Carlos García’s bodyguard obeyed his employer’s order to cut Petrona Chona into pieces after the young woman refused to become Carlos’s lover. The bodyguard was sentenced to just 15 days in prison for his crime. This punishment was intended to calm down the angry workers in Petrona’s community, but it didn’t actually bring about justice for the innocent woman’s death. In this sense, the bodyguard’s murder of Petrona shows how the rich and powerful in Guatemala weren’t held accountable for their crimes against the poor, and how the legal system sided with rich ladinos instead of defending truth and justice.
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Carlos García’s Bodyguard Character Timeline in I, Rigoberta Menchú
The timeline below shows where the character Carlos García’s Bodyguard appears in I, Rigoberta Menchú. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 20: The Death of Doña Petrona Chona
...long time, but Petrona did not change her mind. As retribution, Carlos decided to send his bodyguard to kill her with a machete.
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Petrona’s was the first dead body Rigoberta ever saw. The bodyguard cut the young woman’s body into pieces and severed one of her baby’s fingers, because...
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...with the landowner. No one asked the workers to give their version of the events. The bodyguard was sentenced to two weeks in prison, simply to calm the workers down. Upon reflecting...
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