This short story by Ernest Hemingway addresses the theme of the high cost of innocence. Set in Spain, it is the story of the naïve Paco, who is totally obsessed with bullfighting. Coming from a tiny town to work as a waiter at a Madrid hotel that caters to the bullfighting crowed, he immerses himself in every aspect of this world and does not recognize some of the foibles of the bullfighters who hang out there—some of whom are has-beens. The plot concerns his conflict with Enrique, a jaded older dishwasher at the hotel, who tries to burst Paco’s bubble. The climax comes when they stage a mock-bullfight using a chair with knives attached to simulate the bull’s horns. Paco—who actually has never faced a bull—is far too confident of his ability, which leads to Enrique fatally stabbing him. In regard to Paco’s early demise, Hemingway leaves the ending open to interpretation: one might take a romantic view of things and decide lived a full life because his death came while he was defending his passion.
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