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Analysis Of The Red Umbrella

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Davis Keene
Ms. Whyte
History 10 Period 6 Acc
5/31/17

It was an event that changed the course of socialism on a global scale. It was the unfortunate result of Fidel Castro abusing his power. It was the single most important event in Cuba’s history thus far. The Cuban Revolution, which began in 1953 and ended in 1961, was led by revolutionist Fidel Castro and the "26th of July Movement" to overthrow current dictator Fulgencio Batista. After gaining control of Cuba and setting up a communist party, Castro began a set of land reforms and nationalized all foreign-born private companies. This then led to the U.S. embargo of Cuba, and communist nations around the world rallied at the thought of another instance of communism in Latin America. …show more content…

Fernando becomes worried when the “government announced that citizens can no longer have any holdings… Look at this. Me, a banker, hiding money underneath my home because I can’t trust my own bank... [not only are] we limited to how much money we can legally have, we can’t even own shares in corporations!” (Gonzales 43)”. Although the banking crisis in Cuba at the time was a threat to many people’s earnings, there is no accountability that money was hid underneath the floorboards of many homes to prevent the wealth from being distributed. Fernando’s character is a metaphor for the working class, who were nervous that they would give up the savings that they rightfully earned through their labor. By introducing Fernando as the “voice of capitalism”, the change and continuity element of the book becomes present. It takes literary elements and archetypes and combines them with the perspective of those living during the Cuban revolution, creating characters that insinuate different aspects of the revolution as a whole.
The Communist Revolution of Cuba didn’t just impact the working class, but rather also affected the youth living in Cuba as well. Many children fought in the brigades to avoid capital punishment. One such account tells the story of Jose Agustin, who wrote an autobiography of his experiences in the brigades titled “Diario de brigadista, Cuba 1961”. It was in this book that Jose talked about his daily

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