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.
Symbols & Motifs
Homelessness
In addition to depicting the experience of immigrants, Tobar also focuses on the homeless. Just as he opens our eyes about the violence in Latin America, he also reveals the strange lives of the homeless in Los Angeles, who dwell in makeshift camps. Some could argue that he downplays the negatives homeless life, but his inclusion of characters like Frank, José Juan, the Mayor, and even Antonio shows that anyone can end up homeless and that the homeless population is not comprised of indolent washouts with no work ethic but a variety of people with diverse backgrounds, experiences, temperaments, and traits. by a d no matter their background.
Poverty
In addition to homelessness, Tobar focuses on poverty in Los Angeles and San Cristóbal. He depicts a nuanced impoverished world through characters who are authentic and sympathetic, to put a human face to the issue and show a variety of experiences with improvement. Longoria’s character proves that anyone can climb above the poverty line, just as Lopez’s decline shows how quickly vulnerable people can collapse into poverty. The text also suggests that this massive impoverished underworld will naturally cause outbursts like the LA riots.
Race Relations
It could be argued that Tobar paints too rosy a picture of black-Latino race relations in LA, where these two populations often clash. For example, he does not portray instances of black-Latino violence during the riots. However, he is aware of this aspect of race relations. For example, it is noted that the homeless camp is an outlier, an unusual example of a place where races comingle. Longoria also expresses repeated contempt for the gangsters outside his apartment building. However, Tobar’s main point seems to be that minorities in LA are often forced to live in a substratum beneath the affluent white population, and that the police often serve as the enforcers of a racial and economic divide.
Related Titles
By Héctor Tobar
