The Tattooed Soldier Analysis

Despite most Americans associating the word “immigrant” with Mexicans, there is a whole wide spectrum to the word “immigrant”. Not only did Mexicans and other Latino groups come to the U.S. to find jobs, but Central Americans also came to the U.S. to escape the chaos that was occurring in their home countries. The Tattooed Soldier by Hector Tobar, illustrates these aspects of power, difference and inequality by describing the story of Antonio Bernal traveling to the U.S. to escape his death by a Guatemalan death squad only to find himself in the same city as the killer of his wife and son. Throughout the novel we see how the discrimination against race, class, gender, and sexuality make it difficult for those who migrate to the U.S. in

There is a famous quote by David Brin which states: “It is said that power corrupts. But actually it’s more true that power attracts the corruptible. The sane are usually attracted by other things than power.” This quote means that not everyone can be corrupted, but sometimes, people are too weak to handle the pressure. Additionally, power comes in many forms, but one way that really stands out is when it boils down to influence on other people. Furthermore, in real life and in novels, power often corrupts people and characters. In both the novels Lord of the Flies by William Golding and Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger, power has the ability to bring out the worst qualities in human nature in the antagonists, a concept that can be also be applied.

“All power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” is a quote from Lord John Dalberg-Acton, explaining that any amount of power can corrupt the mind, but absolute power will take over. This is represented throughout history: in politics, monarchies and times like the french revolution. Many writers have used this theme in their works. One work that includes this theme is William Shakespeare's Macbeth. The play Macbeth follows Macbeth, a brave warrior as he gains power from his deeds both good and bad. By killing the Duncan, the former king, Macbeth rises to power and takes control of his country. With every bit of power that the Macbeth’s gain, they become more and more corrupt.

The abuse of power has led to a division among Latino communities. The Tattooed Soldier depicts the struggles of Guatemalans trying to survive in an environment that is filled with wars and havoc. The use of power has led to the creation of social classes that are not only based on wealth but of gender, and heritage. This practice of power has led to the lack of collaboration amongst Guatemalans and resistance movements has led to chaos that can not only be left behind in Guatemala. The novel itself follows the stories of a Guatemalan man and his struggles that have caused him to migrate to America to seek the opportunity that seemed to be out of his reach. The man who killed Antonio’s wife and how he tries to reflect how life in America is different in the sense of use of power. Antonio’s wife appears to tell her story leading up to her death and which gives insight to how Antonio’s personality has drastically changed due to the tragic events that he underwent in Guatemala. The nation was undergoing constant wars between the government and the people seeking to gain economic and social help. The war was between the government and the Guerillos, but innocent lives were caught in the middle and many had to be extremely cautious as the government was being cautious against anyone who hinted at resistance.

Downtown Los Angeles is one of the busiest commercial centers in the United States. However, the city holds two groups of people in different economic level-the homeless and the working class. Hector Tobar frequently includes the landscape of the setting in downtown Los Angeles in The Tattooed Soldier. The novel is about two immigrants from Guatemala who have moved to Los Angeles. The protagonist, Antonio, takes a revenge on the antagonist, Longoria because he murdered Antonio's wife and son when he was a Guatemalan soldier. Tobar applies a number of metaphors to connect the buildings and freeways in downtown to Antonio's position in the city. Buildings, freeways, and shadows are metaphors for Antonio's economic and social status.

Immigrants’ experience can be described as being transcultural, meaning their experiences from their country (including cultural signifiers) are translated or transported to the new country they live in. During the transcultural experience, people can be changed by the new culture, and they also bring some their own traditional culture to the new environment. In 1990s, a lot of Latinos leave their countries to come to the United States because of the civil war. Hector Tobar’s book The Tattooed soldier tells a story of a Guatemalan refugee Antonio who comes to live in Los Angeles. His wife and son were killed by the government army. Antonio has to escape from his country because he could be killed too. After the murder, the sergeant of the death squad comes to the United States too. Antonio finds the soldier in a park in Los Angeles, and he starts to plan to kill the murderer. At the end of the story, he revenges for his wife and son. In Tobar’s other book Translation Nation, Tobar interviews many Central Americans who crossed the border, and this book also records many Latino immigrants’ life experiences. Both of the books show these immigrants’ transcultural experience in the United States. In The Tattooed Soldier and Translation Nation, the Latino immigrants are changed by the new country they live in and they also bring their own culture to the new country. Their cultures change and influence each other, that’s the reason why immigrants’ experiences are

“The first thing you must realise is that power is collective. The individual only has power in so far as he ceases to be an individual.” (Orwell).

People who have power can have negative effects on others because they can be intolerant and dangerous. Power may seem like a good thing, but I can promise you it’s not.

The actions of a powerful individual can be psychological interpreted with a single statement: “absolute power corrupts absolutely”. The general idea of power is to show leadership amongst a community, but there are distinctly two types of power a leader has. A socialized influence which benefits the community or a personalized power that results in the personal gain of the leader. The corruption of power occurs when a leader, whether it is subconscious or not, allows personalized power to dominate their socialized influence. Robert Penn Warren uses All the King’s Men to illustrate that power is corrupting and results in the destruction of political machines through the ideological views of Willie Stark, the unethical decisions he is compelled

The way a society is run and how things are enforced also can cause negative feelings towards power. It can cause many to rebel if they feel that a leader has too much control, and it can also make people covet and desire such strength leaders have. In Julius Caesar, Cassius

Power and corruption are concepts that are difficult to fully understand. Several controversies occur within these topics. There are both conventional and unconventional ways of viewing power. In an attempt to make a claim contrary to common belief, David Brin stated, “It is said that power corrupts, but actually it’s more true that power attracts the corruptible.” This statement is not accurate because power is the corrupting device responsible for a plethora of downfalls leaders have experienced.

Power is a very valuable thing, which most people seek. However, power can be used in different ways, which reflects the future outcome. If power is twisted and taken into the wrong hands, it will lead to an unfortunate outcome. In the play Macbeth, William Shakespeare shows that no matter how pure one’s intentions, power ultimately leads to corruption.

When used incorrectly, power can have harmful effects on the lives of many people, and can lead to atrocious decisions. The term power hungry is used to

In examining the relationship between those who hold power and those who have status, when one holds power but doesn’t have the status to go with it, there is often negative behavior that follows. “Across

As a result of imperialism of the United States these conflicted nations of Guatemala and Central America show what happens as a result of predatory interest. The Tattooed Soldier is a great example on the effect of destructive Imperialism does to the citizens of Middle America and Southern America. The similarities are clear with real situation during that time for the Latino community with very present discrimination, pride, and sentiment when seeking refuge inside of the United States. For Antonio and all of the hardships he had faced mirrored what normal Latino people had to go through when their struggle had started from the very moment that imperialism was involved. The rise of the Cold War hysteria gave arise to many anglo-American ideas about “evil” to be warped into hatred to those with ties to communism. The consequences were the entirety of Middle America and Southern America to go through these conflict bearing all the destruction that was brought to them. It was the manipulation of people that was consistent throughout the book and real U.S. imperialism. The commonality was throughout the latino community with many having the same background of asylum or economic poverty. Facing against the odds many of these chicanos and latinos would go to the U.S. to face hardships, but survive to carry on their legacies.