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Why Is Fidel Castro A Hero

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Fidel Castro is considered to be one of the world’s most controversial human figures. On one hand, many people say he is a ruthless and evil dictator. While many others say he is the man who saved Cuba and is their national hero. In the biography Fidel Castro by Volker Skierka, Castro is portrayed as a national hero. While looking at the cover the readers are able to see Castro smoking a cigar, which set a tranquil tone for the rest of the book. This hagiography tells the story of Castro’s entire life from adolescence until his vast rein of being dictator of Cuba. The biographer Victor Skierka portrays Castro as a good family man who loves his people and feels a certain amount of responsibility for the country he loves. The bias biography gives …show more content…

His positive characteristics are highlighted throughout the biography. Castro is portrayed as a determined leader; a leader that does not lose. The biographer continues writing that Fidel Castro was offered a professional baseball contract when he was young, because of his great athleticism, and today Castro enjoys swimming (Skierka, 3). Castro’s family is portrayed in a very positive manor. Skierka writes about Castro's father who was a serious and hardworking man, and about his loving mother who gave affection and love to their children always pushing them to further their education in order to reach higher ranks (Skierka, 10-11). “He too showed an early strength of will, and a similar self-assertiveness and refusal to compromise” (Skierka, 11). Fidel Castro is compared to his father who was a perfectionist and was assertive to always get what he wanted. Even in college, his fellow peers already saw a tremendous amount of potential in Castro. They saw him “dressed up fit to kill in his black party suit, handsome, self-assured, aggressive, and obviously a leader” (Skierka, 22). Skierka uses many positive adjectives and description to present Castro in a virtuous light. Skierka portrays Fidel Castro as a selfless man during the revolution against Batista. Fidel Castro was in the front rank, …show more content…

Volker Skierka makes sure to emphasize the affirmative traits that were present in Castro, while strategically choosing to omit the many flaws Castro had. Skierka adds superfluous details in order for the reader to understand that this biography is bias. He is not interested in mentioning the downfalls, failures and catastrophes that Fidel Castro faced throughout his lifetime. Skierka emphasizes Castro’s positive traits to the extent where it seems he is unaware of the many flaws Castro had. Volker Skierka’s mission was only to show the positive aspects of Castro and he was able to do so without any false

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