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=The Weight of All Things=

Author’s Background
==“ Benitez gives us a suspenseful tale of hope as Nicolas maintains his faith, praying to the Virgin for guidance, and uses his wits to gain freedom and knowledge…The Weight of All Things is a passionate work, one that compels attention and returns to haunt you later. The writing is vibrant and at times gruesome, and I didn't want it to end.” ([|Julie Bowerman])==

Having been awarded many book awards, Sandra Benitez comes up with yet another vibrant novel. Benitez was born on March 24, 1941 as Sandra Jeanette Ables in Washington D.C. After 37 days of being b
==orn, Benitez’s twin sister died. Her father was James Q. Ables and her mother was Marta Benitez Able. Benitez’s father worked for the commercial attaché for the American Embassy, therefore the family moved around a lot. She enrolled in Truman State University and earned a BA in Education in 1962 and a Master’s Degree in comparative literature in 1974. She married in 1980 to James==

[[image:sandra_benitez.jpg width="202" height="270" align="right" caption="Sandra Benitez" link="home"]]
==Kondrick. From her previous marriage, Benitez gained two sons: Christopher Tile and Jon Tile. Her first book published was A Place Where the Sea Remembers, which received a Barnes & Nobles Discover Award and also Minnesota Book Award. Sandra Benitez was also one who suffered. She suff== ==ered from Ulcerative Colitis, a disease that causes inflammation and sores ([|ulcers]) in the lining of rectum and colon. Soon she had an ileostomy surgery to help ease the dis== ==ease. Not only did she suffer from a disease, but she also suffered from losing those close to her. Benitez lost four friends during the time in Mexico and El Salvador. She also lost a family member who was exiled after being kidnapped then released by a guerilla after which they left in search of hiding. With her family being wealthy and all, Benitez had others who worked for her, mostly women. Those women would ask her to read and write to their family for they were illiterate. From this Benitez gained lessons and stories of El Salvadoran people to use in her books. The personal and tragic stories told about the women who worked for her family.==

Author’s Personal Connection & Motivation for Writing
==From the stories of women that have worked for her, Benitez’s motivation is found within them. Having been moved a lot while young, Benitez writes about her experience in different countries and to what happened in those countries. The stories of the women that worked for her family were somewhat symbolized in the books that have been released under her name. Having something to do with what went down, El Salvador was the main focus in the book The Weight of All Things. The==

Historical, Cultural, and Political Context of the Novel
==Various indigenous tribes that migrated over from Mexico, in 3000 BC to 1500 BC, which was around the time of the Spanish Conquest, inhabited El Salvador. In 100 to 100 AD, the Mayan Indians settled in the area. They left huge limestone pyramids in the western part of the country and built monuments to their civilization. In 1524, the time of the Spanish arrivals, El Salvador was under the control of Pipil Indians. The Pipil Indians were descendants of Mexico’s Toltec & Aztec people. One year later, in 1525, Spanish Lieutenan== ==t Pedro de Alvarado conquered the region. Alvarado held power for 300 years under the Spanish rule. On September 15, 1821, they declared independence from Spain and briefly became part of the Mexican Empire of Augustin de Iturbide. In 1823, the empire collapsed. The federation’s dissolution in 1838.== ==In the early 20th Century, coffee became the primary crop. In 1931 Maximiliano Hernandez Martinez seized the opportunity by collapsing coffee prices. Martinez led a coup d’etat and seized power, which he held until 1944. The relationship between Honduras and El Salvador became sour due to a border disagreement. The Honduran government passed a land law discriminating El Salvador. A war broke out between the two on July 1969, and was contained after 4 days. The Organization of==

American States declared a cease fire.
==Over population, extreme poverty, and social inequality led to political unrest. By 1979, a bloody civil war started between the right wing government and FLMN. In 1980 Oscar Romero was killed due to the fact that he witnessed something he shouldn't have and was thought to be an act of death squad by the government. 3 American nuns and a social worker was killed in El Salvador, as a result President Jimmy Carter suspended all aid to Central America.== ==El Salvador is located on the Pacific Coast of Central America and is the region’s smallest country. Its population is 6.8 million people. 94% of those people are Mestizos, which is mixed races. The other 6 % of those people are indigenous or white. The primary language spoken are Spanish and the indigenous language Nohualtis. Its climate is mixed. On the narrow coastal belt, El Salvador has tropical temperatures. Up in the mountains, its cooler than it is down low. El Salvador is a democratic republic governed by a president and an 84 member unicameral Legislative Assembly. The president is elected by universal suffrage and serves a 5 year term by absolute majority vote. If a person in the election has more than 50% of the votes, a second round runoff is required. Members of the assembly are also elected by universal suffrage and serve a 3 year term. El Salvador has an independent judiciary and Supreme Court. In 1979 and 1991 a bloody civil war was waged by the Right-wing government and the leftist rebels of the FMLN (Farabundo Marti National Liberation).== ==While the war was going on, 75,000 lives were taken. It all ended on December 15, 1992. Since the war ended in 1992, the first election was held. The FMLN anticipated. In the 2000 election, the FMLN were the ones who received the highest number of the legislation seats. El Salvador’s economy was like a rollercoaster. It was high at one point, then took a dip, then up again. In the early years, El Salvador was forced to rely on foreign aid due to war. Large numbers of Salvadorans lived in poverty. In 1989, President Alfredo Critiani instituted the “National Rescue Plan”. This helped compromise the governments spending cuts and lift price controls. The plan helped raise the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and lower inflation. The National Rescue Plan, with foreign loans, privatization, and deregulation, helped the economy rebound in the 1990s. The hurricane in 1998 and earthquakes in 2001 was detrimental to the country’s economy. El Salvador was dependent on its agriculture. The economy suffered because of weak coffee prices.==

Personal Response
==While reading this book, I learned that El Salvador is a little like America. In El Salvador, their culture is very important. Their main dishes to eat are tortilla, refried beans, and cheese. About a majority of the country is Roman Catholic. The rest of the population are considered Christians or others. In a period of time, El Salvador underwent a Civil War. Like America, El Salvador’s government was being unfair and unequal. In doing so, the people of El Salvador spoke out through rebelliousness. In my understanding, this book helped me realize more information about El Salvador than I anticipated I would learn. The Weight of All Things helped me look into the details of El Salvador and its people, government, and country. I now understand what El Salvador went through and why the people of El Salvador reacted the way they did.==