"A Delicate Balance"

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As you assess "A Delicate Balance," I offer some ideas for you.

First of all, you might notice how Armas brilliantly uses an ironic plot to entertain but also teach a lesson. As you further explore the relationship between plot and character, you might note how Armas uses plot events and character development to enhance the tension and also heighten the reader's interest. For example, when you look at how Armas initially develops Romero Estrada's character and daily life in a victim-like manner, he portrays this man as very ritualistic, mundane, or even monotonous since "He would get up almost every morning and clean and shave, and then after breakfast he would get his broom and go up and down the block sweeping the sidewalks for everyone. He would sweep in front of the Tortilleria America, the Tres Milpas Bar, Barelas' Barbershop, the used furniture store owned by Goldstein, the corner grocery store, the Model Cities office, and the print shop. In the afternoons, he would come back and sit in the barbershop and just watch the people go by." Thus, you might connect how character and plot intersect since his whole life is mechanical, very much like the movie, Groundhog Day!

In terms of character relationships and lessons, you might then examine the power dynamics and how Romero is initially powerless, voiceless, and almost dehumanized. The other characters treat him with pity such as "Sometimes, when there was no business, Barelas would let him sit in the barber chair, and Romero would love it. He would do this just about every day except Sundays and Mondays, when Barelas' was closed." Thus, readers might initially see the ...