The novel El coronel no tiene quien le escriba, depicts the dreadful life of a retired

colonel, alongside his wife, who succumbs to the wounds of awaiting a pension letter that never
arrives due to the unjust government. Undoubtedly, an indispensable theme that is evident in this
novel is failure, where despite the persons’ respective efforts, they still experience failure.
Firstly, when the colonel spoke to the lawyer, he told him about how dedicated he was
being in the Army risking his life in the civil war to save the republic. In addition, he waited for
more than fifteen years for his pension letter, never receiving it. “Quince años de espera habían
agudizado su intuición.” This highlights that’s the colonel´s hard work and dedication also led
him to his sufferation. His frustration is understandable because his hard work and dedication in
risking his life for the republic didn’t return his pension. “Nosotros nos rompimos el cuero para
salvar la república.”
Furthermore, Agustín had cared for the rooster in hopes of its success in the cockpit but
never gets to see it happen. Agustín was a cockfight fanatic which shows that he had high hopes
for his rooster. An instance that indirectly portrays Agustín´s dedication was the interest his
companions had in the rooster after he died. “Los muchachos se encargarán de alimentar al
gallo.” However the times Agustín took care of the rooster, he also distributed clandestine
literature. Consequently, he was shot by the police having been caught and he never got to see
his dedication to the rooster pay off. “herencia del hijo acribillado acribillado nueve meses antes
en la gallera, por distribuir información clandestina.”
Lastly, the colonel was persecuted for being part of a political party and was never able to
reap the benefits of this party. He was persecuted so much to the extent that he had to live
outside of town. “Vivían en el extremo del pueblo.” Although the colonel was marginalized, his
friend Don Sabas was the only leader of his that escaped political persecution and continued
living in the town reaping benefits. “El único dirigente de su partido que escapó a la persecución
política y continuaba viviendo en el pueblo.” One of the benefits was that he was able to buy the
expelled goods at half price. “Y por eso pudo comprar a mitad de precio los bienes de sus
propios copartidarios que el alcalde expulsaba del pueblo.” Despite that fact, throughout the
novel he seemed to be the only person with financial stability whereas everyone else is
struggling and being oppressed for their hard work.
In conclusion, the theme of failure stood out in this novel. It was shown where the
colonel never received his pension, where Agustín never got to see his rooster succeed and the
colonel never got to reap the benefits of the political party and was instead persecuted. Even
though Don Sabas was rich, the rest of the town did not receive anything from their hard work
and dedication.