Escape
Growing up in Cuba, Arenas didn't have a great start. His single mother and her nosy sister were not strong enough forces to keep him out of trouble. After imprisonment, torture, and starvation, Arenas lived as a political prisoner for some time. He was free, but the police and its spies followed him constantly. He determined that the only way to really live a life worthwhile was to escape to the U.S. Even while in a labor camp, he tried several times to make it across Guantanamo Bay to Florida. Finally, he does manage to escape on a transport boat, as a political refugee.
Political activism
Optimistic when Castro was first elected, Arenas soon despairs. He sees how Castro's iron rule is ruining his country. Graduating from simple poetry to more advanced and lengthy documents, he starts to use his writing as a political tool. Arenas writes about Castro's systems of local government, how he grows wealthier at the expense of his starving people. As he continues to write, Arenas sends his documents overseas surreptitiously. He makes a name for himself in other countries. Eventually these manuscripts earn him refuge in America, where he continues to speak out boldly against the Castro regime.
Homosexuality
Arenas learns at a young age that he is gay. After having sex with many animals as a child, he takes a few male lovers in his youth. He has many turbid affairs. When asked to recall how many sexual partners he's ever had, Arenas concluded it must have been around 500. He is arrested for having sex with men. In his court trial he is freed, however, because the two boys who were supposed to testify about having sex with Arenas refused to do so. Not a saint, he engaged in sexual relations with more than just the two boys. Just as important as his political voice, Arenas longed to leave Cuba so that he could freely live and pursue romantic relationships as he saw fit, without threat to his life and freedom.
Survival
Arenas is born into poverty. His mom is poor. Her mom is poor. Everyone around them are poor. Enthusiastic about life, Arenas learns to see past his own suffering. He wants to bring help by speaking out against the government's mistreatment of the people under Castro's rule. Through imprisonment, starvation, sexual and physical abuse, forced labor, and sexual "rehabilitation," he never loses hope. Survival is essential in Arenas' story because he fought for something greater than himself: political idealism. He survived to help his people do the same.
