The Power & The Glory, Part I (pg. 30-58)

At first the book seems confusing, but after one gets the hang of it and organizes the characters it's simple to understand. I won't lie, there were various moments when going back to read the previous sentences was fundamental for my full understanding. The first part of The Power & The Glory is talking about the Mexican Revolution and during this period the catholic church was banned from the country. This is why the priests in the book must either leave the country or hide and not be seen practicing religious celebrations. During these first four chapters, we find out that the stranger is a priest trying to hide from the law. In one occasion the law keeps him hidden from itself. Captain Fellows who is helping in the revolution loves his daughter so much that he lets her help this priest in need or as we first knew him the stranger. " 'I'm braking the law enough as it is,' Captain Fellows said. He strode out of the barn, feeling twice the size, leaving the small bowed figure in the darkness among the bananas. Coral locked the door and followed him. 'What a religion,' Captain fellows said. 'Begging for brandy. Shameless' (The Power & The Glory, Chapter 3, pg. 38)." All along Part I of the book the reader encounters various people who say that there is a priest who always gets drunk and it seems to be this man. It's incredible how people love to talk about things without knowing. Maybe this priest drinks to take away his fear of being caught while on the run. We won't know the truth until the end, but up until know the fugitive priests are the main idea of the book.

Connecting this book has been a hard task because I've never seen a movie, heard a song or done anything that would make me connect two ideas quickly. We're talking about renegades or fugitives from justice. Maybe if I used this general idea, something would come up and it did. There was this one game that came directly to mind when thinking about a renegade and it was Gears Of War. In this game you play as a 'convicted' war hero who was thrown in jail for taking action without his superiors authorization. For this he had to run away, but later on is caught by his superior officer. When the war begins, Marcus Fenix is liberated from prison and thrown out into the field. At the beginning the General doesn't approve of Fenix getting back in the army, but has no other choice and makes the right one because he is the one who saves the world from the invaders. This could be connected to the book because at first Marcus is a renegade who runs away from justice and the government as well as the priest or stranger is doing. This is why the game Gears Of War and The Power & The Glory can connect, because in both stories we see someone running away from 'justice' and the government.

Last time some questions were asked and after reading the first part, most of them were answered. The stranger turns out to be a priest running away from the government, most probably because if he is caught he'll be imprisoned. We never found out if Tench catches the boat or not, we only know that he writes to his wife. It seems that the church won't leave Mexico because they talk about the bishop being in Mexico City, so if they allow him to be there is because the church hasn't fully left the country. We still don't know why Father Miguel is in the book.

- What will happen to the stranger?

- Will Tench contact his wife?

- Will the stranger and Coral meet again?

- Did Tench ever find out that the stranger was a priest?

- Where did the stranger head to?

The Power And The Glory, Part I (pg. 7-30)

