The Jaguar Smile: A Nicaraguan Journey

One of the reoccurring themes in The Jaguar Smile: A Nicaraguan Journey is the anti-United States government sentiment held by many of the people in Nicaragua, despite the country’s fascination with U.S. culture. An example of this is seen on pages thirty-six and thirty-seven of the 1997 edition of Rushdie’s book. On page thirty-six, Rushdie describes the children of Daniel Ortega running around the Ortega home with “Masters of the Universe” shirts on that portrayed He-Man and Skeletor. Then on page thirty-seven, Rushdie mentions seeing scarecrows made to look like Ronald Reagan hanging at the neck from trees, while on his way to Estelí. From these two pages, we gain a pretty accurate idea of what Nicaraguans thought about the U.S., they loved the culture and hated the government. …show more content…
Throughout the book, it seems as though any time the Sandinista’s mention reform they have great pride in their work and seemingly brag about how great their reforms are. One such instance of the continuous pride for their reforms can be observed with the agrarian reforms. The agrarian reforms were mentioned in Rushdie’s book a number of times and shown as a great point of pride for the new government. Rushdie best captures this sense of pride that the Sandinista’s had when describing a conversation with Jaime Wheelock on page thirty-eight. “We were in a heavily cultivated valley, and suddenly Wheelock launched into his favorite subject: agrarian reform. It was extraordinary the way the cherubic countenance would light up the moment the talk got round to pigs or coffee or