The censors

2
 Discuss
◈ Can you think of a situation in which it might
be acceptable for a government to censor
information?

◈ why might a government extend censorship

after wartime?

◈ Can you think of any reason why employing

government censors in times of peace would be
necessary?
What is
foreshadowing ?

◈ Foreshadowing :
Is a writer’s use of clues to hint
at events that will occur later in
the story.
◈ It creates suspense, making
readers eager to find out
what will happen next.
What is verbal
irony ?

◈ Verbal irony is when what

is said is the opposite of
what is meant.
What is Situational
irony ?

◈ is when a character or
reader expects one thing
to happen but something
else happens.
Review Irony

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 Idiom
◈ An Idiom is a commonly-used expression that
means something other than the literal meaning of
its words.
 Satire
◈ The use of humor, irony,
exaggeration, or ridicule to
expose and criticize
people's stupidity or vices,
particularly in the context
of contemporary politics
and other topical issues

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 SETTING AND THEME
◈ Theme is central ◈ Setting is : the time
message, of a story. and place in which a
story occurs
◈ Valenzuela wrote this story in
Argentina in an atmosphere of
censorship, suppression, and ◈ It can play an
violence. important role in
developing the
◈ She drew on the mood of fear theme.
and oppression to create the setting
of this story and inform its theme.
 Luisa Valenzuela
(b. 1938)

• was born in Argentina and published her first story at the age of seventeen.
Luisa Valenzuela

• After graduating from the University of Buenos Aires, she moved to Paris and
traveled abroad for several years.

• She returned home in 1974 to find political turmoil and oppression. A fascist
dictatorship, a system of government in which a leader suppresses opposition
through violent means, now ruled Argentina.

• Despite threats of censorship and physical harm, she began using her writing to
document the horrors of life under a dictator.
Introduction to the story
◈ The short story “The Censors” is set in
Argentina during the dictatorship of Jorge
Videla who ruled from 1976 to 1983.
◈ The story is written in the form of humor
and irony writing against the authorities
which control people through censorship.
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 Summary of the censors
◈ Set in Argentina in the 1970s when fascist dictatorship suppressed
opposition, “the Censors” tells the story of Juan, a young man who
discovers the address of his love interest, Mariana, and sends a letter to
her in Paris. The contents of the letter are not revealed, only that they
are harmless.
◈ Nevertheless, Juan becomes obsessed with fear that government censors
will seize and harm Mariana as a result. He determines to intercept the
letter by becoming a censor.
◈ Overtime, his task of looking for subtle message in every day
correspondence consumes him and leads to his downfall. 14

Censors : an official who examines books, films, news, etc. that are about to be published and
suppresses any parts that are considered obscene, politically unacceptable, or a threat to security
As you read, pay attention to the clues that reveal how Juan’s feelings about his work change.

1-Poor Juan! One day they caught him with his guard down
before he could even realize that what he had taken as a stroke
of luck was really one of fate’s dirty tricks. These things happen
the minute you’re careless and you let down your guard, as one
often does. Juancito let happiness—a feeling you can’t trust—
get the better of him when he received from a confidential
source Mariana’s new address in Paris and he knew that she
hadn’t forgotten him. Without thinking twice, he sat down at his
table and wrote her a letter. The letter that keeps his mind off
his job during the day and won’t let him sleep at night (what
had he scrawled, what had he put on that sheet of paper he sent15

to Mariana?).
Idiom Meaning
“A stroke of luck” a good thing that happens by chance

“let down your guard” to relax and not be cautious

“let happiness get the better allow feeling happy to take control of him
of him”

“without thinking twice” do it without hesitating

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2-Juan knows there won’t be a problem with the letter’s
contents, that it’s irreproachable, harmless. But what about
the rest? He knows that they examine, sniff, feel, and read
between the lines of each and every letter, and check its
tiniest comma and most accidental stain. the practice of
censoring
He knows that all letters pass from hand to hand and go
through all sorts of tests in the huge censorship offices and
that, in the end, very few continue on their way. Usually it
takes months, even years, if there aren’t any snags; all this
time the freedom, maybe even the life, of both sender and
receiver is in jeopardy.
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 And that’s why Juan’s so down in the dumps: thinking that
something might happen to Mariana because of his letters. Of
all people, Mariana, who must finally feel safe there where she
always dreamed she’d live.
But he knows that the Censor’s Secret Command operates all
over the world and cashes in on the discount in air rates;
there’s nothing to stop them from going as far as that hidden
Paris neighborhood, kidnapping Mariana, and returning to
their cozy homes, certain of having fulfilled their noble
mission. refers to a secret police force that arrested
people identified by the censors.
18

