preview

Misfortunes Of Ramírez

Decent Essays
Open Document

The Misfortunes of Alonso Ramírez describes the adventures of Ramírez, a poor Spanish American carpenter from Puerto Rico, taken captive by British pirates and who voyaged with them for two years. The book portrays Ramírez as a victim while emphasizing the graphic depictions of English buccaneer cruelty in order to serve Ramírez and the Mexican Viceroy’s purposes. However, through careful examination of the story, I believe that he indeed was a pirate, and will explain so in this essay by arguing four points: first, that Ramírez headed towards familiar territory due to the lack of paperwork for his belongings, second, his lack of explanation of why he did not escape whenever possible, third, his ownership of special weapons, and lastly, the words chosen to narrate the story. To begin, Ramírez sailed to Spanish …show more content…

However, Cornelio washed his hands, and blamed Ramírez and his men for planning this mutiny. The Captain charged Ramírez of “treason” and “sedition” (129). If Ramírez was indeed an outsider like he claimed, he would not have used the words “treason” or “sedition,” as he could not have betrayed someone that did not confide in him on the first place. Others may say that this indeed would be words used by a victim, as they would certainly betray their oppressors and revolt against them. Yet, if Ramírez was indeed an outsider, he would not be betraying them, he would only be acting as expected from a captive. In conclusion, despite the ambiguous portrayal of Ramírez’s relationship with the English raiders, through close examination of the text, one is able to conclude that Ramírez was a pirate himself. Ramírez’s desire to reach familiar land, not fleeing when opportunity presented itself, his ownership of weapons acquired in his travels, and the phrases used to describe his actions against the English, bring me to conclude that he indeed was

Get Access