Bel Canto

 “There were other similarities between the men: they were thin, either from the wanting of food or just the business of growing, their shoulders and knees poked at their clothing. They were also dirty, noticeably so.”

The hostages notice almost immediately that the terrorists are mostly young teenagers; they have also been living in poor conditions (perhaps with a lack of food and unclean). This strikes a note of sympathy that only grows throughout the time they are all living together in the mansion. It also explains why the terrorists grow comfortably accustomed to the situation; they enjoy amenities—like ample food and television—to which they have previously not had access.

“Two facts: none of the guests was armed; none of the guests was President Masuda. Groups of boys with guns were dispatched to different corners of the house, down to the basement, up to the attic, out around the edges of the high stucco wall, to see if he had hidden himself in the confusion. But word came back again and again that no one was there.”

From the very beginning, the futility of the terrorists’ mission is clear. Their target, the President, is not present at the party, and he cannot be found. They have no secondary plan, which reveals a lack of overall strategy, as well as a lack of clarity and commitment to any specific cause. Their youth is again revealed.

“All the time Ruben Iglesias stood beside Gen, passively listening to the conversation as if he had no real interest in its outcome. He was the highest-ranking political official in the room and yet no one was looking to him to be either the leader or the valuable, near-presidential hostage replacement.”

When the terrorists call for a translator, Gen immediately replaces the Vice President as the most valuable person in the room. Ruben’s bitterness over his position, subservient to a shallow and incompetent President, becomes clear. While Ruben comes from a working-class background, the President comes from a world of privilege. This explains, at least in part, why Ruben ultimately identifies with the terrorists, specifically Ishmael.