Central Idea

The central ides in Chapter Five is that of hope. The rescue mission was named for Saint Lawrence, the patron saint of mining in Chile. Aronson cited the importance of hope, and wrote that belief is taking hope to another level. The area was soon filled with religious items, and the Catholic bishop held mass on site. Thirty-flags were erected, including 32 from Chile and one from Brazil in honor of Carlos Mamani who was from Brazil. One of the trapped miners was a former soccer star named Franklin Lobos. While most of those gathered were Catholic, preachers from other denominations offered support.

Hope is one of the most important themes of this story, and there are many elements of this theme seen throughout the book. The religious aspect of the situation is one. Aronson noted that religion is akin to hope being taken to a higher level. For example, the majority of the people in the area were Catholic. The Catholic bishop held mass on the site, which provided at least some comfort to the waiting families and friends. Preachers from other denominations were welcomed for the comfort they brought to those waiting. Meanwhile, Mario Gomez – the oldest of the trapped men – became the spiritual leader among the trapped miners. Though former soccer player Franklin Lobos was not a religious man prior to the cave-in, a supernatural event led him to be with the rest of the trapped miners. Lobos followed what looked to him like a white butterfly. Without that, he would likely have been trapped in a different area of the mine. Aronson did not go into details about the effect of this experience on Lobos other than to say it changed his view. The religious items and flags on the surface became symbols of hope. The trapped men prayed often, which is a symbol of their hope. The men trapped in the mine were greatly limited by several factors, including their waning strength. Despite that, they took steps to ensure they survived as long as possible so that rescuers could reach them. These efforts were another symbol of their hope.