever and knows better. He probably knew he was not going to live too long and decided to talk with his family for one last time. P. 60 "Marina was submissive to her jailers' rules, but she was not impartial. She was fond of some and despised others, gossiped to them about the others as if she were their mother, and sooner or provoked internal discord that threatened peace in the room. But she obliged them to pray the rosary, and they all did". Marina was someone who had a lot of power, even if she was a hostage. She was like a mother to everyone that was around her when she was a hostage.

The guards had a lot a respect for her. P. 144 "They killed Diana, Mr. President", she said. "And it's your doing, its your fault, it's what comes of having a soul of stone". The president was glad he could contradict her with a piece of good news. "No, Se~nora", he said in his calmest voice. "It seems there was a raid, and nothing is confirmed yet. But Diana is alive."No", Nydia replied.

"They killed her". The president, who was in direct communication with Medell " in, had no doubts. "How do u know that?" Nydia answered with absolute conviction: "Because I'm her mother and my heart tells me so". This is another great example of how a mother has a sixth sense about their children.

Diana did die, and that was one of the saddest moments of the entire novel. A lot of things were affected by that event. 15. Tarleton- This review gives me some helpful insight into the novel. It says that the author reveals the passion and the chaos of Columbia.

All of this leads to the actions of the drug traffickers. The outcome of that signifies that powerlessness of being a hostage and the enormous courage it takes for the human spirit to overcome these situations. Throughout the novel, the author makes it seem like the life of the upper class is more important to the life of the common person who suffers the wrath of the police. Kakutani- News of a Kidnapping provides the reader with a new insight into the author's home country of Columbia.

Garc " ia M'arquez uses a narrative style that defies normal thinking about national news. Even though the language is reportorial, it still possesses all the drama needed in any great novel. Knowing that this event actually happened makes it that much more unsettling. 16.

This novel was one of the more interesting ones I have read. The topic was something I liked, and it having Latin influences definitely made it better for me. It seems to get too boring at some parts. The novel lacks some elements, like use of figurative language, but it is a non-fiction book, and those sacrifices have to be made.

The ending in which Pablo dies was not something I was expecting. This novel has a great theme. There should be more novels like this. 17. Kakutani, Michiko. web July 14, 2003- This website contained a review of News of a Kidnapping.

Tarleton, John. web July 14, 2003- Tarleton wrote a good review of News of a Kidnapping. web July 14, 2003- This website contained biographical information about the author.