The Censors - Luisa Valenzuela

THE CENSORS (Luisa Valenzuela) Part A a) What was the stroke of luck that happened to Juan? Juan received the new address of his lover Mariana from a confidential source. She was residing in Paris and he knew that she hadn't forgotten him. So, Juan thought it a stroke of luck that happened to him. b) What plan did Juan conceive to outsmart the censor mechanism? The only way Juan found to outsmart the censor mechanism was to intercept the letter he has written to Mariana and destroy it before it reaches in the hands of the concerned authority. Thus he decided to join as a censor to outsmart the technology. c)Why was Juan hired immediately? Juan was hired immediately because more censors were needed every day. Moreover, the authorities didn't have enough time to verify their biodata before recruiting. d)What happened on the third day? On the third day of Juan's appointment, a letter blew from a fellow worker's hand and the explosive content in it disfigured his face. Still they were insisted to work. e) What work did Juan do in Section E? In section E Juan was assigned an interesting work. He was allotted to read and analyse the letters. f)How did Juan's mother try to set things right for him? Juan was exhausted with his work in the office. His mother understood about it and she tried to divert his attention by saying Lola and other girls were waiting for him in the café and they were missing him. But he was not interested in such non essentials. g) How did the authorities reward him for his devotion to duty? As the work got progression Juan became dedicated to duty. Thus, when he got his own letter he sent it to the condemned basket. The authorities executed him at dawn for writing a letter which they thought was subversive. Part B a)What does Juan fear would happen to the letters he sent to Mariana? When Juan got the address of Mariana his girlfriend who is in Paris, he decided to sent a letter. But the thought of the letter would not let him concentrate in his work and lost his sleep at night. It was the time when strict censorship laws were imposed on people. Eventhough the content in the letter is harmless, the censor authority read between the lines, punctuations and accidental stains. They even probe the letter, smell it, feel it. The letter pass rom hands to hands until it cleared all the hurdles. Sometimes it might took months and years. He fears that his letter would bring danger to Mariana. He scared the authority who has the power and benefit to travel anywhere in the world kidnap and tortutre her. b) How was Juan able to join the Censorship Bureau? Juan decided to outsmart the censor mechanism to intercept the letter he has written to Mariana and destroy it before it reaches in the hands of the concerned authority. Thus he decided to join as a censor to outsmart the technology. His intention was not like a few others. He applied for the post of censor and selected immediately without any references because they were in need of umpteen numbers of censors each day. Even the Directorate knew why Juan and others joined but they were confident that no one will get their letter from a multitude of letters. c) How did Juan get his promotions? Initially, Juan was assigned to work in the section K where he has to open the envelope and check if there is any explosive content in it.In that section he denounced a fellow worker who tried to organize a strike to demand more pay for the hazardous work they were doing.Juan did not participate. Thus he was promoted to section J where he had to unfold and check if it contains any poisonous powder. His dedication and merits promoted him to section E where he had to read and analyse the letter. He became expert in detecting subversive contents and again promoted to section B where he had only minimal work to do. His sincerity in work leads him to the ultimate level of promotion. d) Describe Juan's passion for work, which made him forget noble mission? As Juan gets involved in his work he gradually forgets the reason he decided to become a censor. He doesn't have time for anything other than reading and analysing letters. He marks with red ink and dumped many in condemned basket. He didn't even get time for his mother. He barely managed to eat. He reaches back from work and lay asleep exhausted. He didn't even care himself. He considered his job as a true patriotic labour. He never wants to distract from his work and not interested in non essentials. He wants to be the perfect censor and detect deceit. He becomes so dedicated that he forgets why he joined the service. e) What was Juan expected to do in Section B ? He was rapidly promoted to section B only because of his dedication to the work. In section B the number of letters were very less because very few letters survived the previous hurdles. But he has to put more effort by reading the letters frequently to ensure that it didn't contain any hidden meaning or messages. He had to put it under magnifying glass and electronic microscope to check and to smell them. After he had done with the work he became exhausted and barely got strength to heat up soup and eat. His was very concerned of him and but he was not interested in non essentials. He had to put in lot of concentration to become a true patriotic labour. f) What is ironical about Juan's execution by the authorities towards the end? Juan joined the Department of Censorship with the noble intention to intercept the letter he had written to Mariana. He was scared that his letter might bring danger to Mariana who was now residing in Paris. He joined in the lower section and promoted to the highest position only because of his dedication in his work. As he got involved in the work he forgot the intention and became a true self-denying and sublime patriot. He was proud of his work. When he got his own letter which he had written to Mariana he threw it into the condemned basket. The superiors might find this letter or rather he threw it into their hands, which decided his fate. He was executed at the dawn for deceiving the authority.