The book starts off pretty simple, but after the first twenty pages it turns into a mess. We start looking at Mr. Tench's life. This man is a dentist that has left the United States or United Kingdom (not quite sure) and is residing in Mexico City. Tench is not a wealthy dentist and it seems that he's not a very good one either. The story begins by explaining that Mr. Tench is waiting for a boat to leave home and while he's waiting he meets a weird man that the reader knows as the stranger. This 'stranger' seems to be hiding from someone or something because he's always looking around, impatient and has the characteristics of a fugitive. "Somebody knocked on the door. The stranger slipped the attaché case under his chair, and Mr Tench went cautiously up towards the window. 'Can't be too careful,' he said. 'Any dentist who's worth the name has enemies.' A faint voice implored them, 'A friend,' and Mr Tench opened up. Immediately the sun came in like a white-hot bar. A child stood in the doorway asking for a doctor. He wore stamped and whistled on the hot beaten road. Mr Tench said he was not a doctor: he was a dentist. Looking round he saw the stranger crouched in the rocking-chair, gazing with an effect of prayer, entreaty...The child said there was a new doctor in town: the old one had fever and wouldn't stir (The Power & The Glory, Chapter I, pg. 16)." One can notice that this stranger has a deep secret. Later on in the book we start to notice that the Governor and the police are looking for a priest, so it makes one think that maybe the stranger is the man there looking for. There are wide variety of things that occur that make one believe that this stranger is being followed by the police and/or country.
The connection that I decided to make this time was with the stranger that Mr. Tench meets. This man reminded me of a movie I once saw with Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx. In Collateral, Tom Cruise acts as Vincent a contract killer that gets into Jamie Foxx's characters cab. Max (Foxx), gets involved in Vincents killing streak and the police starts to look for Max thinking he's Vincent. It's a whole conflict between these two characters because Max is trying to escape because he knows that after Vincent finishes the job he'll kill him. The whole plot of the movie is how Max feels like a run away that is trying to escape from his prosecutor. In the novel, one can also see how this stranger is trying to escape from someone. Further along the book we get the feeling that the government is looking for him. It all seems to fall upon this character that up until now we know nothing, except for the fact that he seems to be running away or hiding from someone. If the stranger is a priest he would be hunted down by the government because during this period anybody who believed in God was punished. "The lieutenant sat down upon his bed and began to take off his boots. It was the hour of prayer. Black-beetles exploded against the walls like crackers. More than a dozen crawled over the tiles with injured wings. It infuriated him to think that there were still people in the state who believed in a loving and merciful God. There are mystics who are said yo have experienced God directly. He was a mystic, too, and what he had experienced was vacancy -a complete certainty in the existence of a dying, cooling world, of human beings who had evolved from animals for no purpose at all. He knew (The Power & The Glory, Chapter 2, pg.24-25)." This desire to run away is what makes the movie and novel connect.

- Who is the stranger?

-Did Tench get on the boat?

- Why is the government looking for priests?

- Will the church leave Mexico?

- What impotance does Father Miguel Cerra have in the book?

The Emperor

This small passage of The Emperor has left me speechless. When one starts reading for some reason you see it coming. "In the thick night, a crowd of barefoot beggars stood huddled together. The dishwashers working in the building threw leftovers to them. I watched the crowd devour the scraps, bones, and fish heads with laborious concentration. In the meticulous absorption of this eating there was an almost violent biological abandon -- the satisfaction of hunger in anxiety and ecstasy." I'd love to say that such an act is pathetic, monstrous and disgusting. How come some the Emperor have this huge banquet were people steal the silverware, eat until there stomachs are about to explode and have a great time with the countries money when others are dying of hunger and most probably disease. In a smaller version, I myself can relate to this fraction of the book. The whole world suffers this problem, but I won't go so far. Sadly Colombia is tormented by these kind of actions. The beginning of this passage reminds me of Christmas in Bogotá. "When the guests had been seated at tables in the great hall, fanfares rang out and the Emperor walked in with President Nasser of Egypt at his right hand. They formed an extraordinary pair. Nasser, a tall, stocky, imperious man, his head thrust forward with his wide jaws set into a smile, and next to him the diminutive silhouette - frail, one could almost say - of Haile Selassie, worn by the years, with his thin, expressive face, his glistening, penetrating eyes. Behind them the remaining leaders entered in pairs. The audience rose; everyone was applauding. Ovations sounded for unity and the Emperor. Then the feast began. There was one dark-skinned waiter for every four guests. Out of excitement and nervousness, things were falling from the waiters' hands. The table setting was silver, in the old Harar style. Several tons of priceless antique silver lay on those tables. Some people slipped pieces of silverware into their pockets. One sneaked a fork, the next one a spoon.Mountains of meat, fruit, fish, and cheese rose on the tables. Many-layered cakes dripped with sweet, colored icing. Distinguished wines spread reflected colors and invigorating aromas. The music played on, and costumed clowns did somersaults to the delight of the carefree revelers. Time passed in conversation, laughter, consumption." In Christmas, one goes to visit the family, have lunch at your mother's family and dinner at your father's. During this transition, you see various beggars on the street, most of them with children so they are pitied, others just showing the awful truth. Every time they ask for a present or food and usually one looks them with disgust. Most of the times it's unconsciously, but it doesn't justify the fact that one does it. This came to mind when reading the small fraction from The Emperor. This is an everyday reality that is seen in Bogotá, but when you most experience it, is in Christmas.

