The Book Of Chameleons Analysis
Regarded as the most traumatic and socially disturbing period in recent Angola history, civil war erupted after the country’s decolonization. The structureless and devastated Angola, was in a state of anarchy that attracted a capitalist versus communist conflict where political dominance remained up for grabs. The southern African country hosted the cold war theatre following independence from Portuguese colonization in 1975. Winner of the Independent’s foreign fiction award in 2007, Jose Eduardo Agualusa’s The Book of Chameleons captures what the life of the Angolan became proceeding the bloody struggle that took the lives of a half million civilians and displaced another million over the course of 27 years. This proxy civil war conflict
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Felix immediately rejects the offer because he normally creates a distinguished genealogy and without forging documents for people. Felix merely creates a more desirable ancestry for his clients to secure a better future for those who have a questionable past. It is clear he is against committing such crimes. “Take care my friend, take care with the paths you choose to follow. You’re no forger,” Felix contemplated aloud ( 23). He clearly has moral standards that would not allow himself to accept the bribe. Despite Felix’s virtuous conscious, he reasons that he will become a forger in time anyways, “I could do that - why not? I’ll have to do it one day - it’s the inevitable extension of what I’m doing anyway… ( 23).” This corruption of character gives him a rush of anxiety, symbolic of a change in original standpoint that his abilities are not for fraudulent acts which involve forging government documents. As the foreigner visits Felix on a regular basis, Felix is now under the impression that he is playing a game with him (page 67). As Felix’s character evolves, he is being coaxed to interacting with him. At first Felix is at odds and would prefer to be uncooperative with the foreigner who later he will give the name and identity as Jose Buchmann. Buchmann lured Felix in by his curiosity, this trait leads Felix into contradicting his original standpoint of his moral code for hopes of a better understanding of who the foreigner really
Felix immediately rejects the offer because he normally creates a distinguished genealogy and without forging documents for people. Felix merely creates a more desirable ancestry for his clients to secure a better future for those who have a questionable past. It is clear he is against committing such crimes. “Take care my friend, take care with the paths you choose to follow. You’re no forger,” Felix contemplated aloud ( 23). He clearly has moral standards that would not allow himself to accept the bribe. Despite Felix’s virtuous conscious, he reasons that he will become a forger in time anyways, “I could do that - why not? I’ll have to do it one day - it’s the inevitable extension of what I’m doing anyway… ( 23).” This corruption of character gives him a rush of anxiety, symbolic of a change in original standpoint that his abilities are not for fraudulent acts which involve forging government documents. As the foreigner visits Felix on a regular basis, Felix is now under the impression that he is playing a game with him (page 67). As Felix’s character evolves, he is being coaxed to interacting with him. At first Felix is at odds and would prefer to be uncooperative with the foreigner who later he will give the name and identity as Jose Buchmann. Buchmann lured Felix in by his curiosity, this trait leads Felix into contradicting his original standpoint of his moral code for hopes of a better understanding of who the foreigner really