The Mark of Zorro is an action packed serial story of a masked superhero fighting the cruel and corrupt leaders who are exploiting and oppressing the poor. The story belongs to the early 19th century in Los Angeles, California during Spanish rule. It is novel and was first published under the title ‘Curse of Capistrano’ on All-Story Weekly magazine in 1919. The novel is romantic, imaginative and adventurous.
The story begins by introducing a rich and young aristocrat, Don Diego, who is the son of the richest rancher in the country. Unlike his peers, Diego is a person who lacks vigor and strength. As Zorro, Diego transforms himself into a fearless swordsman who is battling corrupt officials to avenge the oppression of the poor. The author depicts Zorro as a fearless and selfless individual (McCulley 47). He is forceful challenger of a corrupt system. This trait makes him a significant character in the story.
Diego is compelled to marry by his father, Don Alberto, or lose his inheritance. He with the help of the father attempts to engage the beautiful Lolita Senorita. However, Lolita is not impressed with Diego romantic efforts. Instead, she becomes attracted to Zorro. Lolita’s family, on the other hand, wants her to marry Diego because of his family’s wealth. The family relocates to Don Townhouse. At the same time, Captain Ramon is also trying to get the attention of Lolita. Zorro mobilizes other collaborators to fight Ramon, governors and his soldiers.
Zorro comes forth as the character that plays the most important role in the novel. He has a dual identity. He as Diego is a lazy youth who has no ambition or vigor. On the other hand, he as Zorro is depicted as protector of the poor and liberator. Zorro becomes the target of a corrupt governor and his army men who include Captain Ramon, Petro Gonzalez, and La Reina de Los (McCulley 46). Captain Ramon and Gonzalez are great defenders of the governor and the corrupt system. They embody the theme of power in the story. This theme emerges from the actions of oppressive government leaders who abuse power. The henchmen of the administration lead the operations hunt down Zorro, who fights for the rights of the oppressed. Ramon uses his position and power in the army to influence her relationship with Lolita.
Senor Zorro comes out as a concerned father who wants her son Don Diego to marry and abandon lazy life. Contrary, Don Carlos and the family emerge as materialistic. They want Lolita to marry Diego because of their family wealth. On the other hand, Lolita comes forth as a loving, kin and principled lady follow her desires irrespective of other distractive factors. She refused to have a relationship with both Diego and Ramon despite their high status in society. Finally, the governor is portrayed as a ruthless, unjust and corrupt leader who cares less about the poor. He impoverished Lolita’s family by taking away their wealth.
Johnston McCulley highlights the sufferings under the cruel leadership. The people in leadership in his novel own huge land and have massive wealth. They rules with an iron fist and takes away people by force. However, Johnson offers hope by incorporating Zorro as superman who fights to dismantle the corrupt system. Eventually, the superhero succeeds. The superhero represents all those people who sacrifice their resources and life to liberate the oppressed. He assures them that although, they may be few, and they will triumph over oppression. The moral story in this novel is that no amount of intimidation, force, oppression can stop people from getting liberated. The author achieves his objective by adopting the “good triumphs over evil” narrative. Undoubtedly, the book has important teachings about power, politics and selflessness.
Work Cited
McCulley, Johnston. The mark of Zorro. New York: TOR, 1998. Print.
