The novel, Miracle in the Andes, by Nando Parrado, tells the horrifying story of a plane that crashed in the Andes mountains while carrying a Uruguayan rugby team and some of the players’ family members. Due to multiple great strokes of fortune, nearly all of the people onboard the plane survived the crash, including forty of the forty-five passengers, but the narrator and main character of the book, Nando Parrado, unfortunately lost his mother. They learned early that survival in the Andes would be tough, but through hard work, they managed to find water and a little bit of food and made sure to keep themselves warm enough to survive in the frigid temperatures. While the team initially thought that they would be rescued quickly, they began
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In the novel, the writer often compared the team’s predicament to a game of rugby, noting that they would need to utilize the same tactics that they used in rugby in order to survive. He stated that rugby was a complex game that, “required sound strategy, quick thinking, and agility” (Parrado 14). This shows that rugby is symbolic for the strategies and techniques that the team would have to utilize in order to be successful in the Andes as well. The team would have to trust each other, think quickly, and use sound strategy both to move the ball on the rugby field as well as they would to come up with a plan to survive the Andes, rationing their food and quickly constructing shelter while relying on each other to do what is necessary. Moreover, the author uses a very serious and grave tone in the book in order to establish a depressing mood. For example, he once asked himself, “Why do we struggle? Why do we endure such suffering and pain?” (Parrado 213). This demonstrates the author’s hopeless tone that reflects the amazing seriousness and the gravity of their situation, often encouraging the reader to give up hope. The author’s dismal tone and use of symbolism accentuate the problems in the …show more content…
For example, everyday, I wake up to a happy family with both of my parents and two sisters. However, not everybody can say that, as the book points out. Many of the characters in the book lost loved ones in the plane crash, or passed away themselves, leaving their families to grieve for them. Moreover, other characters’ parents had divorced and their families split permanently, so they were left unable to see their parents and siblings very often, if at all in some cases. Not only do I take my family for granted, however, but I do not even realize how valuable every day is and how lucky I am to be alive. In the book, nearly every character was like me, drifting through life without even considering how lucky they were, until the plane crashed. They watched many of their friends die and had to fight for their own survival, barely scraping by in pure misery. After returning home, they never to looked at life the same way again, realizing that life is valuable and that everyone should make the most of every day because each one is amazing, and you never know how many more you will have. I have realized how blessed I am to have the life that I do, as I have never had to struggle like any of the characters in the book had to. I come home every day knowing that their will be food on the table and a roof over my head, but never stop to
In the novel, the writer often compared the team’s predicament to a game of rugby, noting that they would need to utilize the same tactics that they used in rugby in order to survive. He stated that rugby was a complex game that, “required sound strategy, quick thinking, and agility” (Parrado 14). This shows that rugby is symbolic for the strategies and techniques that the team would have to utilize in order to be successful in the Andes as well. The team would have to trust each other, think quickly, and use sound strategy both to move the ball on the rugby field as well as they would to come up with a plan to survive the Andes, rationing their food and quickly constructing shelter while relying on each other to do what is necessary. Moreover, the author uses a very serious and grave tone in the book in order to establish a depressing mood. For example, he once asked himself, “Why do we struggle? Why do we endure such suffering and pain?” (Parrado 213). This demonstrates the author’s hopeless tone that reflects the amazing seriousness and the gravity of their situation, often encouraging the reader to give up hope. The author’s dismal tone and use of symbolism accentuate the problems in the …show more content…
For example, everyday, I wake up to a happy family with both of my parents and two sisters. However, not everybody can say that, as the book points out. Many of the characters in the book lost loved ones in the plane crash, or passed away themselves, leaving their families to grieve for them. Moreover, other characters’ parents had divorced and their families split permanently, so they were left unable to see their parents and siblings very often, if at all in some cases. Not only do I take my family for granted, however, but I do not even realize how valuable every day is and how lucky I am to be alive. In the book, nearly every character was like me, drifting through life without even considering how lucky they were, until the plane crashed. They watched many of their friends die and had to fight for their own survival, barely scraping by in pure misery. After returning home, they never to looked at life the same way again, realizing that life is valuable and that everyone should make the most of every day because each one is amazing, and you never know how many more you will have. I have realized how blessed I am to have the life that I do, as I have never had to struggle like any of the characters in the book had to. I come home every day knowing that their will be food on the table and a roof over my head, but never stop to