Trapped

            In the novel, Trapped, Marc Aronson tells the unthinkable tale about the 33 Chilean miners who were trapped 2,000 feet below Earth’s surface for 69 days. Not only does Aronson give the scene-by-scene rescue, but he also illustrates the backstory behind this incredible event. By tracing the psychological, physical, and environmental factors surrounding the rescue, Trapped highlights the amazing technology and helping hands that made it all possible. Considering I am still in the beginning of the book, I have only been presented with the history and logistics of the aging mine. The author, Marc Aronson, is a writer, editor, publisher, speaker, and historian who believes that young people, especially pre-teens and teenagers, are smart, passionate, and capable of engaging with interesting ideas in interesting ways.

            The context that prompted the publishing of this novel is obviously the event itself, but also Aronson’s want to show the world that this rescue was not accomplished by solely the workers alongside the mine. The rescue would not have been made possible if the global community did not help. To offer an example, the Argentinean soccer players who helped raise morale, or NASA who volunteered their expertise to come up with a plan, contributed to the rescue mission just as much as the workers themselves. So the purpose of this novel is to provide the audience with a well-paced story detailing not only the heroic efforts of the trapped men, but also how the entire global community came together to rescue these 33 miners. Although this story could be told to anybody around the globe, I believe the target audience is juvenile readers because Aronson writes in a less sophisticated manner so even a younger audience can engage in the tale.

            There are several rhetorical elements used in this novel to create the tense feel present in the actual event. However, one device used frequently that I did not think would be present in a novel of this type was personification. The author frequently uses personification to give human qualities to abstract things. For instance, the author recurrently addresses hope when describing the miners. He says how the loss and gain of hope was a big factor in the rescue. For example, when talking about hope, Aronson writes that hope offers, “no plan, no schedule, just a wish, a prayer, a belief- it flickers on, and then flickers off” (Aronson 26). We all know hope is not capable of having a plan or schedule, but he describes it in this manner to help readers visualize and understand the emotion a little better. It is a lot easier to connect to hope with a description attached, rather than by itself.

            Although I am not very far in the novel, I do believe the author is accomplishing his purpose of providing the audience with a well-paced story detailing not only the heroic efforts of the trapped men, but also how the entire global community came together to rescue these 33 men. He provides many examples of the global community extending their arms to help in any way possible. Aronson includes so many details to the point where sometimes he is moving hour-by-hour. All of these factors compile together to give the audience a heart-wrenching tale of an incredible rescue.