The Soccer War, The real conflict

In these pages Kapuscinski arrives to Latin Aamerica. He narrates his whole trip very precisely and describes the awkwardness he felt with all of the useless things he found in America that in Africa didn’t exist. I really liked this chapter because not only he describes so well every detail of his new adventure but also he proves to be an excellent writer. When I first heard the title of the book I imagined that it had to relate to soccer but I never would have guessed that it really was about a soccer war. When we started reading about Ben Bella and everything that was happening in Algeria I though that the title didn’t have anything to do with the book, but then Kapuscinski surprised us all.
Before I didn’t know anything about the war that was going on between Honduras and El Salvador but after reading this chapter I became aware of the conflict between these two countries over land and how a soccer tournament lead to a “war”. Also in this chapter Kapuscinski reveals to the reader what an adventurous person he is. He risks his life in the conflict between these two countries just so he can let Poland and the rest of the world know what is happening in Central America. His description of what was going on between the border of Honduras and El Salvador was so precise and intense, as I read these pages I felt like if I was there with Kapuscinski.
"In reality a soldier sees no further than his own nose, has his eyes full of sand or sweat, shoots at random and clings to the ground like a mole." (pg 180)

The Soccer War (pg. 120-147)

The second chapter of The Soccer seemed to be starting rather slow. There hasn’t been much action until Kapuscinski comes into actions. Kapuscinsk goes through a lot of action in this chapter, especially when he seemed to encounter a possible death. "I was in the hands of UPGA activists. They must have been smoking hashish because their eyes were mad and they did not look fully conscious… I could feel three knife-points against my back and I saw several machetes aimed at my head. Two activists stood a few steps away, pointing their guns at me in case I tried to get away. I was surrounded. Around me I could see sweaty faces with jumpy glances; I could see knives and gun barrels.” (pg 131) This is a very important part in the book not only because Kapuscinski encounters death but also because this is a twisting point in the book, here the action seems to have begun.
Also is these pages we meet the real Kapuscinski, an adventurous journalist he doesn’t seem to fear anything.
“My boss treated me with patience and understanding. He tolerated my adventures and my pathological lack of discipline. At my most irresponsible I would suddenly break contact with… as a last resort, send telegrams to various embassies. Once, when I showed up in Bamako, our embassy there showed me a telegram: 'Should Kapuscinski happen to show up in your territory, please inform PAP through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' (pg 141)." With this quote the reader can understand Kapuscinskis way of thinking and how he likes to live his life. This chapter besides being the starting point for the action in the book is an introduction to Kapuscinski’s life.

The Soccer War; Algeria

Nowadays very few people believe in peace, most are going after power and war. The first chapter of The Soccer War is based on the search for a better country, the civil war at Algeria and the power struggle. During the civil war Ben Bella who had just gotten out of jail, was elected president by the help of Boumedienne. In the beginning of his rule he seemed to be doing pretty well and all of the people seemed to be very happy with him as their ruler. But with great power comes great responsibility. Ben Bella started to over use his power as a ruler and Boumedienne didn’t seem to agree with what he was doing. Boumedienne decides to withdraw the help he had given Bella and abrogate his power. Ben Bella seemed to be a good ruler; he seemed to be dedicated to make Algeria a better country. He wanted to help all the villages become one country and he seemed determined to leave behind the colonial mentality. What happened to Ben Bella is something very common in our world, people get power and in a given point they become autocratic and corrupt. I don’t blame him for what he did because I don’t know how I would react with so much power. Although Ben Bella did some bad moved in his government not all was bad. He brought order to a country emerging from war; he improved the country’s economy, education. He changed the life of thousands of Algerian workers by introducing a program of agricultural reform. He gave Algeria the prestige of becoming a leading country in the Third World, and becoming the bridge between Europe and Africa.

The Stranger "The End"

In these final pages the real Mersault was revealed to the reader. I finally understood why Mersault acted the way he did, it was after that, that he stopped being such a pitiful man. Its curious how through half of my blogs I commented on what a shallow and selfish persona Mersault was, and on the other half I would write about his possible improvement. Trough out this book I’ve learned to love and to hate Mersault. I would always get my hopes up thinking that maybe he had feelings and that he did care about life but he always ended up doing something that would ruin my happy endings. Although it might sound harsh, the book did have a happy ending, not the one that I was expecting but at least he ended up expressing what he felt about life and how his was coming to an end. "For the first time in a long time I thought about Maman. I felt as if I understood why at the end of her life she had taken a 'fiance,' why she had played at beginning again. Even there, in that home where lives were fading out, evening was a kind of wistful respite. So close to death, Maman must have felt free then and ready to live it all again… really- I felt like I had been happy and that I was happy again. For everything to be consummated, for me to feel less alone, I had only to wish that there be a large crowd of spectators the day of my execution and that they greet me with cries of hate." (122)
This quote answers a question I have always asked myself about Mersault. Does he still have hope and will he ever change? Indeed he did change, we finally saw how the real Mersault was like, and even though his life ended when he was executed the hope that I had on him wasn’t a waste.

The Stranger , Part II

Now that Mersault is in jail, his true self was revealed. He seemed less human than ever but at the same time he was actually feeling something. In these few pages the same Mersault was revealed but with less sensitive emotions and remarks. I am very amazed with how Mersault acts and what he responded to his attorney and to the magistrate. For him it didn’t seem to matter to whom he was responding to, he was always very direct and honest. To him it didn’t seem to matter if telling the truth would ruin his case, he was always straightforward and sincere, he never doubted expressing what he felt. This until now has been the only good quality I’ve found in him and even though most of the questions he answers seem to shock the magistrate he never doubted to tell him exactly what had happened. I think this is a great quality in a person, to tell the truth, because most people in order to save themselves lie, but then you wont be able to live in peace. Mersault instead will be able to go to sleep every night with a clean conscious. Nevertheless I’m still trying to learn to understand Mersault and in this the first chapter of the second part I actually learned why emotions and feelings never seem to affect him.
“ I explained to him, however, that my nature was such that my physical needs often got in the way of my feelings, the day I buried Maman, I was very tired and sleepy…rather Maman hadn’t died.” (65)

After the first interrogation with the magistrate, things seemed to be moving faster for Mersault. Already several months had passed and the investigation for his case was finally coming to an end. And after this I also learned something new about Mersault, how he was starting to like living in a cell. He’d seem to have adjusted to his new needs and entertained himself with what ever he could.
“ Apart from these annoyances, I wasn’t to unhappy. Once again the main problem was killing time. Eventually, once I learned how to remember things, I wasn’t bored at all…mentally noting everything there was on the way.” (78)