‘A Piece of Steak’ Andrea Torres

•      What is the purpose of this book?

The purpose of this book is basically, show human misery, that is, that no matter how successful we are, how much money we have, the skills, intelligence, everything has an end.

•      What is the author trying to accomplish?

The author is trying to make us realize that life passes by, and we have to do the best of it, because everything can change in a blink of an eye. Also one important insight is that when we are being successful we should administrate our earnings for the future that it’s unknown.

•      What issues or problems are raised?

One of the problems we can see in the story is the lack of money and the hunger that King´s family suffers, also that he’s old and jobless; finding a job is hard for him because he’s not good at anything else than boxing. This show a common situation that many people passes through, people don’t study, they just go for the easy money and when they grow old the misery comes.  

•      What data, what experiences, what evidence is given in the story?

Some data that is given on the story is the present and the past life of the main character; they show how he is right now and how he was in his golden days.  Another experience that we can appreciate and I found very interesting is that the author while narrating the story shows us the feelings that the main character is feeling, and the dialogs or thoughts in his mind.

•      How is this data or experiences organized?

Fist we read and understand the way of life Kings has, the lack of food and money for his family, the way in which his wife intervenes and try’s to support him. After that we understand why they are in that current situation and how their life used to be.

•      How is the author thinking about the world?

The author shows us an aspect of everyday life that many people suffer. To earn the daily bread is not easy, you have to study and then work your life out to have a “proper” living, and if you decide to go for the easy money, as fast as it came, as fast as it will go.

•      Is his thinking justified as far as we can see from our perspective?

From my perspective, I think that this idea it’s true. Life is not easy, and if we want to guarantee it we will have to work hard for it.

•      How can we enter his perspective to appreciate what he has to say?

An easy way to enter his perspective is to put ourselves in the shoes of King, feeling his feelings, understanding his situation, and in that way we will get to understand his perspective.