all the corpses or count the thousands who had disappeared; the entire valley would be
declared holy ground, and bishops would come to celebrate a solemn mass for the souls
of the victims. He went to the army field tents to offer relief in the form of vague
promises to crowds of the rescued, then to the improvised hospital to offer a word of
encouragement to doctors and nurses worn down from so many hours of tribulations.
Then he asked to be taken to see Azucena, the little girl the whole world had seen. He
waved to her with a limp statesman's hand, and microphones recorded his emotional
voice and paternal tone as he told her that her courage had served as an example to the
nation. Rolf Carlé interrupted to ask for a pump, and the president assured him that he
personally would attend to the matter. I caught a glimpse of Rolf for a few seconds
kneeling beside the mud pit. On the evening news broadcast, he was still in the same
position; and I, glued to the screen like a fortune teller to her crystal ball, could tell that
something fundamental had changed in him. I knew somehow that during the night his
defenses had crumbled and he had given in to grief; finally he was vulnerable. The girl
had touched a part of him that he himself had no access to, a part he had never shared
with me. Rolf had wanted to console her, but it was Azucena who had given him
consolation.
12. Infer (guess) how the narrator feels about the president's visit. Use specific textual examples
of descriptive language to support your answer.