The Passenger by Andrew Rice

Up until now, the only book I've read of Ryszard Kapuscinski is The Soccer War. At first many events seemed real, their cause pathetic and in some cases the actions taken petrifying. After reading Andrew Rice's Article The Passenger, he makes one think how real is the story told by Kapuscinski. Has all the truth been revealed? Or have we been sucked into a historic novel? Many events might be told as occurred, but maybe along the road someone believed the true story would not sell and decided to add some "tiny" details. This has happened before with other writers, if Kapuscinski is one of them, to bad. In the real world he's trying to sell. There is a section of this article that I could identify with because Mr. Rice explains how Ryszard Kapuscinski makes you one live the situation he is describing. The communist accusation against Kapuscinski comes at a very random moment. Of course during the 60's and 70's it was a sort of "treason" against ones country, but we live in a new era, where supposedly different ideas are accepted as long as no harm is brought upon humanity. Maybe I'm right or it's just another lie one would like to believe. Rice has a very opened mind to different subjects, one can notice that he doesn't swallow whole any story and thinks on every single detail before believing everything someone can say. Kapuscinski-according to the article- explains how the different tribes of the world will never meet each other and might never exchange their differences. That's not true today, but in the past it might of been. During the past twenty years-I believe- the world has experienced one of its greatest accomplishments for some and catastrophes for others it all depends on how you look at it. Globalization for example has led almost all of the world's communities to "learn" something from one another. Every single day we learn something new. Most of the times it's information provided to us by other "tribes." Information moves at powerful speeds and distances, from all over the world. What you would learn a week from know in the early 30's or 40's, is a sixty second (or less) journey on the Internet. Humanities accomplishments. This would be the only topic which I disagree with Kapuscinski not Andrew Rice. The rest of the article was incredible, every single subject was dealt with caution and most important reason.

Rhetoric

Type of Rhetoric: Logos (Argument by Logic)

- The Halo series, set in a future when humanity is battling a hostile alien race, has sold more than 14.8 million copies since its debut in 2001, making it one of the most successful game franchises. The last major game in the series, Halo 2, set a record in 2004 for first-day sales of any entertainment product, generating more than $125 million in the United States in its first 24 hours.

Type of Rhetoric: Ethos (Argument by Character)

- “There is no question the Halo 3 launch is the biggest event of the year in video games, and for a lot of people it will be the biggest entertainment event of the year, period,” said Andy McNamara, editor in chief of the magazine Game Informer. “Halo just has its tendrils into the imagination of a whole generation. Frankly, I don’t know if Microsoft would even be in the game business today if it weren’t for Halo.”

Type of Rhetoric: Pathos (Argument by Emotion)

- “Halo just has its tendrils into the imagination of a whole generation. Frankly, I don’t know if Microsoft would even be in the game business today if it weren’t for Halo.”

- “Certain games, like Halo, have a special place, and they can help drive the entire industry forward.”

Gamers, on Your Marks: Halo 3 Arrives
By SETH SCHIESEL
Published: September 24, 2007
Hoping to make entertainment history, Microsoft plans to release the latest video game in its hit Halo franchise tomorrow.

