“Wins” of Cortázar in summary
The action takes place in the 1950s.
In the cafe on one of the central streets of the Argentine capital, the winners of the happy prizes of the Tourist Lottery, who are waiting for a free sea cruise, gather. Among the first to come are colleagues – teachers of the state college Carlos Lopez and Dr. Restelli. Lopez overcomes doubts: everything is organized in a strange way, nowhere can you find out any details. To what mistrust, soothes Restelli, the state lottery, tickets were distributed officially, it is difficult to expect a dirty trick. Ahead – three months of sailing, and paid vacation – this is a significant win! It’s unfortunate only that among the prize-winners is the student of their college Felipe Trejo, an avowed lazy and insolent, who will surely spoil them a lot of blood. Since the winner has the right to take up to three relatives with him, he goes on a trip with his sister Beba and his parents.
The family tries to keep it in a proper
There comes the agreed time – 18 hours. Two men in dark blue suits are offered to strangers and mourners to leave the premises and begin to check the documents. Staff cafe puzzled: very much what is happening resembles a round-up, the street is cordoned off by policemen, the traffic is blocked. Future travelers are escorted to the military bus. The inspector of the Organizational Department advises, at all costs, to maintain the tranquility inherent in well-bred people, and not be indignant at minor problems and organizational difficulties. The steamboat on which they sail is called Malcolm, if there are no unforeseen circumstances, the parking will be in Rio de Janeiro, Dakar, Cape Town, Yokohama.
The atmosphere of frightening secrecy remains in the port, but now, having crossed the semi-dark pier, travelers are on board the steamer. They are pleasantly amazed: the cabins are beautiful and cozy, their things are in place. True, the sailors speak in an incomprehensible language and are not allowed to stern, showing signs that there is no passage, and the doors leading there are tightly closed. Tired travelers travel in cabins.
In the morning it is discovered that the ship is still anchored in the vicinity of Buenos Aires, Travelers gather at breakfast, they are expected to have six covered tables. The barman, who is questioned about the route of the cruise, the name of the captain and other details, answers politely, but is evasive. Passengers get acquainted with each other, come together in sympathies, in common interests. Between Claudia and Medrano there is a spiritual intimacy, pleasant conversations turn into frank conversations about a lived where deep dissatisfaction with life sounds. The attention of homosexual Raul attracts Felipe. Paula teases a friend: his new boyfriend is young, handsome, stupid and awkward. Felipe also overcome all the complexes of adolescence. After the last night, Lucio feels like a winner, and Nora is severely disappointed with the start of the honeymoon. Lopez is attracted to Paula, which are not indifferent to his courtship. During a very refined lunch the steamer begins to maneuver and finally leaves the open sea.
All willingly indulge in a carefree pastime, they have a swimming pool, a solarium, a gym, a music salon, a library. Only Raul, Lopez and Medrano are concerned about why the passage to the stern is still closed. They urgently demand a meeting with the captain. From an officer who introduced himself as a co-driver, travelers try to find out why they are locked up in the bow of the steamer. After all the evasions the navigator admits that he would not want to spoil the impression of a pleasant journey, but there are two cases of typhoid fever among the team, the ship’s doctor applies the most modern methods of treatment, however, quarantine is necessary. One of the sick is the captain. The passengers are indignant: why did the ship leave the port? How did sanitary control allow? According to Lopez, the ship administration agreed to a profitable business at the last minute, ignoring the incident on board. Raoul believes that they are not dealing with ordinary fraud, but rather metaphysical. Behind this real or imaginary quarantine lies something else that escapes their understanding. Medrano also considers typhus to be fiction, it is necessary to fight with arbitrariness of ship authorities. Self-confident and blunt Lucio can not understand why his companions are so worried?
Lopez and Raul still make the bartender open one of the doors and wander a long time in the gloomy labyrinth of bilge passages, trying to find a way to the stern, but without success, but in one of the rooms Raul manages to take the revolvers. Senor Trejo, having learned from his son about a sortie into the depths of the steamer, expresses displeasure, law-abiding Resellelli, too, does not approve of excessive fervor. Don Halo is more categorical: if Lopez and his friends continue to interfere with the administration of the ship and impose disobedience on board, the consequences for all passengers can be the most deplorable.
Medrano is indignant with the idea that, had they not been surrounded by such comfort, they would have acted more energetically and decisively and would have long since ended their doubts. Lopez assumes that the company is probably engaged in dark affairs, carries a too noticeable contraband cargo. “We are like in a zoological garden,” complains Jorge, “only the audience is not us,” and the words of the child only increase anxiety. The adventurous Felile alone undertakes risky forays into the ship’s hold. Paula can not understand her feelings for Lopez, her ideal relationship with Raul was perfect, even if not without pathology.
On the second day of the trip, Don Halo and Dr. Restelli arrange an amateur concert, considering it the best way to melt the ice. Not seeing on him Felipe, Raul goes on a quest and finds a teenager in one of the hold spaces together with a rapist-sailor. Jorge has a fever, the ship’s doctor presumes pneumonia. Contact on the radio with Buenos Aires is prohibited, and maybe the boy has typhus?
On the morning of the third day, the temperature of the baby is under forty. Despite the ban, Medrano proposes to break into the radio room. Isolating the tangled underfoot, Medrano, Lopez, Raul and the Pushkin who joined them unexpectedly, armed with revolvers, penetrate into the stern part of the ship.
In a fight with the sailors, Lopez suffered, and Paula cares carefully for him. In the shootout, Medrano was mortally wounded, having already managed to force the radio operator to transmit a radiogram to Buenos Aires. You can not mourn the one you scarcely know, “Claudia muses at the body of the deceased, but still this man died for her sake and for Jorge’s sake. And he could revive her with her life.
At breakfast passengers express their indignation at the reckless tricks of the satellites. “Malcolm” stands in the middle of the ocean, the journey is interrupted, it is suggested to collect suitcases. Jorge recovers, his illness was caused by a temporary ailment. On two seaplanes, the inspector of the Organizational Department arrives, accompanied by police officers. He regrets the misunderstanding that has occurred, takes charge of the operation of the ship’s administration. The unreasonable behavior of the victim, who arbitrarily violated the sanitary cordon and penetrated into the contaminated zone, ended in a fatal manner. Further stay on the ship poses a danger to the health of travelers. But after all Medrano was killed, but did not die from the disease, why is this being hushed up? “” The rebels “are indignant, but his body has already been removed from the ship, and most passengers share the proposed version of events, especially since the inspector unequivocally hints that if someone, having lost the sense of reality, insists on distorting the facts, he will be dealt with in the appropriate place. It is also promised that the Office will take care of adequate compensation. And still five – Lopez, Paula, Raul, Pushok and Claudia refuse to sign the report drawn up by the inspector. In the event that there is no unity among the passengers, it will be necessary to intern everyone without exception, the inspector is threatened. The fury of the companions falls on the “rebels”: because of the stubbornness and stubbornness of arrogant young men, balanced and judicious people may suffer, but they persist in their decision. Passengers are put in seaplanes and brought to Buenos Aires. The fluff boils with indignation: it turns out, the old and the pharaohs will prevail, shame and shame! But he is discouraged by the silence and indifference of those with whom he was side by side in a dangerous situation on the stern that morning. And they, it seems, have already renounced their rebellion in their hearts. Saying goodbye, everyone goes home, life returns to “its own”.
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