The Colonel

The colonel symbolizes a barbaric military regime that is inflicting atrocities upon the citizenry of an unnamed Spanish-speaking country, most likely El Salvador. He represents those leaders who present themselves to the world as civilized and cultured, taking on the mantle of legitimacy, but who in fact are anything but. He has no name, but is merely identified by his rank and position in the power structure of which he is a part. Also, he lives a life of luxury, and cuts himself off from the rest of his people who, in all likelihood, are not living the privileged life he enjoys.

The Ears

The severed ears in “The Colonel” symbolize both victims and witnesses to the atrocities committed by violent governments. Most obviously, they are stand-ins for the people who were slaughtered by the colonel's brutal regime, thus symbolizing how numerous and often nameless...