Who is Ricardo from Marching Powder: A True Story of Friendship, Cocaine, and South America’s Strangest Jail and what is their importance? | English & Literature Questions & Answers

Ricardo is an inmate who befriends Thomas just after his arrival in the prison. Without Ricardo's help, it is quite possible that Thomas would not have survived in San Pedro, and Ricardo never asks for anything in return, except to be repaid money that he had lent to Thomas. In the book, the older Ricardo represents a kind of father figure for Thomas. He can always be trusted, and usually has good advice. He has spent time in America, but he wisely counsels Thomas to tell everyone is in English, because the Americans are hated by the prisoners. Ricardo's principal interests are the complicated politics and economics of the San Pedro system, upon which he loves to expound. His attitude toward cocaine, a dominant factor in the prison, is to take it only in small amounts and not too often. When Ricardo is released from the prison, Thomas is devastated by the loss of his friend. Ricardo returns to visit, as he promised to do, but the pain of coming back to the prison is too much for him and he eventually does not return, which Thomas understands.

English & Literature

Who is Ricardo from Marching Powder: A True Story of Friendship, Cocaine, and South America's Strangest Jail and what is their importance?

1 Answers