The characters standing at the forefront of the story drive it forward the others deliver the richness of detail, create the background that holds the story together. My initial thought is that the author planned for some of her characters to be secondary, to fill in spaces in the story without taking center stage. Both the language and the music are transcendent, holding the power to unite the people as they bring love and beauty into a world wracked with fear.Ĥ. Thrown together by circumstance, the terrorists and their hostages formed a sort of a community in which people in both groups changed over the course of the captivity. Terror gave way to acts of kindness, to a growing understanding as it became possible to see the person inside the uniform, to discover the humanity that unites everyone. The music transformed each of the characters, uniting both groups in an unanticipated way. the enormity of it fills the room and sweeps the listener away. Opera is passionate, emotional, melodramatic. It touches each person who hears it, makes a connection with something deep within. Music is universal in its expression it can move the listener to laughter or to tears. Doors guarded by terrorists with guns serve to restrict both the people and the unfolding story the confining nature of the mansion creates tension for both groups.īut with the passage of time, both terrorists and hostages establish a new “normal.” Unexpected events keep the aura of suspense intact but with new behaviors and routines, the tenor of the suspense in the mansion changes.ģ. It is clear that the terrorists believe that by cutting off the external elements and isolating the guests in the mansion they will easily maintain their control over them they expect the guests/hostages to remain fearful. The terrorists are very much “in your face” while the guests are frightened and cowed.

When the terrorists barge into the mansion in the beginning of the story, the conflict between the terrorists and the guests looms over everything else.

Bel canto novel