The Censors, by Luisa Valenzuela - 856 Words

â€Å"The Censors† by Luisa Valenzuela The short story â€Å"The Censors† by Luisa Valenzuela is set in Argentina during the dictatorship of Jorge Videla who reigned from 1976 to 1983. Juan, the protagonist of the text, starts the story by writing a letter to his old friend, Mariana, at her new residence in Paris. He had received Mariana’s new address from a confidential source and was too excited to think of his actions before writing and sending the letter. Later, Juan’s â€Å"mind [was] off his job during the day and [he couldn’t] sleep at night,† thinking of the letter (Valenzuela 966). He believes the contents to be innocent and irreproachable, but the censors of the Argentine government â€Å"examine, sniff, feel, and read between the lines of each†¦show more content†¦He was shocked at the â€Å"subtle and conniving ways employed by people to pass on subversive messages† (Valenzuela 968) and censored much of the letter s he analyzed. Juan’s zeal was noticed by his superiors, and he was soon promoted to Section B, where he was to read and reread the letters as well as search them with magnifying glasses and electron microscopes for microdots. His work was so tiring; he barely managed to eat dinner before falling into bed at night. His mother worried for him, and, although it was not always the truth, told him that Lola and the girls were at the bar and missed him. Juan never indulged though, for he would be distracted, and he could not afford that. He was the most cunning at the Censorship Division and was about to congratulate himself for finding his true mission, when he received his letter to Mariana. Without regret, Juan censored it, and the next morning was executed: â€Å"one more victim of his devotion to his work† (Valenzuela 968). â€Å"The Censors† Uncensored Within Valenzuela’s â€Å"The Censors,† the satirical theme of this story mocks Juan, his thoughtless actions and his letter are symbols for innocence and secrecy. Juan’s actions symbolize the innocence of childhood and those who haven’t experienced hardship, of those who are impressionable and naà ¯ve. Juan’s actions when he receives Mariana’s address and immediately â€Å"without thinking twice, he [†¦ writes] her a letter† and sends it show his lack ofShow MoreRelatedBeing A Workaholic In The Censors By Luisa Valenzuela847 Words   |  4 Pages The story â€Å"The Censors† written by Luisa Valenzuela is about a man named Juan climbing up the ladder of his career as a censor to find the letter he sent. However, as the story progresses, Juan became devoted to his work and forgot his original purpose of becoming a censor. Valenzuela wrote, â€Å"Soon his work became so absorbing that his noble mission blurred in his min d.† (Valenzuela, 41). At the end, he saw his career as the priority over his life, and he was killed. From this story, I was inspiredRead MoreThree Hundred Eighty Seven1122 Words   |  5 Pagesof 387 years. To name a few, the United States became a country, trains were invented, cars were invented, airplanes were invented, and the world experienced two world wars. Also during this period two people were born; Miguel de Cervantes and Luisa Valenzuela. Born in 1547, Cervantes would grow up to write one of the most renowned books of his time, Don Quixote. Don Quixote was first published in 1605 during the Renaissance. It is the story of Don Quixote de La Mancha, who is an average middle classRead MoreEssay A Decision Made757 Words   |  4 PagesComstock, a pubic obscenity censor. 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Newly loyal to hisRead MoreTiempo de Silencio Essay1754 Words   |  8 Pagesdifficulty that the author encountered in his attempt to publish the book is the first reflection of the censorship of the era; although the novel was finished in 1960 it was not published until 1962, in the form of an edition with 20 pages removed by the censor . The full uncensored edition was not released in Spain until 1981, by which time Franco’s regime was almost unrecognisable from the heavily oppressive nature that it had at its beginning, and was in comparison extremely liberal. In the post civilRead MoreYolo1583 Words   |  7 Pagesan analytical and critical thinking skills Argentina : The Book of Sand Jorge Luis Borges Semantic Mapping Discussion Making Predictions 1,2,3,9 Discuss the metamorphosis of the main character in the story and its impact to him. The Censors - Luisa Valenzuela Relate story to Philippine situation during the Martial Law era in the country. Prompt Seatwork 5 3,5,8 Predict the decision made by the main character in the story. Discuss the ways in which symbols and figurative language ( imagery)are