The Jaguar’s Smile

 

The Jaguar’s Smile

Part 1

Salman Rushdie wrote the book The Jaguar’s Smile as he was visiting Nicaragua. Salman is a renowned author as he has written several other books that have been internationally recognized. It was written in 1987 and it is an account of his experiences during the three-week period he was visiting the country (Rushdie, 5). It was the author’s first non-fictional book. Apart from describing his experiences as a tourist in Nicaragua, the author has also focused on the politics of the country. This element in his book gives the readers a detailed description of the events that were taking place in that region during the said time. For this reason, the book ‘The Jaguar Smile’ is a very important book especially for the political science students because it provides them with an opportunity to understand the reasons why some events took place in history as well as the information required to substantiate the occurrence of these events that may have taken place.

The book being a non-fictional book provides all its readers with a detailed description of all the events that took lace in the country during the time the author, Salman visited the country. Nicaragua during the stipulated period was in a state of turmoil. Salman gained interest in this country after the Regan regime withdrew its support from Nicaragua and initiated the war against them. His intention while visiting the country was not to write a book but instead to find out the truth behind the matter in question that had caused a lot of controversy in several countries world wide. However, on arriving in Nicaragua, he was moved by the situation that the citizens in the country were facing. Because of this, he was inspired to tell the story of the Nicaraguan citizens to the rest of the world. This resulted in his phenomenal account that firmed his book, the jaguar smile. During this visit, Salman interacted with a variety of people, from the president of the country to the normal citizens of the country (Rushdie, 16). These interactions enabled him to have a more open perspective to the matters that were taking place in the country.

This is because if he interacted with only one group of people, his opinion would have been flawed because it would have only one side of the story. For instance, if he associated more with the affluent members of the society, he would not have been exposed to the problems that the ordinary citizens had (Lammy, 45). If this was the account of events he created, the book would be biased and therefore not an appropriate source of information about the events that were taking place in the country of Nicaragua at the stipulated time. The book is exquisitely written based on the exceptional flair that Salman possesses for language. In this book, the author has brought out the true Nicaragua. This is important because it enables the readers to identify with the situation the country is in as they read the deeply engrossing book. In most works by other authors, the countries that they talk about are depicted in a false light.

For this reason, they are not able to bring out the theme of the book effectively. According to Salman, in the true Nicaragua, everything is complicated and nothing is easy. For the citizens of the country, the struggles that occur in the country have become a daily occurrence for them. This book revolves around the theme of life and death and the situations that pertain to the two circumstances. Salman explains that in order for one to understand the value of life, it is imperative that they understand death. This statement is very important and he has expounded on it both directly or indirectly. This theme is very important because it serves to relay to the readers the enormity of the events that took place during the Nicaraguan Revolution. In the book, Salman subsequently explains in detail the political circumstances that were facing the country at this particular period. He does this by shedding light on the regime of the dictator Anastasio Somoza and its effect on the country. Based on this book and all the highlighted events, it is very simple to deduce the political implications of the regimes that were in power at this time (Ikenberry, 34).

Part 2

1. a) Patterns of political behavior

The Sandinista Association of Cultural Workers invited Salman to the country. The Sandinistas had come to power after the reign of Anastasio Somoza. Somoza was a dictator whose regime led Nicaragua to the deplorable conditions that it was in when Salman visited. The economy of the country had been adversely affected and this lead to an increase in poverty in the country. The Sandinistas assumed power in 1979 and most of the citizens and the Catholic Church supported this ascend to power. The government of Nicaragua was previously supported by the United States when Jimmy Carter was president. However, after Ronald Reagan took over, this support was withdrawn. This happened because of the allegations that the Sandinistas were providing military assistance to rebels in El Salvador. In light of these accusations, the United States halted all relations that they had with Nicaragua and imposed sanctions against the country (Lammy, 56).

These actions by the American government led to the sudden decline in the Nicaraguan economy. The Nicaraguan government sued the United States in the International Criminal Court for their actions that led to the fall of the economy of the country. Just two days after the Nicaraguan government won this case, Salman was invited to Nicaragua. Based on the tone of the author and the information provided in this book, Salman depicts the government to be corrupt. Proof of this malpractice is that the government prohibited the publication of the opposition’s newspaper (Rushdie, 34). For this reason, there are some actions that the government is determined to keep hidden from the public people. If they were indeed transparent and honest in all their dealings, they would allow the freedom of expression. Such freedoms will enable the opposition to publish their newspaper without any fear. By the government barring the publication of this newspaper, it ensures that the citizens of Nicaragua are not enlightened and will keep supporting them in spite of the malpractices in the country.

