In The President, Miguel Angel Asturias depicts a society in which all aspects of life are manipulated by a ruthless, tyrannical President. In the book, the President has control over all facets of daily life through his employment of a corrupt secret police; “A network of invisible threads…connect[s] every leaf with the President, enabling him to keep watch on the most secret thoughts of the townspeople” (Asturias 39). The President is an egotistical and paranoid character affected by the extent of his own power.
[...] The power of power In The President, Miguel Angel Asturias depicts a society in which all aspects of life are manipulated by a ruthless, tyrannical President. In the book, the President has control over all facets of daily life through his employment of a corrupt secret police; network of invisible threads connect[s] every leaf with the President, enabling him to keep watch on the most secret thoughts of the townspeople” (Asturias 39). The President is an egotistical and paranoid character affected by the extent of his own power. [...]
[...] Thus, the President's use of power to rule people's minds also ensures repression of free thought, and in turn, his position as dictator. Not only does the President's use of power take a toll on society, but it also contributes to the President's ego and paranoia. Although Asturias does not give a detailed depiction of the President's personal qualities, he successfully portrays him as a man unable to trust. At one point, when the President is addressing a crowd of people cheering for him, he stands so as not to expose his breast, and afterwards, he is “suddenly [and without reason] inhibited by a strange feeling of fear” (Asturias 98). [...]
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