–What do you think the significance of Allende’s title is? What does it mean to be made of clay? –
-What happens to Rolf in his encounter with Azucena?
–Why do you think Azucena becomes a symbol of the tragedy that is unfolding in the story?
–What did you make of the President’s visit to the site of the disaster? What kind of commentary is Allende making here?
–How can you connect this story with your own experiences of natural or other disasters? Are there elements of the story that you can relate to? How?
I thought that the President’s visit to the site of the disaster was a very insensitive thing to do because he clearly did not care about Azucena for the sake of caring. He made a show of coming to see the site and to see Azucena all under the disguise of being a caring person, but if he did actually care about what was going on, he would’ve come sooner to help out or to bring help instead of coming on the third day with only “vague promises” (1231). This instance of the President shows that Allende is making political commentary here. She is criticizing how politicians have a tendency to act like they care about their people when in actuality, politicians are just doing what they can to gain the public’s favor. Allende is pointing out that what politicians do are politically motivated, and they use the media to showcase themselves doing good deeds to make the public like them more.
–How can you connect this story with your own experiences of natural or other disasters? Are there elements of the story that you can relate to? How?
This story relates to my experience of Hurricane Maria that devastated Puerto Rico in 2017. Although I do not live in Puerto Rico, I still have my grandfather and other family members who thankfully survived this deadly disaster. One way that this story relates to my personal experience is how the President visited Azucena, but did not do any actions that would have saved her life. Similarily, ex President Donald Trump visited Puerto Rico after the disaster, and instead of doing any productive actions to help save those in need, he instead was throwing paper towels to Puerto Ricans during a media press conference. What is similar is how world leaders make highly publicized media appearances after disasters occur and speak a few fancy words, but fail to provide true relief to those in need. Furthermore, help is often found within the community. I say this, because Rolf Carle first appears to Azucena as an eager news reporter, but he breaks down all his personal barriers and by the end of the story he is a person that truly cares for her and makes the effort to try and save her. Similarly, in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria my grandfather and family members had to sleep outside their yards in tents. During this time, they received no relief or aid from any government agencies, instead members of the community would check up on each other and share food and water. Thus, it is often true that when disasters occur communities are able to find strength in unity and lean on each other to survive hardships and move forward.
-What happens to Rolf in his encounter with Azucena?
Rolf, in his encounter with Azucena, turns into a volcano– all the things that he hid just built up and erupted out of him. He also becomes more emotional, since he claims to love Azucena more than any other women, including his mother and the fact that he kissed her shows him being ‘caught in the moment’ and not thinking of any repercussions like his girlfriend feeling upset or jealous (of the kiss and opening up, not being stuck).
When the President witnessed the disaster, he says that this was something big when he pretends to care. Also, Rolf asked the President for a pump to save Azucena and he responded that he could not be able to get it. This made me feel bad for the people stuck in the mud because other people care about the number of viewers, they get instead of the situation that is happening. Also, you see this happening on page 1229 where the crew is getting their cameras ready to film the volcano incident and Rolf was still asking a pump to rescue Azucena in the mud. The comment that Allende is making about this is that everyone is concerned about the number of viewers they are getting without realizing what is happening. She writes this to make the audience feel bad for the people stuck in the mud and Rolf to show how the lack of care that others are feeling when they watch this on TV.
What did you make of the President’s visit to the site of the disaster? What kind of commentary is Allende making here?
A natural disaster hits the country, resources are there to help the injured and there were not as many of the dying victims. In particular Azucena was needed to pump a drain of water out from the mud she was stuck in. They couldn’t get the pump to Azucena in time. To find the pump it becomes a possibility. Through the disaster site they managed to fly a helicopter. Many important people includes the president who were able to get to Azucena from Allende that sends a message to her readers by showing the governments true priorities and lacks compassion with the people.
–What did you make of the President’s visit to the site of the disaster? What kind of commentary is Allende making here?
What I made of the President’s visit to the site of the disaster was to protect his reputation and to benefit himself. He was described as wearing a tailored safari jacket, this can be seen as someone who is more focused on his appearance rather than focusing on the disaster itself. The President made a short speech on how this is a disaster and did not give any other means of care to the people in need. This can be related to many national disasters we have seen here in The United States of America. Every time we would have some sort of disaster it is met in a similar situation, leaders will say the same speech such as the President in this story and focus on their appearance more than the disaster. Allende is making critical commentary against the President when she is referring to his tailored safari jacket. This is because she is referring that his jacket is tailored, which can be referring to that he picked this jacket that he used his time more on his appearance and not focusing on the main issue, which is the disaster.
What happens to Rolf in his encounter with Azucena?
After Rolf encounters Azucena, instead of doing his job as a journalists to record her, he is unable to do this because he sees her clinging to her life. He sees his former self in Azucena because she reminds of himself when he had his near death experience during WWII. He realizes that she opens wounds for him that he still hasn’t healed from that makes him not want to leave her side until she ultimately dies. He feels helpless in aiding Azucena and when she succumbs to her wounds, he feels like his wounds are opened again.
What happened to Rolf in his encounter with Azucena was all his emotions that he tried to repress, being behind the camera, exploded like a volcano. Rolf left his position as a journalist to try to save her. He empathizes with the feeling of helplessness towards her. Rolf views himself like Azucena, buried beneath the mud and held down by her siblings. He, too, had a difficult time in Europe during WWII and had issues with his family that he had to deal with from a young age. It is the only time Rolf has ever opened himself up to anybody, and it is someone he feels is in a very similar situation to his, which turned Rolf into a changed man.
How can you connect this story with your own experiences of natural or other disasters? Are there elements of the story that you can relate to? How?
My family and I went back to Hong Kong two summers ago to visit my grandma. That was when Hong Kong protests were taking place. I remembered watching the news every day, warning us to not leave our house at a specific timing because protestors will be there. Protestors were throwing gas bombs and tear gas at the police and tried to break into the police stations. There was a police station three blocks away when I lived and it was so loud due to the screaming and protesting. One thing I can relate to the story is the reporters. We as bystanders learned about the protests through the reporters and the news channels, just like Rolf’s girlfriend in the story. Unlike the story, where the narrator was far away, the protests were located inside the city. In addition, not just the police, but news reporters and citizens living around the protests got attacked by the protestors too.
Why do you think Azucena becomes a symbol of the tragedy that is unfolding in the story?
I think that Azucena becomes the symbol of tragedy because of how upsetting it is that a young innocent life is being taken away by a horrific accident. When any tragedy takes place, I notice often times reporters mention and tend to focus on the “young lives that were taken.” We tend to imagine and think of the life that this young person could have lived and the difference they could’ve made had the tragedy not taken place. This is the case with Azucena, however, instead of helping her, the reporters are like vultures, feeding upon her situation and tragedy. They know how people will react to her situation, and have documented in full detail what she is going through a live broadcast, winning millions of viewers, but slowly watching her lose her life.