Strong Wind: Analysis of Major Characters
"Strong Wind: Analysis of Major Characters" delves into the complexities of key figures within a narrative centered around a banana growers' cooperative in an unnamed Latin American country. The protagonist, Lester Mead—also known as Cosi or Lester Stoner—is a former millionaire who abandons his affluent life for the pursuit of adventure and justice for the local banana growers. His efforts to foster an independent cooperative highlight his commitment to social equity, although his journey ultimately leads to tragedy when he and his wife, Leland Foster, meet their demise during a climactic storm.
Adelaido Lucero, a plantation overseer, plays a significant role as a father determined to secure a better future for his sons, yet he struggles with the cooperative’s frugality approach. The narrative also features Sarajobalda, a witch whose suffering becomes a catalyst for rebellion, and Rito Perraj, a shaman who conjures the strong wind as an act of vengeance against corporate exploitation. The tensions between personal gain and communal well-being are further illustrated through characters like Bastiancito Cojubul and the Green Pope, who embody the often exploitative nature of multinational companies in the agricultural sector. This character-driven analysis provides insight into the themes of justice, sacrifice, and the struggle against oppression.
Strong Wind: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Miguel Ángel Asturias
First published: Viento fuerte, 1950 (English translation, 1968)
Genre: Novel
Locale: An unnamed Latin American country, Chicago, and New York City
Plot: Social
Time: The early twentieth century
Lester Mead, also called Cosi and Lester Stoner, the green-eyed millionaire organizer of a banana growers' cooperative in an unnamed Latin American country. He left his life as a millionaire for adventure in the tropics. Under the name of Cosi, he is an itinerant salesman of sewing supplies. After his marriage to Leland Foster, he is known as Lester Mead. He buys land and becomes an independent banana grower. When the Tropical Banana Company (Tropbanana) refuses to buy the independent growers' bananas, he organizes them into a cooperative to sell their crop elsewhere. He goes to Tropbanana headquarters to try to convince company executives to stop exploiting the banana growers. When members of his cooperative are jailed for heading an uprising against Tropbanana, he bribes an official to release them. Under his true identity as Lester Stoner, a millionaire and a major stockholder in Tropbanana, he travels to New York to urge other stockholders to pressure the company to treat the growers justly and honestly and thereby ensure for themselves a profitable and stable investment. While in New York, he prepares his will, in which he names his wife as beneficiary and the cooperative as the second beneficiary in the event of her death. When he returns to his banana farm, he is killed by the strong wind conjured up to destroy Tropbanana.
Adelaido Lucero (ah-deh-LAY-doh lew-SEHR-oh), the overseer on a banana plantation. He saves his money to buy land for his sons. They become Mead's partners in the independent banana growers'cooperative. His son Juan is imprisoned for leading an uprising against Tropbanana. He does not agree with Mead's calls to the cooperative's members to live frugally and save their money as a means to win their struggle for just treatment from Tropbanana.
Leland Foster, the golden-haired wife of Lester Mead. She was divorced from John Pyle so that she could marry Mead. She dies with him in the strong wind. She does not realize that her husband is a millionaire until their trip to New York.
Sarajobalda (sah-rah-hoh-BAHL-dah), an old witch and the godmother of Lino Lucero. Her beating and rape at the hands of representatives of Tropbanana trigger the uprising led by Juan Lucero and Bastiancito Cojubul.
Rito Perraj (REE-toh peh-RRAH), the shaman who conjures up the strong wind to satisfy Hermenegilo Puac's desire for vengeance on Tropbanana for refusing to buy his crop.
Bastiancito Cojubul (bahs-tyahn-SEE-toh koh-hewBEWL), a highlander who migrated with his wife to the coast to become a banana grower. He is arrested with Juan Lucero for rebellion against Tropbanana.
The Green Pope, the president of Tropical Banana Company, visited by Lester Mead in Chicago. He ordered the company's representatives to stop buying bananas from the growers. He maintains that the stockholders are interested only in dividends and would not be upset if they knew that the company profits came from the merciless, inhuman exploitation of the growers.