The tattooed soldier - Essay Example

The political scenario of a country has direct bearing on the life of the combustible younger generation. If a youth misses proper direction, heis likely to miss the chances for advancement in life forever. Education, employment and a happy married life is the dream of every young male or female! Guatemala, to which Antonio Bernal belongs, is a highly problematic country. He is compelled to become a homeless refugee in Los Angeles, due to the misadventure of a Guatemalan death-squad veteran. He shot dead his wife and two year old son. Antonio attends a university at Guatemala to pursue his studies. There he happens to meet Elena, another student. The outcome of this meeting is victory for sweet emotions of love over the revolutionary fervor to which Elena is drawn. Elena has fallen in love with Antonio. With this sting of love, the womanhood in Elena, the soft and tender feelings sprout and she opts for the family life of love with Antonio. The Guatemalan government has been using strong arm tactics to quell the revolution and chased the revolutionaries to their grave. With the judicial system taking the backseat, the death squad members took law into their own hands and killed revolutionaries without rhyme or reason. The meeting of Antonio and Elena is the beginning of the process of reversal of the gender roles. Antonio, the male, is weak and timid. Elena, the female, is willing to take the ultimate risk for the cause of revolution, but for the sake of love, she has partly given it up. Antonio and Elena are forced to flee to rural San Cristobal. But even there the dormant revolutionary zeal makes her take up the issue for the lethal practices of the local sanitation company. In retaliation, one ill-fated day, she and her young son are shot dead. Earlier they had thought of going to Mexico. Hector Tolbar writes, "Perhaps they could move to Mexico. Save enough money to move to Mexico or the United States. A place where they could be safe, and their daughter or son could be educated. A place where you could speak your mind and there were no soldiers on the street." (p.118) Aafter the death of Elena and his son, sensing danger to his life, Antonio flees to Los Angeles. Once in Los Angeles, he finds life much more difficult and risky. He cannot forget Elena and suffers from intense love pangs. The novel begins with the scene of his landlord giving him final notice of eviction and Antonio is busy packing up his meager belongings. In the process of packing, he is overwhelmed to see a photograph. What is his reaction, when he sees it? Hector Tobar writes, “He discovered a forgotten photograph of his wife and son, taken years ago in Quetzaltenango against a painted backdrop of fanciful lakes and volcanoes. Of all things. He raised the photograph to his lips and tried to fight off the rush of memories that began to gather and rumble like thunder behind his eyes. This picture is the sadness of me, the tragedy of me. (p.7) In Los Angles he expected a better life. Instead he encountered homelessness stark poverty and no opportunity. The pressure on his mind was too much and his expectations did not fructify, and he became cynical. He wanted revenge against the tormentor who had destroyed his love-life but experienced the truth of the world, that the world did run on happiness. He felt that suffering was inevitable part of his life. The attraction of Antonio to Elena in the earlier part of the story is sublime love but the love that he finds in Los Angeles, is in the frustrated state of mind. Tobar makes unhesitating references about sex in the novel, while depicting the social conditions in Los Angeles. About Antonio he mentions, “…she was surprised that someone as reserved as he would be drawn to the sensuality of Garcia Lorca. “Really Antonio, all that suppressed sex. The jealousy, the passionate love! It doesn’t seem like you.”(p.89) How are the themes of power and control linked to love and sex? As for Antonio, notwithstanding his flirtations in Los Angeles, he is unable to forget his first love Elena, and he has problems to control violent feelings at every step of life, to take revenge. A reference he makes about his glasses at the time of vacating his houses reveals the inner working of his mind. Tobar writes, “They are my intellectual glasses,” he told a friend once. “I can’t decide if they make me look like a chemist or a Maoist. What do you think?”(p.4) This reveals the intent of his oscillating mind whether to lead a normal or revolutionary life. Tobar writes, “Antonio, her first boyfriend ever, was also the one responsible for her political awakening.”(p.86) In the process, he changed Elena as well. Having met Antonio, love scores over revolution! The interesting part of the novel is how a sober individual like Antonio transforms and assumes the power of a vindictive personality, all for the sake to avenge the shooting of his love by the death squad member. Conclusion: True love goes on multiplying and passion diminishes with time. In case of Antonio, as time passes by, his love for Elena continues to be on the ascending note. Sex is not totally ruled out. Every young male or female will have some comments on it, and Antonio and Elena are no exception. After having a long and fructifying discussion with Antonio, what is lovelorn Elena’s condition? Tobar writes, “Elena felt a twinge through her body, a rush of warmth that gathered and gelled below her waist.”(p.91) They are two sterling characters in the novel, who truly loved each other. Tobar supports this change in Elena with another observation, “How many times has Elena appeared to him in his dreams, caressing him in his sleep?”(p.79) The love of Antonio and Elena is true love and not concerned with sex and passion alone! *************** Works Cited Tobar, Hector. The Tattooed Soldier: Publisher: Serpent’s Tail, 29 Jun 2000. Read More