The Censors Luisa Valenzuela Like many Latin American

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The Censors
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Luisa Valenzuela

• Like many Latin American writers, Valenzuela
  writes novels and stories with political
  significance. Having lived through a repressive
  regime herself, she is a strong defender of human
  rights organizations. The Censors shows one
  aspect of the repressions she has experienced.

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• From Argentina to Alaska, it would be difficult
  to find a place where fairy tales are not told.
  One reason that fairy tales continue to be told
  to generation after generation of children around
  the world is that they deal with universal
  themesideas that are relevant to people of
  almost any place or time, such as courage, love,
  and honor. The Princess and All the Kingdom
  uses a fairy-tale format to communicate a message
  about happiness and responsibility. The short
  story The Censors does not take the familiar
  fairy-tale form, but it does deal with the
  universal themes of power and fear.

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Check Your Comprehension

• 1. In The Princess and All the Kingdom, in
  addition to the princesss hand in marriage, what
  else does the prince receive?
• 2. In The Censors, why does Juan seek a job as
  a censor?
• 3. What happens to Juan at the end of The
  Censors?

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Critical Thinking

• 1. In Princess, why do you think the prince had
  to fight in order to win the princess?
• 2. In Princess, how do the attitudes of the
  aged chancellor and the prince contrast with each
  other?
• 3. In Censors, why does Juans attitude change?
  
• 4. What is your opinion of Juan in Censors?
  Support your opinion with examples from the story.

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Reading Strategy

• When you read critically, you challenge the
  writers messageyou test what the writer says or
  implies against your own experiences and
  opinions.
• 1. The prince wanted happiness without
  responsibility. Explain why you agree or disagree
  that some people approach life in a similar way.
• 3. In The Censors, how does Juans fast rise
  through the ranks of the Censorship Division
  related to his downfall?

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Literary Focus

• 2. What features of a fairy tale make it an
  effective form for communicating a theme?
• 3. State the theme of The Censors in your own
  words.
• 4. State the theme of Princess in your own
  words.