Chile Pinochet and the Caravan of Death by Patricia Verdugo Term Paper

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Chile Pinochet Verdugo

Patricia Verdugo's Chile, Pinochet, and the Caravan of Death is a complex and chilling portrait of the time of a brutal dictator. Her book is a highly credible and effective account of the Caravan of Death, a euphemism for the mass execution of 75 political prisoners that marked the beginning of General Augusto Pinochet's brutal regime in Chile. The Caravan of Death killings were carried out by Sergio Arellano Stark. Verdugo's investigations and her book played an important role in incriminating Pinochet directly in killings during his 17-year dictatorship. Prior to Pinochet's Chilean trial, lower-level military officers took the blame for the killings (Franklin).

This review will provide a detailed analysis of Verdugo's book. The impact of the book's title and chapter headings will be investigated, and her writing style will be critiqued. Further, Verdugo's writing style will be critiqued, and her reasons for writing the book and any potential conflicts of interest will be investigated. Finally, the scholarship and credibility, and the ultimate success or failure of the book will by analyzed.

The title of Verdugo's book is highly descriptive and closely reflects the author's intentions and main thesis. Certainly, the phrase 'Caravan of Death' tells the reader that the book is going to deal with a disturbing aspect of Chile's history. Further, it foreshadows Verdugo's disturbing and graphic descriptions of the Pinochet's actions. As such, there is little discrepancy between the author's intentions as suggested in the book's title, and the actual contents of the book. The title was not misleading, and I felt that it accurately described the contents of the book.

At a first glance, the table of contents indicates that the book is divided into a number of chapters, with titles that resemble chapter titles in a book. For example, titles include: What Are We Going To Do, General, Only the Colonel's Jeep Returned, and Five Massacres and an Amnesty. Certainly, the content of the book does not resemble that of a novel. Verdugo's book is a non-fictional account of General Pinochet's role in the torture of Chileans.

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The contents consist largely of interviews of military personnel that often detail torture and killings, material that does not represent the initial impression of a novel.

Verdugo reveals little about her thesis or argument in the table of contents, other than a mention of General Pinochet, Copiapo, and the 'Special Commission'. Instead, her table of contents is cryptic, and it is difficult to ascertain the contents of the book from such titles as Everything is Ready, General, and General Pinochet Said.

Further, the titles in the table of contents seem to indicate that the material will be relatively light and entertaining. In this way, the entertaining and pithy chapter titles seriously misrepresent the content of the book. While the chapter titles suggest an entertaining and amusing read, the content of the book is emotionally charged and often difficult to read. The book contains detailed descriptions of torture and abuse, often making the reader uncomfortable and saddened, a fact not represented by the chapter titles.

While the content of Verdugo's book is chilling and disturbing, her writing style is largely entertaining and compelling. She often lets the subjects of her interviews speak for themselves, limiting editorializing and analysis. For example, in one interview she writes, 'Were you tortured?' 'Yes....' 'Electricity?' 'No.' 'Were you hung?' 'Yes." The end effect is highly emotionally charged and disturbing, and important in making the reader identify with the victims of Pinochet's rule.

In the introduction, Paul E. Sigmund notes that Chile, Pinochet, and the Caravan of Death is an important book for anyone interested in Chilean history. Further, he notes that the book is useful for individuals who are interested in Latin American politics and the role of the military. In addition, he argues that the book is an important reference for human rights issues, and the complexities of relations between Chili and the United States of America.

Verdugo's book was published while Pinochet was in….....

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