39 pages • 1 hour read
Héctor TobarThe Tattooed Soldier
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1998A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 6-8Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Part 2: "Antonio and Elena"
Chapter 6 Summary: "A Zoo for the Generals"
The narrative shifts back in time to introduce Elena Soza, who is eating at the school cafeteria at the Universidad de San Carlos in Guatemala City when her “future mate” approaches. This is a fellow student, Antonio, whom she knows only remotely. Surprisingly, he walks up and gives her a gift: a dictionary of Quiché, the indigenous population’s pre-Colombian language. The book is finely made and expensive, and it seems like an odd gesture for Antonio to make. Nevertheless, after talking with him, Elena finds him more impressive and interesting than the gift first made him seem.
Elena is struck by how different Antonio is from her previous boyfriends. These were mostly men who were strident revolutionaries yet poor boyfriends. Antonio seems innocent and devoted; her previous partners were often womanizers. While the Marxist-Leninist ascendency within the revolutionary movement imposed more stringent moral standards, the male dominance of the movement still remained a problem.
A few days later, Elena finds herself in the park with Antonio, on the verge of making love. She asks him to find a car so that they can go somewhere, and Antonio suggests his father’s Volkswagen. Still in the park, they spot a demonstration of indignant garbage workers. They join in the demonstration but quickly become aware that the government’s spies are present. Suddenly, soldiers attack the demonstrations, even shooting one of the protesters.
Chapter 7 Summary: "Teodoro’s Hands"
Elena receives a visit from a frantic friend, Marvin Chang, who says her ex-boyfriend Teodoro has been abducted and killed. Among other feelings, she experiences guilt: If she had not parted ways with him because of his adultery, perhaps she could have protected him. Teodoro’s death is made even more shocking because of his youth. Moreover, it is well known that his hands were severed. Many radicals are concerned that Teodoro divulged information about his associates during his violent interrogation.
In the wake of this tragic news, Antonio and Elena resume their previously planned excursion. They drive out of the city and encounter an army checkpoint. The soldiers are very hostile once they see Antonio’s student identification card. They use the fact that the car is not registered in his name to detain the pair. However, when Elena successfully bribes them, it becomes clear that their main objective was to extract money. After enduring the checkpoint, the couple finds a remote lookout point where they make love for the first time. Elena is torn emotionally; she finds herself thinking of Teodoro while making love to Antonio.
Chapter 8 Summary: "The Window"
The next chapter finds Elena and Antonio onboard a bus, headed along the Pan-American Highway into the countryside. Their destination is the small town of San Cristóbal. They have been sent there with help from Antonio’s mother, who has urged them to leave the city for two reasons: first, Elena is pregnant, and second, more students have been killed, including Gonzalo, the co-editor of Antonio’s student magazine. In the countryside they see signs of desolation that prove false the newspaper reports claiming the war is raging much further from the capitol.
They move into a house rented for them by Antonio’s mother. In the small-town environment, their neighbors quickly come to know them by name. Antonio works while Elena stays home, so she is the one who mainly interacts with neighbors. Among them is Mrs. Gómez, who asks uncomfortable questions about why Elena and Antonio moved to town.
Elena hires a servant called Marisol. She constantly advises Elena with folk wisdom about babies. One day Elena and Marisol see a funeral procession for a deceased infant. Marisol notes that such funerals are common for those living in the town’s poorest neighborhood, Colonia La Joya.
Despite warnings from Antonio’s mother, Elena continues to write letters home. She is estranged from her father but keeps writing to her sister to maintain contact with her family. Meanwhile, Antonio feels frustrated by his job at the Department of Public Works. Amid this mundane scene, Elena resolves to enjoy being a wife and making the most of their new daily life.
Elena sees another child’s funeral and senses that the father of the deceased child looks at her with resentment. She resolves to visit Colonia La Joya and investigate the cause of all this misery.
Chapters 6-8 Analysis
As the title of Part 2 indicates, the story shifts to focus on Elena. It is symbolically significant that Elena’s narrative is placed at the center of the novel, as her story is what connects Longoria and Antonio. Recounting much of this part from Elena’s perspective helps develop her character more thoroughly and convincingly. We learn that she is a radical, though not in as dogmatic a sense as some of the men she dates. She is a compassionate reformist who is interested in helping people. Antonio charms her because he seems innocent and pure-hearted; he is also a reformist, much like herself.
In some ways the story of their relationship is very conventional. However, its difficulties are exacerbated by the conflict in Guatemala. They experience stress because Elena becomes pregnant, but this is overshadowed by the campaign of murder against their fellow radical students.
An important theme of this provincial interlude is the conservative yet more peaceful life of the countryside. Everyone gets to know them quickly, and it will later turn out that Elena’s efforts at winning the friendship of the townspeople saves Antonio. The nosy neighbor, Mrs. Gómez, is recognizable as the woman who saved Antonio’s life at the book’s beginning. While the townspeople are conservative and intrusive, they are often good people at heart.
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