True Colors

The whiskey priest finally reached the end of his rope. Led to destruction by the backstabbing mestizo, the priest perished when freedom had been so close. His choice to serve instead of pursue his personal desires reminds me of the first encounter I had with him, when he chose to tend to the sick woman instead of flee on the departing boat. This time, he went out of his way to help a dying man, who was the centerpiece of the scheme that finally ensnared the whiskey priest for good. In his final moments on this planet, I witnessed the priest display his true character of selflessness and contrition.

The whiskey priest had always shown some degree of high moral standards as I followed him, but he seemed to always end up conflicted and confused shortly after. In the priest's final moments, however, he only portrayed ethical behavior, with no evidence of a relapse into fear and uncertainty. I watched as the priest prayed about his daughter, begging God to spare her and condemn him. He only sought to better the future of his only kin, and cared not about his impending entry into the afterlife. I am sure that this example of immense unselfishness can be used to define the priest's true character overall, as this is how he behaved at the time of his certain doom.

It was unfortunate to see the whiskey priest, who had fought so hard for both himself and his religion, be disposed of in such an untimely manner, but there was a silver lining in that I got to see and record the priest's great courage and selflessness when faced with death. Before this point, it was hard to tell who the priest truly was, but in his final moment, his last chance to prove himself, the whiskey priest overcame all that had been hindering him and finally put true faith and generosity above all else.

Imprisoned

Lemonade. I watched as the priest made an empty, false claim, and sprinted down the street. I saw the Red Shirts catch him and hand him over to be thrown in jail. But throughout all of the chaos, no one noticed his true identity! Luck was with the whiskey priest once again.

In jail, the priest again spoke in his educated, insightful manner, and gave up his identity to the inmates. None seemed interested in his bounty, but rather in his story. Prisoners valued a new friend over seven hundred pesos? I found that quite odd. Also, the priest is constantly trying to escape his fate of being discovered, but almost welcomes the thought of giving himself up and dying! He has wavered between fear and regret all throughout his journey, and is never decisive in his actions.

Does the priest truly want to be discovered, so the hostages and others suffering due to his continued existence would have peace? Or does he still have the fight in him to escape once more? The priest is getting harder and harder to read. He second-guesses everything that he does! To only know what goes on inside his head...

Backstabbers

As I continue to follow the story of the so-called "whiskey priest", I observed an interesting encounter between the priest and and half-caste. Eventually, the priest's identity becomes known, after he relinquishes the fact to his companion, although his commentary and behavior had already made the half-caste suspect this. As the two continue on with each other, they attempt to act kindly and pleasantly, but in the end it comes down to the half-caste wanting to capture the priest for the bounty, and the priest wanting to rid himself of the delusional hindrance alongside him.

The half-caste and the priest are separated when the priest sends the mule and the ill half-caste down the path towards Carmen, while he continues in a different direction. The half-caste is enraged by this act, but was too weak to pursue the priest. I caught up with the half-caste when he entered Carmen. Still somewhat delusional due to his illness, the man started spouting off furious accusations towards the priest.

"I'll tell you what the bugger did! He threw me on his mule and sent me away- nothing I could do! I let seven hundred pesos slip though my hands!" He moaned and started mumbling nonsense to himself.

The priest exposed his devious side in his latest escape from discovery. He was kind to the half-caste up to a  point, but did what it took to rid himself of the danger. The priest only keeps others in mind until he endangers himself. How hypocritical. 

The Recruiter

The Lieutenant seems to me to be a man of great passion, and even greater insight. Although he has the power and support to act instinctively and forcefully, he instead chooses to sit back and think before acting. Most people in his position would fold under the pressure to abuse their power, and revert to pursuing short-term ambitions, but the Lieutenant, a quite peculiar man, refrains from spontaneous action.

When a makeshift bomb thrown by a young boy lands at the Lieutenant's feet, instead of exploding at the reckless youth, he takes a moment to compose himself, and ends up gaining the boy and his friends' respect by showing off his gun to them! The Lieutenant's deftness, compared to so many other bigoted officers, is a strong indicator of a grand scheme inside his head, in my opinion. He has something greater in mind for the future of Mexico, and the odds are that it will be solely beneficial to him. But what could it be? What could the Lieutenant gain by impressing a few meager children? Does he want to build up the youth of Mexico into a militant force, loyal to him? Or does he simply want to look good and gain favor in order to seize more power? All of this is unclear, as the Lieutenant's true motives are locked securely in his own mind. But what could his ambitious goal possibly be, in such a country where people topple daily and the vast majority is struggling to keep their heads afloat? What potential does he see through the suffocating disarray of Mexican society?

The Mysterious Man

The local dentist, Mr. Tench, was visited by a very strange man today. He is causing a degree of curiosity in me. He seemed somewhat interested in obscure, suspicious subjects, as if he had deeper, more important motives. His interest in the girl, the General Obregon, and his questionable profession as a doctor all contribute to his question-raising existence. Could he be a man with hidden truths about him that he refuses to reveal, or is he just another lost man, drifting day by day and occasionally losing himself in deeper thoughts, like so many of us these days?

I found that this man showed slight interest in faith-related things, but does it signify something more? He commented on Mr. Tench's expression, "Ora pro nobis." or "Pray for us." He wanted to know if Mr. Tench was Catholic. What a touchy subject for a stranger, especially in times like these. He also comments on the Madonna in Mr. Tench's home. Is he hiding his religion? Or was he a part of the church in his past? He could very possibly be neither. After all, I saw him gulping down contraband alcohol, and he even showed extreme reluctance to help a child's dying mother, even though he claimed to be a doctor!

Whatever the mysterious man's identity may be, I am sure of the fact that he is conflicted internally. He shows it in the way he acts, jumpy yet apathetic to those around him. He obviously is dealing with or has dealt with a conflict recently. And his focus on the departing boat- does he truly have reason to escape or is he just dreaming of a different life? This man's actions captivate me, but is he just restless or is he hiding something?