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The Feast of the Goat 's major themes include political corruption , machismo , memory , and writing and power . Olga Lorenzo , reviewer for The Melbourne Age , suggests that overall Vargas Llosa 's aim is to reveal the irrational forces of Latin tradition that give rise to despotism .
= = = Political corruption = = =
The structure of Dominican society was hierarchical , with strongly gendered roles . Rafael Trujillo , the ruler , was a cruel dictator who haunts the people of Santo Domingo even 35 years after his death . He is a true caudillo , ruling with brutality and corruption . He creates a personality cult in his capitalist society and encourages decadence within his regime . Prior to promotion to a position of responsibility , an officer is required to pass a " test of loyalty " . His people are to remain loyal to him all cost , and are periodically tested by public humiliation and censure even though acts of disloyalty were rare . Trujillo violates women and children as an expression of political and sexual power , and in some cases takes the wife or child of his lieutenants , many of whom still remain blindly loyal . Even the church and military institutions are employed to give women to the tyrant for pleasure .
Many of the assassins had belonged to the Trujillo regime or had at one point been its staunch supporters , only to find their support for him eroded by the state 's crimes against its people . Imbert , one of the assassins , sums up this realization in a comment prompted by the murder of the Mirabal sisters : " They kill our fathers , our brothers , our friends . And now they 're killing our women . And here we sit , resigned , waiting our turn . " In an interview , Vargas Llosa describes the corruption and brutality of Trujillo 's regime : " He had more or less all the common traits of a Latin American dictator , but pushed to the extreme . In cruelty , I think he went far far away from the rest — and in corruption , too . "
= = = <unk> = = =
According to literary scholar Peter Anthony <unk> , the two important components of machismo are aggressive behaviour and hyper @-@ sexuality . Aggressive behaviour is exhibited by displays of power and strength , while hyper @-@ sexuality is revealed through sexual activity with as many partners as possible . These two components shape the portrayal of Trujillo and his regime in The Feast of the Goat . As Lorenzo observes , Vargas Llosa " reveals traditions of machismo , of abusive fathers , and of child @-@ rearing practices that repeat the shaming of children , so that each generation bequeaths a withering of the soul to the subsequent one . "
In a display of both aspects of machismo , Trujillo demanded of his aides and cabinet that they provide him with sexual access to their wives and daughters . Mario Vargas Llosa wrote of Trujillo 's machismo and treatment of women , " [ h ] e went to bed with his ministers ' wives , not only because he liked these ladies but because it was a way to test his ministers . He wanted to know if they were ready to accept this extreme humiliation . Mainly the ministers were prepared to play this grotesque role — and they remained loyal to Trujillo even after his death . " Trujillo 's sexual conquests and public humiliations of his enemies also serve to affirm his political power and machismo . In <unk> 's words , " The implication is that maximum virility equals political dominance . "
Trujillo 's attempted sexual conquest of Urania is an example of both political manipulation of Agustín Cabral and sexual power over young women . However , as Trujillo 's penis remains flaccid throughout the encounter and he is humiliated in front of the young girl , the encounter fails to satisfy his requirements for machismo .
= = = Memory = = =
All of the novel 's storylines concern memory in some sense or another . The most apparent confrontation of memory is on the part of Urania Cabral , who has returned to the Dominican Republic for the first time in 30 years , and is forced to confront her father and the traumas that led her to leave the country at 14 . She was the victim of sexual abuse at the hands of the dictator himself , a sacrifice her father made to try to gain favor with the dictator again , a fact to which she alludes throughout the book , but which is only revealed at the very end : the book concludes with her recounting the memory of that night to her aunt and cousins , who never knew the true reason she left the country . When her aunt is surprised that she remembers all these details , she responds that while she forgets many things , " I remember everything about that night . " For Urania , forgetting the atrocities committed by the regime is unacceptable . Her father , on the other hand , is not capable of joining her in this process of remembering , since he has suffered a stroke and is not capable of speaking ; however , Urania is angry that he chose to forget these things while he was still capable of acknowledging them .
Memory is also important in the sections of the novel that deal with the assassins . Each recalls the events that led him to take part in the assassination of Trujillo . These incidents included the 1956 <unk> kidnapping and murder , the 1960 murder of the Mirabal sisters , and the 1961 split with the Catholic Church . These historical events are used by Vargas Llosa to connect the assassins with specific moments that demonstrate the violence of Trujillo 's regime . Trujillo , too , is shown reflecting on the past , not least his own formation and training at the hands of the US Marines .
