Columbus's Last Voyage In his book, Martin Dugard uses dramatic details and images to grab readers' attention. Sometimes it seems that the book is even fiction, but the selected bibliography at the end confidently defends the authenticity of this book. If the reader did not speculate about Columbus' character, the book would leave the lasting impression that, like us, Columbus was human. He was no saint and had his repercussions. His life was not a complete joy voyage, but the end of the book gives the reader the sense that Columbus was a man of exuberant character: "live a bold life rather than settle for mediocrity." (p.268) Divided into four sections: Prelude; He loves hope, sex and dreams; Paradise Lost; Adventures of a dangerous and daring nature; War; and finally Cast Away, the order of the sections already gives an idea of the life that Columbus led. In the beginning his life was full of hope and ambition, in the first piece the life of Columbus is depicted. Starting from the voyage that the whole world remembers, Dugard reveals sides of Columbus' character that many readers were unaware of. Columbus was exactly 41 years old when he set sail in 1492, he was an Italian wanderer who, ironically, was quite cheerful, confident and, at times, prone to the occasional boast. Six feet tall, with a very cunning mind, he somehow seduced the most powerful woman in the world at that time: Queen Isabella. Columbus was married, and then widowed, to a woman named Felipa Puestrello y Mariz. In his youth, Columbus became interested in traveling the world thanks to a man named Marco Polo. In 1271 Marco Polo traveled to China via ship and camel. He returned twenty-four years later with more knowledge of the world than... middle of paper... a distant dream, he was on deck and buried in three hearts and minds. The Porras brothers soon got tired of waiting for something to happen, so they separated from Columbus. By now Columbus had sent Diego Mendez out to sea with a crew of Indians and a companion. Porras had no patience or mercy, they went out stealing from the tribes and getting their hands on everything they could find, food, water and women. Finally, in the last piece titled Cast Away, Dugard ends the story with a good ending. Columbus was not a man who just sat there stranded with nothing to do, as stated before, he was a boy who would "live a bold life rather than settle for mediocrity." (p268). Columbus was human, he failed and achieved, he had ambitions and desperate attempts to be accepted. Columbus, flaws and all, was a strong and courageous man, who dared to live as he loved, on the open sea.
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