The Tattooed Soldier

“To live forever with the voices of boys and girls, their last words, the calling out to their mothers. That was the biggest sacrifice. All of them cried before you silenced them for good, and a lot of them shit and pissed. Even now, the smell reminded him of death.” 

Longoria considers how the brutality he committed as a soldier affected him as a person. This is significant because he has internalized so much of his life as a soldier, even tattooing his battalion’s namesake onto his body as an expression of identity. But some acts are too horrible to compartmentalize or ignore, and killing children is one that continues to haunt Longoria.

“The Leninists were gaining influence because the movement had come under violent attack. During the day, soldiers dressed as civilians came to kidnap professors and students.” 

Much of the novel explores how individuals are marked and then targeted due to aspects of their identity, whether their gender, their race, their economic status, their political affiliation, etc. This quote shows how education factors into that marketing and targeting, especially in an authoritative regime like what existed in Guatemala. This is ultimately why Antonio and Elena were targeted, and why Elena was murdered.

“It occurred to Elena that she could take this tall man, who was still almost a boy, and mold him into the lover she had always wanted. He would be beautiful, intelligent, respectful, and passionate, and he would never lie to her.” 

Elena is struck by the differences between Antonio and her prior boyfriends. Although her other boyfriends were active in the reformist cause, they were womanizers who treated her poorly. Antonio, however, is kind. Elena prizes his good nature and his honesty, and she imagines she can stoke passion for social causes within him.

“Antonio wore that childlike look of distress and tragic loss that had become so familiar these past few days. Everyone she knew had come to wear this face. She was a member of a generation perpetually in mourning, a generation whose brazen voice had faded to a somber whisper.” 

Chapter 7 reveals that Elena’s ex-boyfriend was kidnapped and murdered due to his association with reformists. Later, Elena and Antonio are stopped by border guards who exploit their power to extort the pair for money. These incidents illustrate the violent transition unfolding in Guatemala, which is marked by death and oppression, and which etches fear and grief into the faces of everyone around Elena.

“Antonio’s presence in the kitchen was making her nervous. He was reading the newspaper while she fed the baby. Always reading. He read instead of talking. He got to read while she fed the baby. There was a lingering tension between them, a smoldering resentment carried over from one day to the next.” 

Elena is a woman caught between two roles: her duties as a wife and mother and her dedication to social reform. She never manages to acclimate to her new domestic responsibilities or reconcile these different aspects of her life, as she’s murdered before she gets the chance.

“All of this sewage is draining straight into the river. This is like the nineteenth century, things I read about in books, conditions that belong to history. And I’m seeing it right here. No lo puedo creer.” 

Elena heads to the outskirts of town to discover why the people there hold so many funerals for children. The poor conditions of the slum there shock her, as such destitution seems like something from history or fiction. This revelation sparks a fire in Elena; she cannot forget or ignore what she’s seen, and so she commits herself to addressing the issue.

“Although he had rarely encountered an armed enemy and his life was seldom in danger, he was proud of having survived so much war and destruction. It was exhilarating to find yourself still walking and breathing when you left a village that would soon disappear into the smoky sky.” 

Longoria was forced into the Guatemalan army, but with training and time he has largely accepted this service as part of his identity. This passage demonstrates how thoroughly he has embraced his role and even thrived in the position. Consumed by his personal experience of adrenaline and exhilaration, he spares no empathy for the murdered victims or burned villages.

“The easiest thing would be to forget about the man.” 

In observing Longoria’s movements to better plan his revenge, Antonio follows Longoria to his workplace. Antonio is struck by Longoria’s low position as just another subordinate. In a flash of pity, Antonio recognizes that walking away would the best thing to do. But the moment is fleeting, and Antonio’s grief and need for revenge override any sympathy for Longoria’s present circumstances.