Textual Analysis of the Story

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Textual Analysis
Bullfighting is a traditional spectacle in several countries especially Spain and Portugal and some Spanish speaking countries including Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela, Colombia and Mexico where there is the baiting and killing of at least one bull daily by a matador in a bullring for entertainment or sport. Also known as corrida de toros, Spanish-style bullfighting is commonly referred to as a blood sport by its detractors but its followers consider it as a fine art and not a sport given that there are no aspects of competition during the proceedings. This paper provides a textual analysis on the subject of bullfighting and arguments are derived from the text to support the thesis. Thesis: it is finally time for Spain to outlaw bullfighting since it is too dangerous due to its life threatening nature, for example, in the case of Jose Paddilla a father of two (Russel 1) and the inhuman killing of bulls by the matadors.
In the text, Russell (1) basically talks about how the life of one matador, Juan Jose Padilla, was greatly impacted by a bull named Marques in a bullring. Padilla, a man who is so passionate with bullfighting, was almost killed that day by Marquez and this actually emphasizes the need to ban bullfighting since it is extremely dangerous for the matadors (Russel 1). In the text, the Russell (2) points out that Marques gored Padilla and dislodging one of his eyes. Padilla thought he was dying as he uttered “I can’t breathe. I can’t see” (Russell 4). Padilla was then lifted out of the ring by other bullfighters, and the bullfight continued. Miguel Abellan, the matador who replaced him and killed Marques stated that he has survived 27 gorings thus far and seeing what has happened to Padilla makes him to consider leaving the profession. To further illustrate how dangerous the Spanish-style bullfighting really is, the Russell (5) states that gorings, or cornadas in Spanish, are so common such that the government has made a legal requirement for each plaza to have a surgeon on site (Russel 5).
As a consequence of the goring by Marques, Padilla suffered “several fractures to the left side of his face, hemorrhage at the base of his skull, a protruding eyeball, and a detached ear” (Russell 6). His life was saved by an operation by Dr. Carlos Val-Carreres, one of the best surgeons in Spain that lasted 5 hours. Although the surgeons were able to rebuild his nose, eyelid, and cheekbone using mesh and titanium plates, they were not able to repair his split facial nerve; hence, the left side of his face was paralyzed and he can no longer be able to move it. Padilla’s left eye is sightless and is deaf in his left ear (Russel 6). In spite of the severity of this accident, Padilla still continued with the profession of bullfighting as he told his manager not to cancel any of his contracts scheduled to take place in November in Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela (Russell 3). In addition, he is considered as one of the great matadors and a hero in Spain.
Russell (10) sta...