The book includes the Somoza era, which was characterized by dictatorship. Inclusion of this regime is to serve as a comparison between the events that took place with those of the Sandinistas era. During Somoza’s regime, Salman explains that the value of life could only be fully understood by first understanding death (Rushdie, 44). This was the case because there were several lives that were lost on a daily basis in the country due to various struggles. For this reason, life in Nicaragua was not simple and was instead intricate. The laws that were put in place were not effective and they did not protect the citizens. These laws were alternatively used to harm the citizens in the country. What made this worse was that Somoza was considered above the law and he could break any laws and no course of action could be taken against him. For this reason, he had the authorization to decide on the future of the country. He literally could decide on which citizens would live to see the next day and which ones would not.

One very distinct pattern of political behavior identified in this book is the lack of freedom of expression in the country in question. In a dictatorial government, there is never complete freedom of expression. Freedom of expression refers to the liberty that an individual has to express their personal opinions pertaining to several diverse matters. Dictators do not allow this freedom because it normally interferes with their rule. If this freedom is exercised, the government is at risk of losing the support of the citizens. Salman in his book explains that the only truth in a country governed by a dictator is that which the dictator wills the citizens to see (Rushdie, 68). This is to mean that the leader has total control over the people in the country in question. For this reason, the citizens of Nicaragua are misled, as they believe that the rest of the world is in the same situation as they are in. If freedom of expression were permitted, then they would know that this was not the case and they may even agitate for a change in government. In the case of Nicaragua, the citizens who attempted to raise awareness of the malpractices of the government were mysteriously killed and this instilled a lot of fear in the citizens. They preferred to keep up with the bad circumstances instead of facing unexplained death.

From the story, it is evident that the dictatorship regime was fully backed up by the United States government. The U.S government was aware of the mistreatment of the Nicaraguan citizens but they disregarded this. They did this because they had hidden interests in the country. The only way they were able to protect their interests was by ignoring what the government was doing in Nicaragua. This is another pattern of politics depicted in this book. Salman exposes an instance that proves that the United States government was involved and conspiring with the dictatorial government headed by Somoza. He states that the Hague had already found out that the States was violating the international law by aiding the Nicaraguan officers with firearms and training. This shows that the US was interfering with the country in a bid to maintain their interests in the country (Ikenberry, 67).

Patterns of political behavior are the key to understanding the reason behind several events that took place in history. These patters are not just limited to the United States but they apply to all the countries in the world. In the case of Salman, his book has shed light on some of the patterns that were present in Nicaragua when he visited the country. The highlighting if these patters are very crucial in getting to know why Nicaraguan citizens suffered as they did especially during the reign of Somoza. Without the identification of these matters, it would be unfruitful to try to understand the reasons behind the occurrences that took place not only in Nicaragua but also in other countries around the world (Lammy, 49). Salman has been able to bring out the patters of political behavior that took place in Nicaragua effectively and appropriately in his book, the jaguar smile.

1. b) Consequences

The most notable consequence that affected the Nicaraguan citizens due to this dictatorial regime was that several lives were lost. These people lost their lives mainly because they were agitating for change in the country. Since the government did not allow any form of freedom of expression, most of the citizens lived in ignorance in the country (Lammy, 178). The enlightened citizens did not want the rest of the people in the country to live in that way and so they intended to educate them. However, since they were so few, if the government caught wind of such people and their actions, they resorted to killing them in inexplicable circumstances. The most common method was that the people were abducted from their areas of residence and after a long while, their corpses were found abandoned. Any attempt to find out their cause of death, was met with dismissal especially from the law enforcing officers.

If the citizens persisted with this matter, the same fate befell them. Therefore, the Nicaraguan citizens learnt to accept this the hard way. It was better to ignore what was happening in their country just to ensure that they were safe and they remained alive. This kind of fear is what the dictatorial government relied on to stay in power in Nicaragua. However, it reached a point that some citizens were ready to give up their own lives for the country to be led by the appropriate leaders who would ensure that the rights of the citizens were respected. This gave rise to the revolution against Somoza’s regime. Several people died in this fight against the government but in the end, they defeated the military. This victory was not immediate and it took several years. The rebels were determined to create a new Nicaragua that could be envied. This is why they were so ready to sacrifice their lives for this cause (Rushdie, 96).