Life is full of fear: if no one is safe anywhere in the world, if every letter
is examined, then people are looking for subversive behavior, even where
it doesn’t exist.
 2-Juan knows there won’t be a problem with the letter’s
contents, that it’s irreproachable, harmless. But what about the
rest? He knows that they examine, sniff, feel, and read between
the lines of each and every letter, and check its tiniest comma
and most accidental stain.
He knows that all letters pass from hand to hand and go
through all sorts of tests in the huge censorship offices and that,
in the end, very few continue on their way. Usually it takes
months, even years, if there aren’t any snags; all this time the
freedom, maybe even the life, of both sender and receiver is in
Juan suffered from an
jeopardy . internal conflict. He knew that the letter’s content is
harmless if read by a normal person, however, when it is smelled, felt , 19
examined and read by the censors, they would find them as hidden messages
that would encourage a conspiracy to overthrow the government.
 Idiom: To do something before somebody else is able to

3- Well, you’ve got 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.
destruction of an employer's property
4- This was Juan’s sound plan when he, like many others,
applied for a censor’s job—not because he had a calling or
needed a job: no, he applied simply to intercept his own letter, a
consoling but unoriginal idea. He was hired immediately, for
each day more and more censors are needed and no one would
bother to check on his references.
Juan, after being extremely worried that Mariana would be harmed due 20to his
letter, decided to act quickly to intercept that letter before it is discovered so he
thought of working as a censor himself at the office and stop it.
 further

5- Ulterior motives couldn’t be overlooked by the Censorship

Division, but they needn’t be too strict with those who applied.
They knew how hard it would be for those poor guys to find the
letter they wanted and even if they did, what’s a letter or two
when the new censor would snap up so many others? That’s
how Juan managed to join the Post Office’s Censorship
Division, with a certain goal in mind.
describe the dangers of Juan’s job:

6- The building had a festive air on the outside which contrasted with its
inner staidness. Little by little, Juan was absorbed by his job, and he felt
at peace since he was doing everything, he could to get his letter for
Mariana. He didn’t even worry when, in his first month, he was sent to
Section K where envelopes are very carefully screened for explosives.

7- It’s true that on the third day, a fellow worker had his right hand
blown off by a letter, but the division chief claimed it was sheer negligence
on the victim’s part. Juan and the other employees were allowed to go
back to their work, albeit feeling less secure. After work, one of them tried
to organize a strike to demand higher wages for unhealthy work, but Juan
didn’t join in; after thinking it over, he reported him to his superiors and
22
thus got promoted
describe the dangers of Juan’s job:

6- The building had a festive air on the outside which contrasted with its
inner staidness. Little by little, Juan was absorbed by his job, and he felt
at peace since he was doing everything, he could to get his letter for
Mariana. He didn’t even worry when, in his first month, he was sent to
Section K where envelopes are very carefully screened for explosives.

This is a situational Irony. The more Juan stayed in the job, the more he
became absorbed by it. He felt at peace because he felt he is doing all he
could to reach Mariana’s letter. But apparently, he became obsessed with
his job that he forgot the reason he was there and focused on getting
promoted. This would later lead him to his death. 23
 8-You don’t form a habit by doing something once, he told
himself as he left his boss’s office. And when he was
transferred to Section J, where letters are carefully checked
for poison dust, he felt he had climbed a rung in the ladder.

9-By working hard, he quickly reached Section E where the

job was more interesting, for he could now read and analyze
the letters’ contents. Here he could even hope to get hold of
his letter which, judging by the time that had elapsed, had
gone through the other sections and was probably floating
around in this one.
The foreshadowing creates an ironic tone. Juan is slowly becoming 24
part of the problem as he justifies his actions and comes to enjoy his
job. Juan seems willing to be an informer in order to be promoted.
 8-You don’t form a habit by doing something once, he told
himself as he left his boss’s office. And when he was
transferred to Section J, where letters are carefully checked
for poison dust, he felt he had climbed a rung in the ladder.

9-By working hard, he quickly reached Section E where the

job was more interesting, for he could now read and analyze
the letters’ contents. Here he could even hope to get hold of
his letter which, judging by the time that had elapsed, had
gone through the other sections and was probably floating
around
Juan was completely in thisinone.
absorbed his job and started to enjoy it. He knew that the only
way for him to be promoted is to report incidents like his co-workers strike organizing.
25
As a result, Juan priority now is that he is willing to do it again and make it as a habit
so as to be liked by his superiors and get a promotion as a reward.
a cruel way that shows no sympathy for others

