Its Universal Message.....

Its Universal Message…..


After reading the first three sections of “Waiting for the Barbarians,” I stopped to ponder why I am engrossed in this book. Was it the descriptive language that tirelessly describes the emotions of the characters? Was it the anguish I felt for the abused prisoners that made my want to read more to see if they were ok? Was it the Magistrate’s story and his quest to find truth? While I thought about why I loved this book so much, I realized that the answer is simpler than I thought. This book is universal: everyone can relate to something or someone. Because the language is simple, the plot is easy to follow, and there is not a lot of “guess work” that the reader has to put in while reading, the reader can essentially take ample time to just think about the meaning of the book. While Sound and the Fury was also a captivating novel, I spent a majority of my time just trying to figure out what was going on. So, after more easily reading “Waiting for the Barbarians,” – in comparison to other novels—I had more time to ponder the novel. What I realized was, as I said before, everyone can relate to it. Everyone has a story: a story that involves the quest for truth and honesty, a story that involves setbacks and the measures taken to overcome these setbacks, and a story in which morality and principles are upheld even when the “norm” says otherwise.

To me, the Magistrate's story caught my attention right away. His inquisitive nature surrounding the eye glasses; "his demand that "the prisoners be fed, that the doctor be called into do what he can, that the barracks be returned to being barracks" (24), and his hard journey out of the empire all demonstrate the positive aspects of human nature: honesty, care, concern, etc. I read his story and was captivated when he returned his love to her tribe. He cared about her, yet he knew she needed to go back. Likewise, the Magistrate’s uncomfortable account of the abused boy illustrates the cruelty, torture, and the taking away of a child’s innocence that plagues our world today. “Waiting for the Barbarians” represents stories like these. The ones that make you think, reflect, and genuinely care about both the story and the real world that is beyond the comfort of our homes.

400 words