But above all Mario Vargas Llosa uses the fictional Urania to facilitate the novel 's attempt at remembering the regime . The novel opens and closes with Urania 's story , effectively framing the narrative in the terms of remembering the past and understanding its legacy in the present . In addition , because of her academic study of the history of the Trujillo regime , Urania is also confronting the memory of the regime for the country as a whole . This is in keeping with one purpose of the book , which is to ensure that the atrocities of the dictatorship and the dangers of absolute power will be remembered by a new generation .
= = = Writing and power = = =
In her treatment of the novel , María Regina Ruiz claims that power gives its wielder the ability to make prohibitions ; prohibitions that are reflected in history , the study of which reveals what is and what is not told . The government 's actions in The Feast of the Goat demonstrate the discourse of prohibition : foreign newspapers and magazines were prohibited from entering Trujillo 's country as they were seen as a threat to the government 's ideas . Mario Vargas Llosa takes part in this discourse by recounting what was prohibited .
Ruiz notes that writing also has the power to transform reality . It brings the reader back to the past , allowing the reader to comprehend myths or distorted stories told by historians . Ruiz contends that knowing the past is crucial to one 's understanding of the present that takes us to postmodernism , and argues that The Feast of the Goat can thus be seen as a postmodern discourse that gives power to history recreation .
The construction of fictions surrounding the events of Trujillo 's regime allow a degree of freedom from the horrors that took places . Author Julia Alvarez contends that these events can " only finally be understood by fiction , only finally be redeemed by the imagination " , while Richard Patterson claims that Vargas Llosa " <unk> , and to a large degree <unk> " Trujillo and his brutal reign through use of narrative structure . Vargas Llosa 's writing acts as a cathartic force for this period in history .
= = Fact and fiction = =
The novel is a combination of fact and fiction . Blending together these two elements is important in any historical novel , but especially in The Feast of the Goat because Vargas Llosa chose to narrate an actual event through the minds of both real and fictional characters . Some characters are fictional , and those that are non @-@ fictional still have fictionalized aspects in the book . The general details of the assassination are true , and the assassins are all real people . While they lie in wait for the Dictator to arrive , they recount actual crimes of the regime , such as the murder of the Mirabal sisters . However , other details are invented by Vargas Llosa , such as Amadito 's murder of the brother of the woman he loved .
Those within the regime are also a mix of fictional characters and real people . President Balaguer is real , but the entire Cabral family is completely fictional . According to Wolff , Vargas Llosa " uses history as a starting point in constructing a fictionalized account of Trujillo 's " spiritual colonization " of the Dominican Republic as experienced by one Dominican family . The fictional Cabral family allows Vargas Llosa to show two sides of the Trujillo regime : through Agustin , the reader sees ultimate dedication and sacrifice to the leader of the nation ; through Urania , the violence of the regime and the legacy of pain it left behind . Vargas Llosa also fictionalized the internal thoughts of the characters who were non @-@ fictional , especially those of the Goat himself . According to literary scholar Richard Patterson , " Vargas Llosa 's expands all the way into the very " dark area " of Trujillo 's consciousness ( as the storyteller dares to conceive it ) . "
Vargas Llosa also built an image of the regime with the troubled historical events . With regard to the historical accuracy of the book , Vargas Llosa has said " It 's a novel , not a history book , so I took many , many liberties . The only limitation I imposed on myself was that I was not going to invent anything that couldn 't have happened within the framework of life in the Dominican Republic . I have respected the basic facts , but I have changed and deformed many things in order to make the story more persuasive — and I have not exaggerated . "
= = Critical reception = =
The realist style of The Feast of the Goat is recognized by some reviewers as being a break from a more allegorical approach to the dictator novel . The novel received largely positive reviews , most of which were willing to accept sacrifices of historical accuracy in favour of good storytelling .
A common comment on the novel is the graphic nature of the many acts of torture and murder which are depicted in the novel . Vargas lets the reader see the realities of an oppressive regime with a degree of detail not often used by his compatriots in Latin American literature , as Michael Wood suggests in the London Review of Books : " Vargas Llosa ... tells us far more about the details of day @-@ to @-@ day intrigue , and the sordid , sadistic minutiae of torture and murder . " Walter Kirn of the New York Times suggests that the " grisly scenes of dungeon interrogations and torture sessions " cast other aspects of the novel in a pale light , draining them of their significance and impact . Similarly , Kirn implies that the " narrative machinery " mentioned by Wood as being somewhat unwieldy also produces a largely superfluous storyline . The plot line centered on Urania Cabral is described by Sturrock as being an emotional centre that focuses the novel , and Wood agrees that her confrontations with past demons hold the readers attention . In contrast , Kirn 's review states that Urania 's segments are " talky and atmospheric ... [ and ] seem to be on loan from another sort of book . "
Most reviews of The Feast of the Goat make either indirect of direct reference to the relationship between sexuality and power . Salon reviewer Laura Miller , writer for The Observer Jonathan Heawood , Walter Kirn , and Michael Wood each detail the connection between Trujillo 's gradual loss of ultimate control , both over his body and his followers . The means by which Trujillo reinforces political power through sexual acts and begins to lose personal conviction as his body fails him are topics of frequent discussion among reviewers .
