The Will to Survive

While the characters show the will to survive during their captivity and the escape, it is also notable that Mrs. Pollifax begins this incredible adventure because of her own will to survive. She admits that she has been so near despair that she almost committed suicide. She says that it would have been a relief to end her life by stepping off the roof of her apartment building. It is the realization that she has to do something in order to get a grip on this situation that puts her in the position of working for the CIA in the first place.

Once in Mexico City, she is absolutely happy and, at this point, her will to survive is renewed. Once captured, the will to survive changes to more of a primal instinct. She does come to realize that she might die at the hands...