Essay Questions

Explain betrayal in the book, Reasons of State.

Betrayal in the novel is rampant. The instances of betrayal can be classified into two; the betrayal of friends and the betrayal of the citizens of the country by their leaders. The friends of the head of state betrayed him. The government betrayed its citizens by trading their welfare for personal gain.

Galvan was a close friend of the head of state. He betrayed the head of state by sparking a rebellion in the rural areas of the country. The head of state executed Galvan. General Hoffman was appointed minister of War by the head of state. Rather than being allied to the president, he started a rebellion against him. Peralta who is the secretary of the head of state joined the rebels and abandoned the president when he was ill.

Describe the inhumane behavior that was carries out during the war.

The wars in the Caribbean country were filled with war crimes. They include execution of prisoners of war, killing of innocent people to terrify them to avoid joining rebel forces and the killing of university students.

The president ordered the execution of his friend, Galvan by firing squad after he was captured. Galvan’s body was thrown into the sea. The students of a local university were attacked by the police because they were government critics. Eight of them were shot dead and twenty injured in the first rebellion. The families of the dead students were ordered not to mourn. If they did they would be arrested.

What was the rebels’ critic of the government?

The narrator describes various rebellions that happened in the Caribbean country. The rebels had different reasons for rebelling. These include the unconstitutional way that the government was being run, lack of social services such as hospitals and the extravagance of the president and his senior ministers that was to the expense of the poor citizens.

A news outlet reported that it was ironical for Ofelia who is the spoiled daughter of the president to be giving in charity to other countries when the women of her own country lacked proper maternal services. The women lacked hospitals to give birth in. The communications in the country was also severely underdeveloped for the only way to communicate was by way of messenger inside the country.The government was also criticized foe being extravagant at the expense of the citizens. The head of state lived in luxury in France while his citizen lacked social amenities. He commissioned expensive art pieces and threw lavish parties.