It is important to note that the rebels faced many problems in the course of this war against the government. The most notable one was that the government was superior to them in terms of the kind of firearms they possessed. For this reason, in the first few years, the rebels were killed in large numbers due to this. Nevertheless, they persevered and they emerged victorious in the end. Another consequence of the Somoza government was that the economy deteriorated significantly. Before the dictatorial government took over, the economy of the country was considerably better. It could not be compares against that of the developed countries but it was improving significantly. However, after Somoza took over, the economy just worsened at one. This led to rampant poverty that increased the disparity between the rich and the poor in the country (Lammy, 98).

Such circumstances were the result of the dictatorial government that ruled over the country for about nineteen years. With the change in government from Somoza to the Sandinistas, it was expected that the economy would get better. However, this was not the case because the United Stated stopped supporting the country. This was done due to the accusations that Nicaragua was supplying the rebels in El Salvador with ammunition. In response to this, the United States placed trade sanctions against them and this affected their already weak economy even more (Rushdie, 79). These were the most notable consequences of Somoza’s government on both the people of Nicaragua and the economy as well that are clearly depicted in the jaguar smile by Salman Rushdie.

1. Effects of the hedgemon

A hedgemon refers to a person or in this case a country that exerts its control on other people or countries. From this text, the hedgemon is the Unites States. This is evidenced by the fact that the United States were supporting the country only to obtain some benefits from them. They ignored the mistreatment of the Nicaraguan citizens in order to keep their interests maintained by the government led by Somoza. The U.S. did not support this dictatorial government by providing them with American officers but instead helped them indirectly. This was done by supplying them with firearms and ammunition of very high quality that the country could not afford given their economic situation. The Nicaraguan citizens were tortured and mercilessly killed with these very same firearms. In addition to this, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) offered some Nicaraguan nationals with training (Ikenberry, 156).

This enabled these officers to be able to use the acquired firearms effectively against their very own compatriots. This is evidence of the effect of hegemony on the government. On the other hand, hegemony also affected the revolution movement. Since the officers from the government had more advanced equipment, the rebels were easily killed in the course of the fight. As a result, the rebels were even more motivated to avenge the deaths of their counterparts. This led to the formation of a vicious cycle in which the officers killed the rebels who in turn also killed the officers more fearlessly. Hegemony’s actions have an effect on both the government and the citizens of the country in question. In the case of this book, Salman clearly depicts the hedgemon to be the United States government that exercised its authority over Nicaragua for their own benefit.

1. c) Personal opinion

Since the Nicaraguan citizens were tired of the dictatorship that Somoza brought in, they decided to eradicate it in its entirety. This was a very bold act from them especially because they were not as equipped as their counterparts from the government were. They decided to take action because Somoza’s regime had not had any positive impact on the nation; instead, it had led to even worse conditions and the plunging of the country into absolute poverty. In addition to this, the rights of the citizens were not respected. For this reason, some citizens began the revolution that was eventually successful in overthrowing Somoza’s government. These actions took place in Nicaragua because the citizens of the country were tired of the domination of Somoza’s government.

The continued deaths and poor living conditions enabled them to rebel against the circumstances in the hope of better life. The political events have an effect on global politics. This is because Nicaragua was exposed to the rest of the world during this period. The case at The Hague is also evidence of the effect the events had on the world. In addition to this, it is important to note that the powerful nations support some countries only if they have something to gain from them as in the case of the United States. If they stop benefiting from these people, they are more likely to stop supporting them. This often has a very dramatic effect on the country involved. In this case, such an effect was the deterioration of the economy of Nicaragua. Rushdie through his book has been able to highlight several key political matters. The ease of the language used and the examples given in his book makes it very easy to deduce the important point and explain them. The jaguar smile is truly an outstanding book.

 

 

Works cited

Ikenberry G. John. After Victory. Princeton University Press, 2000. Print

Lammy, David. Out of the Ashes: Britain After the Riots Random House, 2012. Print.

Salman, Rushdie. The Jaguar Smile: A Nicaraguan Journey. Paw Prints, 2010. Print.

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