The Civil War in Madrid: A Family’s Struggle for Survival
Plot:
Begins in a field of Madrid.
There, two friends, Louis and Paul are talking about movies, books and girls. Luis begins to imagine a war in the open field with tanks, planes dropping bombs …
Paul’s family has gone on holiday and has stayed with his sister. Luis wants a bike but the notes do not buy it.
When Louis arrives home he finds that his parents, his sister and the maid are listening to the radio. They said they had risen some revolutionaries in Morocco, but was not given much importance.
When Don Luis returned from work, said that several people have been killed and as many have disappeared. The fear of a war run by Madrid. That same day put the radio and heard that the revolutionaries had reached the capital, also said they had not raised the blinds at night because they could shoot. In the midst of this turmoil in July, the son of Doña Antonia’s hand asked Manolita and Luis starts to fall in love with Mary. By this time the war was a reality and almost every day they heard bombs or machine guns. Mary went to his village and met a man who became her boyfriend.
Don Luis set up a union for workers and got to be head of her store because their owners fled in fear or were killed. People did not dare to go out and hunger abounded. The food was very few and distributed food rations were insufficient. But as Don Luis had brought wine bottles home and changed them for food. But these supplies are gone soon. Sometimes the planes flying over their homes and had to take refuge in the shelter that was under the floor. There he met the entire community.
Manolita had a baby and would marry in July. But one day a bomb hit the bazaar he worked and died.
Peter had been sent to a concentration camp and may die.
Doña Antonia was very embarrassed and hungry, so I occasionally stole from Doña Dolores.
After the war a long time without food, sounded the alarm and some neighbors down the shelter, but the alarm sounded because it was a plane but did not throw bombs if not all bread and stuck to catch it.
The conflict was getting closer to the end and the revolutionaries were about to defeat the Republic.
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One day Mrs. Dolores received a visit that never would have expected, Mary came
with a man and brought food and news. They said that Valencia were filled by
food. The boyfriend was bringing food a while until one day she came one count that as they had married during the war that marriage is not worth, so they were no longer together. She asked for work but at home of Mrs. Dolores could not because they had money and went to work with the neighbor.
The revolutionaries had overthrown the Republic and many of those who fled returned, and Don Luis was unemployed.
A Don Luis was going to be judged by what the union and dropped the q smallest sentence was 12 years. Luis got a job and eventually his father bought him the bike.
At the end of the book are Luis and his father talking in the place where Luis and Paul spoke of the war and said that Madrid would never be a war.
Don Luis was tried and died in prison because of illness. His family continued if life in theater and Manolita Luis between studies and work.
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Topic:
It’s about a group of families living during the Civil War, locked in their homes, leaving only the extremely necessary. When the war comes to an end the characters have to rebuild their lives, which will not be easy because most are unemployed and have looked for one to survive as the money earned during the Civil War was not valid.
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Characters:
Don Luis, is the head of household. Working in a winery. Dolores is married and has two sons, Luis and Manolito. During the war creates a union, became head of the wineries, and so all that was sentenced to twelve years in prison, where he died from a disease.
Doña Dolores, wife of Louis. His house is bourgeois appearance of a worker. You have about forty years. Her neighbor and friend is called Dona Antonia.
Manolita:
daughter of Don Luis or Doña Dolores. It’s a pretty young girl. He works as a teacher. Your neighbor is in love with her and eventually marry. Before he had a son with an army captain was killed. When I was a single mother asked her neighbor July hand, but he also died.
Luis, son of Don Luis and Doña Dolores. It is a young boy of about sixteen. Fond of literature and very imaginative. She enjoys writing poetry and drama. The war caught in the throes of puberty and discover their sexual desires with her maid. Want a bike to pick up a girl but his father did not buy until the end of the war when the need for work.
Mary family maid. Girl with a goofy face, tight and well-prepared meats. All her family lives outside Madrid. Luis and she fell in love and she decided to leave home to return to his village where he met the man she married. During the war, very fat.
Paul
Young about fifteen years, best friend Luis. He loved literature and film. During the war her parents were on vacation and he stayed in Madrid. When his parents returned to normal all by him again and went to live in Barcelona.
Doña Antonia was a small woman, gray and limp was about fifty years. He spends part of the work in the house of Doña Dolores. His son Julio Manolita married and Peter was dating a prostitute. She is a widow and is a bit poor. He had a store but sold it.
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Rooms:
Foreign: university city and the park.
Interior: the dining room of the house of Doña Dolores, Luis room, bathroom, Mary, dinning room and basement of Dona Antonia.
Although not said the year were the characters we know that the Civil War ended in 1939.
Literary form: Frame:
Theatre
Omniscient narrator even feels identified with any of the characters.
Style:
Colloquial and vulgar vocabulary.
It also discusses some important writers as: Becquer, Pedro Mata, Felipe Trigo …
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Correspondence:
Bike: Luis has a special meaning because at first he wanted a bike to go out with a girl and eventually wants to work.
Summer: Luis has a meaning that is linked to cycling, he wanted the bike for the summer was when using it.
Judgement:
I to like a book quite interesting especially because it talks about a period in the history of the country that has actually occurred.
Find 10 words:
Bato (p. 13):
stupid person, rustic and awkward.
Chola (p. 13):
popular voice for `head ‘or’ skull ‘.
Spreads (p. 28):
bribe someone with gifts or money.
Bakery (p. 39):
bakery that sells bread and baked.
Vestments (p. 111):
clothing worn by the priests on the other for religious services.
Polychrome (p. 125):
paint in various colors.
Purslane (p. 127):
any kind of vegetables, and in general, fleshy leaves are eaten in salad.
Pompous (p. 135):
happy, proud.
Maná (p. 148):
according to the Bible, miraculous food that God sent the Jews, as flakes coming down from the sky during their journey through the desert.
Plump (p. 154):
self-satisfied person.
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Assessment:
I’m not a result a difficult book to read because the end of its pages were the meanings of words not understood.
Performed by a side to me about 3 hours.
Would give a rating of 8.