In 2011 Bernard Diederich , author of the 1978 non @-@ fiction book Trujillo . The Death of the Goat , accused Vargas @-@ Llosa of plagiarism .
= = Adaptations = =
An English @-@ language film adaptation of the novel was made in 2005 , directed by Luis Llosa , Mario Vargas Llosa 's cousin . It stars Isabella Rossellini as Urania Cabral , Paul Freeman as her father Agustin , Stephanie Leonidas as <unk> and Tomas Milian as Rafael Leonidas Trujillo . It was filmed in both the Dominican Republic and in Spain . Reviewing the film for the trade paper Variety , critic Jonathan Holland called it " less a feast than a somewhat rushed , but thoroughly enjoyable , three @-@ course meal " , commenting that the main difference from the source novel was the sacrifice of psychological nuance .
The novel has also been adapted for the stage , by Jorge Alí Triana and his daughter Veronica Triana , directed by Jorge Triana : the play was put on ( in Spanish , but with simultaneous translation to English ) at <unk> Español ( <unk> / chivo ) in New York in 2003 ; and the production moved to Lima in 2007 . A feature of the novel 's stage version is that the same actor plays both Agustin Cabral and Rafael Trujillo . For reviewer Bruce Weber , this makes the point " that Trujillo 's control of the nation depended on gutless collaborators " .
= Charles Eaton ( RAAF officer ) =
Charles Eaton , OBE , AFC ( 21 December 1895 – 12 November 1979 ) was a senior officer and aviator in the Royal Australian Air Force ( RAAF ) , who later served as a diplomat . Born in London , he joined the British Army upon the outbreak of World War I and saw action on the Western Front before transferring to the Royal Flying Corps in 1917 . Posted as a bomber pilot to No. 206 Squadron , he was twice captured by German forces , and twice escaped . Eaton left the military in 1920 and worked in India until moving to Australia in 1923 . Two years later he joined the RAAF , serving initially as an instructor at No. 1 Flying Training School . Between 1929 and 1931 , he was chosen to lead three expeditions to search for lost aircraft in Central Australia , gaining national attention and earning the Air Force Cross for his " zeal and devotion to duty " .
In 1939 , on the eve of World War II , Eaton became the inaugural commanding officer of No. 12 ( General Purpose ) Squadron at the newly established RAAF Station Darwin in Northern Australia . Promoted group captain the following year , he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1942 . He took command of No. 79 Wing at Batchelor , Northern Territory , in 1943 , and was mentioned in despatches during operations in the South West Pacific . Retiring from the RAAF in December 1945 , Eaton took up diplomatic posts in the Dutch East Indies , heading a United Nations commission as Consul @-@ General during the Indonesian National Revolution . He returned to Australia in 1950 , and served in Canberra for a further two years . Popularly known as " Moth " Eaton , he was a farmer in later life , and died in 1979 at the age of 83 . He is commemorated by several memorials in the Northern Territory .
= = Early life and World War I = =
Charles Eaton was born on 21 December 1895 in Lambeth , London , the son of William Walpole Eaton , a butcher , and his wife Grace . Schooled in Wandsworth , Charles worked in Battersea Town Council from the age of fourteen , before joining the London Regiment upon the outbreak of World War I in August 1914 . Attached to a bicycle company in the 24th Battalion of the 47th Division , he arrived at the Western Front in March 1915 . He took part in trench bombing missions and attacks on enemy lines of communication , seeing action in the Battles of Aubers Ridge , Festubert , Loos , and the Somme .
On 14 May 1915 , Eaton transferred to the Royal Flying Corps ( RFC ) , undergoing initial pilot training at Oxford . While he was landing his Maurice Farman Shorthorn at the end of his first solo flight , another student collided with him and was killed , but Eaton emerged uninjured . He was commissioned in August and was awarded his wings in October . Ranked lieutenant , he served with No. 110 Squadron , which operated Martinsyde G.100 " Elephant " fighters out of <unk> , defending London against Zeppelin airships . Transferred to the newly formed Royal Air Force ( RAF ) in April 1918 , he was posted the following month to France flying Airco DH.9 single @-@ engined bombers with No. 206 Squadron . On 29 June , he was shot down behind enemy lines and captured in the vicinity of <unk> . Incarcerated in Holzminden prisoner @-@ of @-@ war camp , Germany , Eaton escaped but was recaptured and court @-@ martialled , after which he was kept in solitary confinement . He later effected another escape and succeeded in rejoining his squadron in the final days of the war .
