Diary Of A Survivor: Literary Analysis :: essays research papers

Title Diary of A subsister Nineteen Years in a Cuban Womens prisonAuthors Ana Rodriguez and Glenn GarvinPublished St. Martins PressType of Book Assisted auto-biography eyepatch SummaryDiary of a Survivor follows nineteen years of Ana Rodriguezs life, a Cuban woman arrested by Cubas State security measures in her late teens. As a teenager she had been an activist against the Batista champion-man rule which governed Cuba, and at first welcomed Fidel Castros take-over of power. Gradually, however, she realises that Castro has no intention of leading Cuba democratically and joins the fight against him. She is betrayed to the authorities by an informant, is arrested, tried and convicted, and is sentenced to thirty years in prison.Diary of a Survivor tells of Ana Rodriguezs continuous resistance against policy-making intimidation that in the end breaks her captors rather than them breaking her. This strong will and courageousness earns her legendary among fellow political prisoner s and civilians as a plantada one who cannot be broken.Themes/ Thematic StatementsThe ill-effects of communism/ dictatorships on a society is explored through the undefiled book as it was a constant part of Anas life, in fact it is what caused her imprisonment.Human rights abuses in Cuba and in communist countries in oecumenic Cubas corrupt government hierarchy and legal system alike feature throughout the books, like the continual rapes and beatings the prisoners face.People who betray one group of tribe will end up betraying anyone they come into accomplish with. This is shown in Isis Nimo, the spy who initially gets Ana sent to prison but eventually gets fired from all her government jobs because of her untrustworthiness.Racism can work in reverse but still produce adverse effects. There are two mentions of black political prisoners (most are white). They are considered unusual because Fidel Castros regime was meant to favourable to black people in general.Even people who a re said to convey firmly set ideas can have doubts, like the hard-line communist soldiers who do not join in when the women are being attacked and the guards that in one particular incident position the starved prisoners food.The pros and cons of the chivalrous Cuban idea that women are considered good and passive, and therefore only the most offensive women criminals are jailed in Cuba, and the burn of it by some officials. This is touched on whenever there is contact with the normal prisoners, and in an especially disturbing scene where a group of pistillate common prisoners are let into a cell where a four-year-old girl is held as a traitor to the Fidel Castro regime.