Argo: Most Audacious Rescue In History

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The book, Argo: How the CIA and Hollywood Pulled Off the Most Audacious Rescue in History, written by Antonio Mendez and Matt Baglio, is a first-hand account of the dangerous but successful mission, aided by Hollywood and the Canadian government, to rescue six US diplomats from Iran after they escaped the US embassy during the Iran Hostage Crisis. Even though this is a non-fictional story, it still has themes. This story about courage and problem-solving conveys many important messages to the reader. The most meaningful message that Antonio Mendez and Matt Baglio are trying to convey to the reader is that no matter how difficult it seems to solve a certain problem, you can solve any problem as long as you put your mind to it, and are confident …show more content…

Another way the message is portrayed is during one of Antonio Mendez’s flashbacks. Mendez recalls when he was recently in Iran to help rescue a high-priority agent he calls “RAPTOR.” Mendez disguises RAPTOR and escorts him all the way to the check-in counter at the airport, and then waits to make sure he gets on his plane. But he soon realizes that RAPTOR has disappeared. Mendez looks for him, and finds him in the men’s bathroom. “I grabbed him by the elbow and hustled him out of the bathroom. As we hurried across the departure lounge and toward the gate, a few Revolutionary Guards gave us sideways glances but otherwise didn’t seem to care” (Mendez and Baglio 119). In the end, RAPTOR returned home safely. RAPTOR cracked under the pressure, and did not have full faith in his disguise and the mission. If it were not for Mendez pulling him out of the bathroom, RAPTOR could have been caught because he did not believe in the mission. Mendez worked hard on the disguise and believed that the mission would succeed, but unfortunately, RAPTOR did not. This teaches the reader that as long as you have faith in what you are doing, you can accomplish what you thought was

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