10-Soon his work became so absorbing that his noble

mission blurred in his mind. Day after day he crossed
out whole paragraphs in red ink, pitilessly chucking
many letters into the censored basket. These were
horrible days when he was shocked by the
subtle and conniving ways employed by people to pass
on subversive messages; his instincts were so sharp that
he found behind a simple ‘the weather’s unsettled’ or
‘prices continue to soar’ the wavering hand of someone
secretly scheming to overthrow the Government
-Subtle: Not clear or obvious
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-Conniving: being able to deceive others for their
advantages
 10-Soon his work became so absorbing that his noble
mission blurred in his mind. Day after day he crossed
out whole paragraphs in red ink, pitilessly chucking
many letters into the censored basket. These were
horrible days when he was shocked by the
subtle and conniving ways employed by people to pass
on subversive messages; his instincts were so sharp that
he found behind a simple ‘the weather’s unsettled’ or
‘prices continue to soar’ the wavering hand of someone
secretly scheming to overthrow the Government.
This is situational irony. I would expect that Juan would be lenient (not strict),
realizing that other people just want to communicate with loved ones as he did. 27
Instead, he is imagining schemes to overthrow the government in innocent messages.
 10-Soon his work became so absorbing that his noble
mission blurred in his mind. Day after day he crossed
out whole paragraphs in red ink, pitilessly chucking
many letters into the censored basket. These were
horrible days when he was shocked by the
subtle and conniving ways employed by people to pass
on subversive messages; his instincts were so sharp that
he found behind a simple ‘the weather’s unsettled’ or
‘prices continue to soar’ the wavering hand of someone
secretly scheming to overthrow the Government.
This is a situational irony. Juan became too involved in his work and his main purpose
is now completely forgotten. He crossed words, even the simplest of them, presumes
28
they are hidden schemes against the government and he did it without feeling any
mercy towards the senders of these letters.
 Devotion and passion

10- His zeal brought him swift promotion. We don’t know if this made
him happy. Very few letters reached him in Section B—only a handful
passed the other hurdles—so he read them over and over again,
passed them
Juan became completely lostunder
in his ajob
magnifying
that even glass,
when searched
he arrivedfor microprint
home, he barely ate
with an electronic microscope and tuned his sense
or slept, satisfied with his work. His mother started to worry about him and of smell so tried
that he
to let
was beat by the time he made it home. He’d barely manage
him reconnect with his friends or even have a drink which Juan chose to ignore. to warm
He knew that beingup his soup, censor,
a great eat some hefruit, and fall
shouldn’t be into bed, satisfied
distracted, alwayswith
alert,having
attentive
and focused to catch cheats. Juan now had a task that made him devoted for his get
done his duty. Only his darling mother worried, but she couldn’t
country (patriot) him backhappy
, both on theand
right road. She’d
neglecting say, though it wasn’t always true:
his needs.
Lola called, she’s at the bar with the girls, they miss you, they’re
waiting for you. Or else she’d leave a bottle of red wine on the table.
But Juan wouldn’t overdo it: any distraction could make him lose his
edge and the perfect censor had to be alert, keen, attentive, and sharp
to nab cheats. He had a truly patriotic task, both self-denying and 29
uplifting.
 12-His basket for censored letters became the best fed as
well as the most cunning basket in the whole Censorship
Division. He was about to congratulate himself for having
finally discovered his true mission, when his letter to
Mariana reached his hands. Naturally, he censored it
without regret. And just as naturally, he couldn’t stop
them from executing him the following morning, another
victim of his devotion to his work.

Situational irony occurs when characters or readers expect one thing to happen but
then something else happens
The last two sentences are ironic because there is nothing natural about being so driven
30
in your job that you censor your own letter to the point of being executed, and there is
nothing natural about executing someone for an innocent letter.
31
 Analyze the Text

-The author’s message is that people can begin to think

that unnatural things, censorship and executions, are
normal.
-The setting, a place oppressed by a government that
censors everything, creates the ironic situation at the
end. The author wants to show that censors themselves
aren’t safe from censorship: anyone could be a victim of 32

an overzealous censor.
-The author increases the pace of events as Juan
works at the Censorship Division.
-The phrase “little by little” shows how Juan is
starting to change. As he moves up, phrases such
as “day after day” show how quickly he is
changing. 33
For example, the author writes, “this was
Juan’s sound plan.” This foreshadows that it
is not a sound plan. Another example is
“What’s a letter or two when the new censor
would snap up so many others?” This
foreshadows the person Juan will become. 34
Juan’s original goal is to find his letter and pass it
through so that Mariana receives it. Over time,
Juan’s goal is to be a perfect censor. The author
includes details about the incremental steps that lead
Juan to change. The work became “so absorbing to
him that his noble mission blurred in his mind.”
35
Juan has come to believe that censorship is necessary
and that he is doing his duty. His final action is an
example of irony because originally, he wanted to find
his letter and save it from the censors. The author is
suggesting that the government in Argentina continues
to have power by weakening the will of its people to
resist, and in some cases, transforms them into the 36

oppressors and abusers.