The first evident literary element of this story was the setting. The story takes place in Argentina in the 1970’s before the country was a democracy. During a time when a military regime had begun censoring all of the mail coming into or going out of Argentina. It is also quite evident that the tone of this story is quite serious. The author describes the level that the censors go through to ensure that no unacceptable messages are delivered by the post office. “He knows that they examine, sniff, feel and read between the lines …show more content…
Venezuela writes “Well, you have to beat them to the punch, do what everyone tries to do: sabotage the machinery, throw sand in its gears, get to the bottom of the problem so as to stop it.” (Venezuela, 1992). Each of these phrases is a colorful way of telling the reader that Juan plans to get a job in the censorship division just to find the letter that he had written in order to ensure that Mariana was safe. This figurative language was also effective in painting a picture for the reader as well as conveying the purpose of the story; a written protest to the invasion on the civil rights of the Argentinian