In Halo 3, humanity battles a hostile alien race in the future.
The Halo series, set in a future when humanity is battling a hostile alien race, has sold more than 14.8 million copies since its debut in 2001, making it one of the most successful game franchises. The last major game in the series, Halo 2, set a record in 2004 for first-day sales of any entertainment product, generating more than $125 million in the United States in its first 24 hours.
Microsoft and major game retailers expect to surpass that mark beginning at midnight tomorrow, when more than 10,000 stores across the country will open to sell Halo 3. In London, authorities have banned official “midnight madness” events amid fears of unruly crowds.
As early as July more than 1 million consumers had ordered the game, which will be available in three versions, costing $60, $70 and $130. (The top version comes with a space helmet inspired by Halo 3.) The game will ship in 17 languages.
“There is no question the Halo 3 launch is the biggest event of the year in video games, and for a lot of people it will be the biggest entertainment event of the year, period,” said Andy McNamara, editor in chief of the magazine Game Informer. “Halo just has its tendrils into the imagination of a whole generation. Frankly, I don’t know if Microsoft would even be in the game business today if it weren’t for Halo.”
Halo 3 is widely expected to be the top-selling game of the year for Microsoft’s Xbox 360 console, the sole machine on which the game can be run. Halo 3 is also expected to drive users toward the company’s Xbox Live Internet service. The only other release that had been expected to compete with Halo 3 this coming holiday season was Take-Two’s Grand Theft Auto IV, often called G.T.A., but that game was recently delayed until next year.
“Halo 3 is the drive title for Xbox 360 to bring it to the next level, and given the fact that G.T.A. slipped into next year, Halo 3 is really in a league of its own this year,” said Ben Schachter, an Internet and video-game analyst at UBS Securities. “Certain games, like Halo, have a special place, and they can help drive the entire industry forward.”
The Halo series has been a cornerstone of Microsoft’s entry into the entertainment business. Perhaps nothing is more important to the company’s bid to control the world’s digital living rooms than the game’s success. Microsoft has not disclosed how much it cost to make, but industry experts put the figure at $25 million to $40 million.
“In the broadest context, you have to think about Halo as the property that’s made Microsoft relevant in entertainment, much like you’d say Word or Excel made us relevant in business productivity,” said Robert J. Bach, a 19-year Microsoft veteran who is president of the company’s entertainment and devices division. “If you want to talk about Microsoft as an entertainment company, it really starts with Halo. Yes, we have Xbox and have done other things in entertainment, but nothing has resonated with consumers like Halo.”
Reflecting the franchise’s broad appeal, particularly among young men, the television networks Spike TV and G4 intend to cover Halo 3 events around the world tonight and tomorrow morning.
“People have been talking about video games becoming a bona fide mainstream entertainment medium, and you really see that playing out with Halo,” said Neal Tiles, president of G4, which will begin its coverage in New Zealand, where the game will first arrive. “They’re looking at $150 million in the first day, which is bigger than any movie has done. Culturally, it’s at least as big as any film opening or TV premiere or book or Broadway opening, and probably bigger.”

The Soccer War (pg. 210-234)

It's amazing how a books ending, must be the most inspiring part of the piece. During the novel the reader experiences various emotions thanks to the descriptions given by Kapuscinski. The beginning of the book seems far away, but several events are still present in ones mind. "During the search, a policeman found a mechanical pencil in the pocket of my jacket. I was ordered to take it apart. I did so. I was ordered to put it back together. I put it together. Take it apart again. the policeman conferred: there was something funny about that pencil. I had taken on a new role, role of suspect, not knowing what the verdict would be (The Soccer War, Chapter 2, pg. 121)." All throughout the book one lives these experiences with Ryszard. Sometimes we see tranquil situations and in other occasions we're not so lucky. Death is but the beginning from some of the events Kapuscinski writes about. This man is incredible. He has lived the most brutal moments, but still looks for them to show the true story about the conflict. Since we started the book, I've been wondering if anywhere along the book Ryszard Kapuscinski would get scarred, injured or both. Reading along we notice that there is a moment where he wants out on his journey. A scorpion stings him and he gets very agitated. "From here to the nearest hospital was two days on the road. Lie down, said Marcos. They left me alone in the tent. I sat on the cot afraid to move, so that I would not agitate the scorpions, not give them any sign of myself. They crawled along the ground in the darkness. Up the flaps of the tent, dragging their barbed abdomens behind. From that night on, through my whole stay in Ogaden, I could not free myself of them. They spawned in the sands, emerged from under the rocks, lurked on the trails. I wanted to get out of there, but we were imprisoned in the desert and had to wait for a chance to escape (The Soccer War, Chapter 6, pg. 218)."

