Imagining Argentina

The main character can see some of those who were captured this gift allows him to help many of their families. He only has one desire to find his wife, but even with his remarkable ability he is totally powerless as most everyone else is to fight the government which enslaves so many people. Usually these torn families end up with members of them dead. Families are torn apart, by the Mexican government. If the author's point was to show the world the hardships of a group of very oppressed people, he definitely hit a home-run. Regardless of his amazing gift, he cannot discover the location of is wife. In Imagining Argentina, Thornton uses simple yet strong words to show exactly the atmosphere. Death is very prevalent, torture is everywhere. These were simple people being exploited by a tyrannical government. The sentences were short but not without a certain flow and poetry. Thornton makes a point of bringing up something ugly every once in a while. Tears are shed, lives are ruined, families are destroyed by the corrupt government of Mexico. Its dark, morbid tone combined with strong, powerful sentences gives it its strength. It was written in a very "to the point" fashion. "Everyone here today has lost a son or daughter, a wife or husband,"(p85) Thornton shows that there are very few people in the novel who have been untouched by death.