= = Between the wars = =
Eaton remained in the RAF following the cessation of hostilities . He married Beatrice Godfrey in St. Thomas 's church at Shepherd 's Bush , London , on 11 January 1919 . Posted to No. 1 Squadron , he was a pilot on the first regular passenger service between London and Paris , ferrying delegates to and from the Peace Conference at Versailles . Eaton was sent to India in December to undertake aerial survey work , including the first such survey of the Himalayas . He resigned from the RAF in July 1920 , remaining in India to take up employment with the Imperial Forest Service . After successfully applying for a position with the Queensland Forestry Service , he and his family migrated to Australia in 1923 . Moving to South Yarra , Victoria , he enlisted as a flying officer in the Royal Australian Air Force ( RAAF ) at Laverton on 14 August 1925 . He was posted to No. 1 Flying Training School at RAAF Point Cook , as a flight instructor , where he became known as a strict disciplinarian who " trained his pilots well " . Here Eaton acquired his nickname of " Moth " , the Air Force 's basic trainer at this time being the De Havilland DH.60 Moth . Promoted flight lieutenant in February 1928 , he flew a Moth in the 1929 East @-@ West Air Race from Sydney to Perth , as part of the celebrations for the Western Australia Centenary ; he was the sixth competitor across the line , after fellow RFC veteran Jerry Pentland .
Regarded as one of the RAAF 's most skilful cross @-@ country pilots and navigators , Eaton came to public attention as leader of three military expeditions to find lost aircraft in Central Australia between 1929 and 1931 . In April 1929 , he coordinated the Air Force 's part in the search for aviators Keith Anderson and Bob Hitchcock , missing in their aircraft the Kookaburra while themselves looking for Charles Kingsford Smith and Charles Ulm , who had force landed the Southern Cross in north Western Australia during a flight from Sydney . Three of the RAAF 's five " ancient " DH.9 biplanes went down in the search — though all crews escaped injury — including Eaton 's , which experienced what he labelled " a good crash " on 21 April near Tennant Creek after the engine 's pistons melted . The same day , Captain Lester Brain , flying a Qantas aircraft , located the wreck of the Kookaburra in the Tanami Desert , approximately 130 kilometres ( 81 mi ) east @-@ south @-@ east of Wave Hill . Setting out from Wave Hill on 23 April , Eaton led a ground party across rough terrain that reached the crash site four days later and buried the crew , who had perished of thirst and exposure . Not a particularly religious man , he recalled that after the burial he saw a perfect cross formed by cirrus cloud in an otherwise clear blue sky above the Kookaburra . The Air Board described the RAAF 's search as taking 240 hours flying time " under the most trying conditions ... where a forced landing meant certain crash " . In November 1930 , Eaton was selected to lead another expedition for a missing aircraft near Ayers Rock , but it was called off soon afterwards when the pilot showed up in Alice Springs . The next month , he was ordered to search for W.L. <unk> and S.J. Hamre , who had disappeared in the biplane Golden Quest 2 while attempting to discover Lasseter 's Reef . Employing a total of four DH.60 Moths , the RAAF team located the missing men near Dashwood Creek on 7 January 1931 , and they were rescued four days later by a ground party accompanied by Eaton . Staying in nearby Alice Springs , he recommended a site for the town 's new airfield , which was approved and has remained in use since its construction .
Eaton was awarded the Air Force Cross on 10 March 1931 " in recognition of his zeal and devotion to duty in conducting flights to Central Australia in search of missing aviators " . The media called him the " ' Knight Errant ' of the desert skies " . Aside from his crash landing in the desert while searching for the Kookaburra , Eaton had another narrow escape in 1929 when he was test flying the Wackett Warrigal I with Sergeant Eric Douglas . Having purposely put the biplane trainer into a spin and finding no response in the controls when he tried to recover , Eaton called on Douglas to bail out . When Douglas stood up to do so , the spin stopped , apparently due to his torso changing the airflow over the tail plane . Eaton then managed to land the aeroplane , he and his passenger both badly shaken by the experience . In December 1931 , he was posted to No. 1 Aircraft Depot at Laverton , where he continued to fly as well as performing administrative work . Promoted squadron leader in 1936 , he undertook a clandestine mission around the new year to scout for suitable landing grounds in the Dutch East Indies , primarily Timor and Ambon . Wearing civilian clothes , he and his companion were arrested and held for three days by local authorities in Koepang , Dutch Timor . Eaton was appointed commanding officer ( CO ) of No. 21 Squadron in May 1937 , one of his first tasks being to undertake another aerial search in Central Australia , this time for prospector Sir Herbert Gepp , who was subsequently discovered alive and well . Later that year , Eaton presided over the court of inquiry into the crash of a Hawker Demon biplane in Victoria , recommending a gallantry award for Aircraftman William McAloney , who had leapt into the Demon 's burning wreckage in an effort to rescue its pilot ; McAloney subsequently received the Albert Medal for his heroism .