Connecting this last chapter was a challenge, because every movie, song, event, etc. has already been used. After a long search, I decided to connect the book with the movie 'In The Name Of The Father.' This movie is about a man who gets charged with the worst crime committed in England by the I.R.A. Since he and his friends are Irish, the police decides to place the blame on them. Later on, they also imprison his father for trying to help him. This mans father dies in jail because of an illness he has and not being treated correctly. Gerrard Conlon fights after getting out of jail so his father's name is freed from his conviction. This is similar because we see Kapuscinski trying to free himself in various moments, like the one mentioned above when he is bitten by a scorpion. One can find so many other relationships between the book and movies, but this seemed to be an interesting connection that I found.

The Soccer War (pg. 185-209)

Finally reaching the end seems the hardest part when reading a book. It seems that you've work very hard to reach your target, but in reality no extraordinary work has been done. This book, has been a whole adventure and trying to keep up with the narrator is an almost impossible task. He jumps from one place to another in just a few seconds, sometimes without the reader knowing it. "Pack the suitcase. Unpack it, pack it, unpack it, pack it: typewriter (Hermes Baby), passport (SA 323273), ticket, airport, stairs, airplane, fasten seat-belt, take off, unfasten seat-belt, flight, rocking, sun, stars, space, hips of strolling stewardesses, sleep, clouds, falling engine speed, fasten seat-belt, descent, circling, landing, earth, unfasten seat-belts, stairs, airports, immunization book, visa customs, taxi, streets, houses, people, hotel, key, room, stuffiness, thirst, otherness, foreignness, loneliness, waiting, fatigue, life (The Soccer War, Chapter 5, pg. 198)." Ryszard Kapuscinski is always on the move and one must pay close attention to not loose him from sight. He says somewhere along the book that his life is defined by the search for a story. Basically Kapuscinski lets the reader know that if there is a story to be told, he will be there no matter the consequences. During this part of the book, Ryszard talks about all the wars and conflicts he has attended and in one occasion (with the leader of the Mount Hermon group) there is a discussion about military strategies and Kapuscinski tells this man what he thinks went wrong in some wars he has attended as a journalist. It's amazing to see how much Ryszard Kapuscinski learns out in the field. It would seem that he is a man who's learned to value life more than others because of his experiences. There have been wars, starvation, catastrophes (human or natural) and still he wishes to tell the true story no matter what because in his eyes the world needs to know what is going on.

Kapuscinski lives various conflicts during his journalist life and while reading, I noticed that he talks or at least mentions Bogota. This made me go back and read various times because I couldn't believe it. Up until know, most of my connections have been made with movies and pop culture, but this time I'd like to connect most of the problems, conflicts, etc. that Kapuscinski lives, with the ones Colombians suffer everyday. Most people think that the high class never suffers because 'money buys it all, especially happiness' who ever invented that phrase was a stupid bastard who didn't know anything. Every Colombian has suffered from this "ever lasting" war, directly or indirectly. There was a part in the book, that made me think because it has a clear and strong message that makes a lot of sense. "Syria was losing the Golan Heights and at the same time, that same day, that same hour, in Damascus -twenty kilometers from the Golan Heights- the cafés were full of people, and others were walking around, worrying about whether they would find a free table. Syria lost fewer than 100 soldiers in the 1967 war (The Soccer War, Chapter 5, pg. 201)." One can notice this same problem in Colombia, people don't know there is a conflict, but they believe it's far away so they don't care. This should not be this way, if every single Colombian joined forces to face the guerrilla head on, there is a high possibility that something amazing would happen. More than 40 million people against 10 thousand, that's something to be afraid of. Sadly this will never occur. Most of the population does not care and would never do this because it would be 'waisting time', but when it's time to criticise the government and its 'failures' everybody has lots of time.

- What will happen to Kapuscinski?

- Does he get injured in any of his expeditions?

- What other conflicts will Ryszard experience?

- Where's his family?

- Does Ryszard Kapuscinki's boss worry about him?

