The Rum Diary Post 1 Ch. 1-5

In the fiction “The Rum Diary” Paul Kemp, the antagonist is thrown into a newspaper business from the very start. He immediately realizes that news is really not news in his eyes. Which brings me to my first topic of debate. Brian, what are your thoughts on the newspaper company he is working for? In my opinion I don’t think their way of doing this is exactly right or just. Paul Kemp believes that news is news and you should tell it like you see it, which seems pretty straight foreword to the rest of society but probably not to the business side of this. There must be a reason why the head chief of the newspaper only wants to write about the bowling alleys and how great Puerto Rico is. When in all actuality people are rioting around the streets and everywhere you look people are homeless and starving. Kemp even states that “more money is going to the parking meters rather than being spent on food for these starving children in this pitiful country!” (pg. 48). Which brings me to ask another question. Brian, what kind of feeling are you getting from the beginning of this book? I’m getting a sort of “corporation run country” feeling with a touch of greed here and there. Almost like the people of the country are just pawns to the companies that own the land. To a point where it is like if the more land you own, the more people you own in the process (since there isn’t much land on Puerto Rico).