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| Plot Summary of Shipwrecked Sailor |
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"In 1955, a Colombian naval vessel was on its way back home from the United States when tragedy struck. According to Colombian government reports, the ship was caught in a storm. Eight men were flung off the ship, going overboard into the Caribbean Sea. Just one - Luis Alejandro Velasco - survived. For ten days, he clung to a life raft. Delusional from hunger and a lack of water, he had completely given up hope when he was washed ashore in Colombia.
Author Gabriel Garcia Marquez (most famous for his novel One Hundred Years of Solitude) was a young man of not quite 30 when this happened. He was working as a journalist and was granted a series of exclusive interviews by Velasco. He wrote these up and published them under Velasco's name in his paper.
This had unforeseen consequences. In his reporting, Garcia Marquez discovered that the Colombian government, headed by dictator General Pinilla, was corrupt. His publishers became afraid on his behalf. Worried that the government would retaliate against Garcia Marquez, they created a new position for him, naming him European correspondent and sending him across the Atlantic. Soon enough Pinilla would shut the paper down.
Over the years, Garcia Marquez has lived mostly in exile. This book was the initial reason. "
Ann Gaines, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Shipwrecked Sailor |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Political/social rights fight
Yes
Plotlet:
- suffering under dictatorship
Period of greatest activity?
- 1950+
Subject of Biography
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- navy soldier
Age:
- 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Ethnicity
- Hispanic/Latinic
How sensitive is this person?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings?
- 6 (an above average amount)
The Americas (not US):
Yes
The Americas:
- Central
- The Caribbean
Ice Caps/Sea?
Yes
Where?
- Ocean
Century:
- 1930's-1950's
Style
Person
- mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death?
- explicit references to deaths
Book makes you feel?
- angry
Commentary on society?
Yes
Commentary on
- selfishness
Writer's slant towards subject:
- favorable
Story of entire life, or part?
- story of set of events during life
How much dialogue in bio?
- significantly more descript than dialog
How much of bio focuses on most famous period of life?
- 76%-100% of book
How much is philosophy rather than life story?
- 0-25% of book
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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