The Soccer War (pg. 166-185)

During this part of the novel, we learn what was the experience of war in El Salvador and Honduras that Kapuscinski lived. He tells the reader what happened and how this affected this two nations and the attention they received in the world. "In the morning the airplane arrived to take us to the far end of the front, where heavy fighting was in progress. Overnight rain had turned the grass airstrip at Nacaome into a quagmire, and the dilapidated old DC-3, black with exhaust smoke, stuck up out of the water like a hydroplane. It had been shot in its fuselage were patched with rough boards. The sight of these ordinary, simple boards of wood frightened those who said they had bad hearts. They stayed behind and returned later to Tegucigalpa (The Soccer War, pg. 170)." It's amazing some of the experiences this man lives, but the most impressive is when he finds himself in a cross fire and jumps into the bushes. While he is waiting, a soldier approaches and Kapuscinski is afraid to be caught by the Salvadorian army because they are barbaric, but then he thinks that he gets this impression from the Honduran government propaganda. At first most of this things seem unreal, one tries to understand how a soccer match brought so much chaos and you notice that sadly some cultures take this game as a matter of life or death as we saw in 'el Maracanazo' (Brazil) in the 1950's.

During this world cup, Brazil lost against it's opponent and people started taking their lives because of the match. This events (Honduras vs. El Salvador and El Maracanazo) show how stupid the human race can get. This countries should be ashamed that there people are such idiots and teach them some moral values. Of course many countries in the world have these kinds of problems, but they are so avoidable it's not even funny. Most of the problems usually take place because of ridiculous issues.

To respond to my questions, there was a quote at the end that answer's all of them. "The war ended in a stalemate. The border remained the same. It is a border established by sight in the bush, in mountainous terrain that both sides claim. Some of the émigrés returned to El Salvador and some of them are still living in Honduras. And both governments are satisfied: for several days Honduras and El Salvador occupied the front pages of the world press and were the object of interest and concern. The only chance small countries from the Third World have of evoking a lively international interest is when they decided to shed blood. This is a sad truth, but so it is (The Soccer War, pg. 184)."

- What else is Kapuscinski going to write about?

- Where is his next adventure at?

- Does Ryszard contact his family?

- What other conflicts does he attend?

- Does Kapuscinski ever get caught or kidnapped by the enemy?

Talk Show About Kapuscinski

This radio show talks about Ryszard Kapuscinski's life, work and adventures. A man is invited to comment on the extraordinary man that was Kapuscinski and how he made a great impact on world news. This writer (friend of Ryszard) explains that Kapuscinski was a very outgoing man and that he always had an eye for when problems where stirring up. It's interesting that this novelist or writer talks about two points that are in the book The Soccer War. These are the war of Honduras and El Salvador and the man also explains how Kapuscinski would have to use a telex machine to send his information. We see both of this things happen in the book. "TEGUCIGALPA (HONDURAS) PAP JULY 14 VIA TROPICAL RADIO RCA TODAY AT 6 PM WAR BEGAN BETWEEN EL SALVADOR AND HONDURAS CITIES STOP AT SAME TIME SALVADORAN ARMY CROSSED HNDURAN BORDER ATTEMPTING TO PENETRATE DEEP INTO COUNTRY STOP IN RESPONSE TO AGGRESSION HONDURAN AIR FORCE BOMBARDED IMPORTANT SALVADORAN INDUSTRIAL AND STRATEGIC TARGETS AND GROUND FORCES BEGAN DEFENSIVE ACTION (The Soccer War, Chapter 3, pg. 161)." The next piece that is reflected on the show is when Ryszard goes to send the information to his boss in Polonia. "They ordered me to wait: there is only one telex machine in Honduras, and the president was using it. he was engaged in an exchange with his ambassador in Washigton, who would be applying to the American governemtn for military assistance... After midnight I finally made a contact with Warsaw. The machine typed out the number TL 813480 PAP VARSOVIA. (The Soccer War, Chapter 3, pg. 162)." This where the connections from the talk show towards the text.

The Soccer War (pg. 145-166)

Is incredible how this book gets better every time one opens it to read. There is more action, adventure and information that leaves the reader amazed. During these twenty pages, we notice that Kapuscinski is a man who fears nothing. Where there is a conflict or any sort of impacting news he will always be there. We can see this because Ryszard starts to explain that one of his friends in Mexico, told him that there was going to be some sort of conflict in Honduras concerning El Salvador, so Ryszard Kapuscinski decides to head over to Tegucigalpa (Honduras) and be present when the battle begins. "Luis Suarez said there was going to be a war, and I believed whatever Luis said. We were staying together in Mexico. Luis was giving me a lesson in Latin America: what it is and how to understand it. he could foresee many events. In his time he had predicted the fall of Goulart in Brazil, the fall of Bosch in the Dominican Republic and of Jimenez in Venezuela. Long before the return of Perón he believed that the old caudillo would again become president of Argentina; he foretold the sudden death of the Haitian dictator Francois Duvalier at a time when everybody said Papa Doc had many years left (The Soccer War, Chapter 3, pg. 157)." As we see, this man was a very close friend to Kapuscinski and he believed everything he said. Later on the author says that he takes a plane and arrives at Tegucigalpa, Honduras the next day.
The connection that came to mind was comparing Ryszard with the famous 'Crocodile Hunter'. Both men always look for adventure, but in the case of the 'Crock Hunter' Steve Irwin his passion for adventure led him to death. When you read this book, you watch as the narrator is always looking how to get into trouble and even better getting out of it. Steve Irwin was exactly the same way. You'd always see him jumping into a river full of dangerous animals (crocodiles his favorite) and swimming as fast as he could to capture them or even to wrestle with. "As the empty garbage can clattered down the hill, more and more windows kept opening as it passed with plaintive, insistent whispers: 'Silencio! Silencio!' But there was no way to stop the metal monster, it was like something possessed, banging against the cobblestones, smashing into lamp-posts, thundering and booming. I lay on the pavement, hugging it, frightened, sweating. I was afraid that someone would open fire in my direction. I had committed an act of treason: the enemy, unable to fin the city in this darkness and silence, could now locate it by the racket of the garbage can (The Soccer War, Chapter 3, pg. 164)." It gives the reader goose bumps just to think that someone wood get into danger just to publish a good story on the news.

Some questions can be answered up until now. We know that Kapuscinski does not get shot, but does injure himself trying to return to his hotel in Honduras. There is also the answer to what problem is he going to get himself into. One notices that he decides to head over to Honduras and watch the war for himself and be the first foreign reporter to catch the story. Basically, the reader sees that he gets into this problem and now has to find a way out before getting killed.

- What will happen with the war on Honduras?

- Will the United States help the Honduran government?

- Is Kapuscinski going to stay during the war?

- Does the United Nations punish El Salvador for its acts?

- Doesn't Kapuscinski have family that worries about him?

- Stifling: To crush or end by force.

- Parquet: A floor composed of short strips or blocks of wood forming a pattern, sometimes using other materials.

- Caprice: A sudden, unpredictable change, as of one's mind or weather.

- Spindlelegged: Long, thin legs.

The Soccer War (pg. 121-145)

After reading the first chapter, one begins to feel that the book is note advancing and that there is no activity which makes the reader interested to keep on reading. When one starts the next chapter, the enthusiasm which made you read in The Stranger does not exist for The Soccer war. As you keep on reading, you notice that all hope is not lost and see various occasions were there is a great deal of action involved and you watch as the narrator experiences adventures, fear and even escapes from death. At one point, you even start to believe that Kapuscinski is going to die along the road. "I was in the hands of UPGA activists. They must have been smoking hashish because their eyes were mad and they did not look fully conscious. They were soaked in sweat, seemed possessed, frenzied. They descended on me and pulled me out of the car. I could hear them shouting 'UPGA! UPGA!' On this road, UPGA ruled. UPGA held me in its sway. I could feel three knife-points against my back and I saw several machetes (these are the Africans' scythes) aimed at my head. Two activists stood a few steps away, pointing their guns at me in case I tried to get away. I was surrounded. Around me I could see sweaty faces with jumpy glances; I could see knives and gun barrels ( The Soccer War, Chapter 2, pg. 131)." After you read this paragraph, a chill comes up your spine because the description makes one believe that something horrible will happen to Ryszard. As one keeps reading, the book starts to save itself with all the terrifying moments that the author/narrator lived, because he makes you feel what he felt at the time