Following a 1937 decision to establish the first north Australian RAAF base , in April 1938 Eaton , now on the headquarters staff of RAAF Station Laverton , and Wing Commander George Jones , Director of Personnel Services at RAAF Headquarters , began developing plans for the new station , to be commanded by Jones , and a new squadron that would be based there , led by Eaton . The next month they flew an Avro Anson on an inspection tour of Darwin , Northern Territory , site of the proposed base . Delays meant that No. 12 ( General Purpose ) Squadron was not formed until 6 February 1939 at Laverton . Jones had by now moved on to another posting but Eaton took up the squadron 's command as planned . Promoted to wing commander on 1 March , he and his equipment officer , Flying Officer Hocking , were ordered to build up the unit as quickly as possible , and established an initial complement of fourteen officers and 120 airmen , plus four Ansons and four Demons , within a week . An advance party of thirty NCOs and airmen under Hocking began moving to Darwin on 1 July . Staff were initially accommodated in a former <unk> built during World War I , and life at the newly established air base had a " distinctly raw , pioneering feel about it " according to historian Chris Coulthard @-@ Clark . Morale , though , was high . On 31 August , No. 12 Squadron launched its first patrol over the Darwin area , flown by one of seven Ansons that had so far been delivered . These were augmented by a flight of four CAC Wirraways ( replacing the originally planned force of Demons ) that took off from Laverton on 2 September , the day before Australia declared war , and arrived in Darwin four days later . A fifth Wirraway in the flight crashed on landing at Darwin , killing both crewmen .
= = World War II = =
Once war was declared , Darwin began to receive more attention from military planners . In June 1940 , No. 12 Squadron was " cannibalised " to form two additional units , Headquarters RAAF Station Darwin and No. 13 Squadron . No. 12 Squadron retained its Wirraway flight , while its two flights of Ansons went to the new squadron ; these were replaced later that month by more capable Lockheed Hudsons . Eaton was appointed CO of the base , gaining promotion to temporary group captain in September . His squadrons were employed in escort , maritime reconnaissance , and coastal patrol duties , the overworked aircraft having to be sent to RAAF Station Richmond , New South Wales , after every 240 hours flying time — with a consequent three @-@ week loss from Darwin 's strength — as deep maintenance was not yet possible in the Northern Territory . Soon after the establishment of Headquarters RAAF Station Darwin , Minister for Air James Fairbairn visited the base . Piloting his own light plane , he was greeted by four Wirraways that proceeded to escort him into landing ; the Minister subsequently complimented Eaton on the " keen @-@ ness and efficiency of all ranks " , particularly considering the challenging environment . When Fairbairn died in the Canberra air disaster shortly afterwards , his pilot was Flight Lieutenant Robert Hitchcock , son of Bob Hitchcock of the Kookaburra and also a former member of Eaton 's No. 21 Squadron .
As senior air commander in the region , Eaton sat on the Darwin Defence Co @-@ ordination Committee . He was occasionally at loggerheads with his naval counterpart , Captain E.P. Thomas , and also incurred the ire of trade unionists when he used RAAF staff to unload ships in Port Darwin during industrial action ; Eaton himself took part in the work , shovelling coal alongside his men . On 25 February 1941 , he made a flight north to reconnoitre Timor , Ambon , and Babo in Dutch New Guinea for potential use by the RAAF in any Pacific conflict . By April , the total strength based at RAAF Station Darwin had increased to almost 700 officers and airmen ; by the following month it had been augmented by satellite airfields at Bathurst Island , Groote Eylandt , Batchelor , and Katherine . Handing over command of Darwin to Group Captain Frederick Scherger in October , Eaton took charge of No. 2 Service Flying Training School near Wagga Wagga , New South Wales . His " marked success " , " untiring energy " , and " tact in handling men " while in the Northern Territory were recognised in the new year with his appointment as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire . Eaton became CO of No. 1 Engineering School and its base , RAAF Station Ascot Vale , Victoria , in April 1942 . Twelve months later in Townsville , