Boy Paco

When we are young, we see the world bright and colorful, giving us plenty of opportunities and prospects for the future. We often see the reality in its distorted and idealistic form for us, because, at this age, we have not undergone personal tragedies and fateful experiences yet, which are often used to bringing young people to the harsh reality of the world. In the short story “The Capital of the World” written by Ernest Hemingway, the main character, young boy Paco, has a very naïve view of the world and how it works. His inability to grasp the true reality around him leads him down a path filled with undue danger which ultimately culminates in his own demise. In other words, the story reveals how the idealization of the world entails tragic

On one hand, Paco has a strong illusion that all bullfighters are the perfect representation of masculinity, because they are fearless in front of the furious animal. For example, Hemingway writes: “There were from eight to a dozen other people… but for Paco … the only ones who really existed were the bullfighters” (1). Paco believes that what the bullfighters are doing on an arena is the most genuine incarnation of courage in front of uncontrollable danger; they are the only ones deserved to be admired and emulated, because they meet a bull face to face and end up by completely controlling unbridled beast. By this character in the story, the author establishes an idea of blind

The story starts by setting the place and the historical time - Madrid at revolutionary years, i.e. around the time of the Spanish Civil War. Hemingway mentions certain political aspects such as Anarcho-Syndicalism or revolution that were the central characteristics of Spain at these times. In addition, they are also associated with political ideologies in order to show that ideology can be destructive on the highest level where many people are involved and subjected to be victims because of the desire to achieve idealism in the world. One of the waiters expresses his thoughts as: “It is necessary to kill the individual bull and the individual priest” (3). Because the story is based on the time of the Spanish Civil War, the tall waiter is convinced that Spain would be perfect if all priests and bulls, “curses of Spain”, were exterminated (3). His idealistically-political views are based on violence towards a certain group that prevents Spain to attain its ideal. Hence, Paco perceives the tall waiter as living embodiment of revolution, which gives rise to the needed radical changes in order to improve the society of Spain. Shortly speaking, the setting of the story such as the geographical location and the historical moment plays an essential role in initiating of political idealization that leads to