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Once doesn’t form a habit, Juan thought as him daily was minimal — very few cleared the
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he left the chief’s office, and when they previous hurdles--but as compensation he had to
transferred him to Section J where they unfold read them often, put them under the magnifying
the letters with infinite care to see if they contain glass, look for microdots with the electronic
poisonous powder, he felt that he had ascended microscope and so tune his sense of smell that
a step and could therefore return to his healthy upon returning home at night he was exhausted.
habit of not getting involved in external affairs. He barely managed to heat up some soup, eat
From J, thanks to his merits, he rose rapidly some fruit and fall asleep with the satisfaction of
Changing the World
until reaching E, where the work became more having complied with his duty. Only his Sainted
interesting, for there begins the reading and Mother worried about him, and tried without
analysis of the letters. In that Section he could success to guide him back onto the right path.
even cherish hopes of coming across his own She’d say, although it wasn’t necessarily true:
missive written to Mariana which, judging by the Lola called, says she’s with the girls in the
time elapsed, should have reached this level café, that they miss you, are expecting you. But
after a very long procession through the other Juan didn’t want to have anything to do with
departments. nonessentials: any distractions could cause him
Little by little there were days when his work 10 to lose the astuteness of his senses and he needed
so absorbed him that the noble mission that them alert, sharp, attentive, tuned, in order to be
brought him to the Bureau became momentarily the perfect censor and detect deceit. His was a
blurred. Days of crossing out long paragraphs true patriotic labor. Self-denying and sublime.
with red ink, of tossing many letters into the His Basket of Condemned Letters soon
Condemned Basket. Days of horror at the subtle became the best nourished but also the most
and scheming ways people found to transmit subtle in the whole Censorship Bureau. He was at
subversive messages. Days of intuition so sharp the point of feeling proud of himself, he was
that behind a simple “the weather is unsettled" at the point of knowing that he had finally found
or “prices are sky high," he detected the his true path, when his own letter to Mariana
vacillating hand of someone whose secret reached his hands. Naturally he condemned it
intention was to overthrow the Government. without remorse. And just as naturally he
So much zeal brought him rapid promotion. couldn’t prevent them from executing him
We don’t know if it made him very happy. In at dawn, one more victim of his devotion
Section B the amount of letters which reached to work.

Understanding and Interpreting

1. What plan does Juan devise at the beginning of the story? What motivates him to conceive of
this plan?
2. An essential way to understand a theme of this story is to trace the development of Juan’s
character. Describe what he is like and how he has changed at these key points:
• Before he takes the censor job (pars.1–3)
• In his first months of the job
• When he arrives in Section B (last two paragraphs)
3. On his third day of work, Juan reported the man who was organizing a strike to his superiors.
What does this action reveal about Juan, and how is it a crucial turning point in the story?
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