Antonio Skármeta, The Days of the Rainbow, Ch. 37-44, pp 181-231.

Antonio Skármeta, The Days of the Rainbow. Trans. Mery Botbol. NY: Other Press, 2013.

IV pp. 181-231

1.    Why does Adrián Bettini suggest that Raúl Alarcón take a little vacation to the beach? (183)
2.    Who is in the gray car and the black car parked outside Bettini’s house?
3.    What do the polls predict a few days before the elections? (185)
4.    How has Pinochet’s political strategy backfired? (187)
5.    What are the two rumors about how Pinochet’s government may react to a defeat at the polls? (187)
6.    What is the actual outcome of the plebiscite? (189)
7.    What is Pinochet’s official response to the results and what does he mean by it? (189) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barabbas

8.    What do the international press reports indicate about public opinion of the plebiscite around the world? (190-91)
9.    According to (Former) Minister Fernández, what is the biggest challenge now for the “No” coalition? (192)
10.    Why do you think that Fernández tells Bettini to call off his goons, rather than doing it himself? (194-95)
11.    How does Professor Santos regain his freedom, and at what cost? (197 & 199)
12.    What do the cigarette burn marks indicate? (198)
13.    What is the significance of Nico’s handing in the lyrics to the Billy Joel song instead of an explanation of the parable of the cave? (200)
14.    Why does Patricia want to lose her virginity somewhere other than Santiago and why does Nico still have a soft spot for Santiago? (204-05)
15.    What do Bettini’s notes about the “No” campaign indicate about his strategy? (208-10)
16.    Who were Violeta Parra and Víctor Jara? Who is Juan Manuel Serrat? (209-10)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Parra
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V%C3%ADctor_Jara
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_Manuel_Serrat

17.    Why does it seem to Nico and Patricia that his notebook is prophetic about their personal situation? (211)
18.    How is Nico’s image of Patricia different from her self-image? (217)
19.    What do you make of the note that Patricia left for her father? (219)
20.    How would you characterize the conversation between Fernández’s and Bettini at the high school graduation ceremony? How has their relationship developed over the course of the novel?
21.    According to Bettini, what are the next two steps in the opposition’s political strategy? (228)
22.    How does the two men’s assessment of the political future differ? (229)
23.    What additional challenge to the opposition coalition does Fernández mention? (231)
24.    What is the Fable of the Frogs and why do you think that the novel ends with another allusion to it? (230-32)

Aesop For Children (The Frogs Who Wished For a King)
Milo Winter (1919)

“The Frogs were tired of governing themselves. They had so much freedom that it had spoiled them, and they did nothing but sit around croaking in a bored manner and wishing for a government that could entertain them with the pomp and display of royalty, and rule them in a way to make them know they were being ruled. No milk and water government for them, they declared. So they sent a petition to Jupiter asking for a king.

Jupiter saw what simple and foolish creatures they were, but to keep them quiet and make them think they had a king he threw down a huge log, which fell into the water with a great splash. The Frogs hid themselves among the reeds and grasses, thinking the new king to be some fearful giant. But they soon discovered how tame and peaceable King Log was. In a short time the younger Frogs were using him for a diving platform, while the older Frogs made him a meeting place, where they complained loudly to Jupiter about the government.

To teach the Frogs a lesson the ruler of the gods now sent a Crane to be king of Frogland. The Crane proved to be a very different sort of king from old King Log. He gobbled up the poor Frogs right and left and they soon saw what fools they had been. In mournful croaks they begged Jupiter to take away the cruel tyrant before they should all be destroyed.
“How now!” cried Jupiter “Are you not yet content? You have what you asked for and so you have only yourselves to blame for your misfortunes.”

Moral
Be sure you can better your condition before you seek to change.”
https://fablesofaesop.com/the-frogs-pick-a-king.html Links to an external site.

25. How does this novel compare to Kamchatka, The Secret in their Eyes, Clandestine Childhood and Machuca as a coming-of-age story set against a backdrop of dictatorship and repression? Which novels or films do you prefer and why?