Looking for a connection was hard because the movies that came to me as I was reading, have already been used, so it was really complicated to look for a new and fresh connection. This time there will be no connection to a movie, but instead to a book called The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. In this book, Tom doesn't experience a revolution, a war or any kind of armed conflict, but he does take on adventures head on like the narrator of The Soccer War. Sawyer, like Kapuscinski have this adrenaline rush for adventures that most people never feel and don't wish ever to do so. We notice along both books, that there main characters/narrators are always looking for an adventure, because they can't live without it. We notice in The Soccer War when it says; "My boss treated me with patience and understanding. He tolerated my adventures and my pathological lack of discipline. At my most irresponsible I would suddenly break contact with the Warsaw without having told them my plans and would disappear without a trace: throw myself into the jungle, float down the Niger in a dugout, wander through the Sahara with nomads. The main office, not knowing what had happened or how to look for me,would, as a last resort, send telegrams to various embassies. Once, when I showed up in Bamako, our embassy there showed me a telegramme: 'Should Kapuscinski happen to show up in your territory, please inform PAP through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' (The Soccer War, Chapter 2, pg. 141)."

Up until now, no questions can be answered, we only get know that Algeria is still in a civil war, but nothing about Ben Bella and Boumedienne.

- Will Ryszard get captured by some sort of guerrilla?

- How will Kapuscinski get out of the town with the revolution his going to?

- Where is Ben Bella?

- Somewhere along the story will Ryszard get shot or wounded?

- In what kind of trouble is Ryszard Kapuscinski going to get into?

The Soccer War: Algeria Hides Its Face (pg. 95-120)

It's incredible how people can do so much harm to each other. There are few who believe in a peaceful way of life (if there is any), but most prefer destruction, fear and submission from others. The Soccer War (at least the first chapter is all about power), starts off by telling the story of Algeria and its civil war. During this civil war, Ben Bella takes over the country with the help of Boumedienne and his army. At the beginning of his power trip, Ben Bella was loved by most of the country, he seemed to be a great leader, but with great power comes even greater corruption of the human mind. Boumedienne begins to see how the president (Bella) starts to commit a variety of errors as leader and decides to revoke him of his charge by taking control of the country. As one starts the book, it seems that Ben Bella is a great leader that wants to take every problem head one and defeat it. The problem is he gets so involved that he turns into a terrible ruler and is thrown out of his position. "They say that Ben Bella's socialism was sentimental: they say that Ben Bella 'had his heart on the left,' that he simply liked socialism (The Soccer War, Chapter 1, pg. 107)." One can notice that this leader starts off as a good man, but somewhere along the road his original path got separated and he took the wrong one.

I have decided to relate Ben Bella with Idi Amin form the Last King of Scotland. Both of these leader's are overwhelmed with power and decided to make the wrong choices for their country which in Bella's cases causes him his presidential position and in Amin's being the target of the country and many people who wish him dead. It's amazing how these two character's have a very similar resemblance. Although the book doesn't talk about Ben Bella being a murderer, it does say that he took over the power so he could help his people. In Amin's case, we see a man who leads his people to believe he wants to return Uganda to them, but he is only a corrupt, violent and brutal man. They are alike because both become thirsty for power and this leads to chaos not only for themselves, but for their people as well. Their difference comes with Amin being a murderer and Ben Bella a helping man.

"The balance sheet of his government has its indisputable credits: Ben Bella brought order to a country emerging from war; he got Algeria moving: the state apparatus, the economy, education, normal life. he turned over to the workers plantations and factories that the colonists had abondoned. Each time he nationalized and enterprise, it was and act of bravery. He prevented civil war that was threatening the country and would have plunged it into a long decline. He prepared a programme of agricultural reform which changed the lives of several hundred thousand Algerian workers. He conferred on Algeria the prestige of becoming a leading country in the Third World, wanting Algeria to be the bridge between Europe and Africa. He opened Africa and the Arav world to the Europeans left and to Communist parties. he was an active spokesman in the fight against colonialism (The Soccer War, Chapter 1, pg. 107)."

- What happend to Ben Bella? Was he killed or captured?

- Will Boumedienne become a better president?

- How long will Boumedienne remain in power?

- What will happen in Algeria?

- Will other countries notice Algeria?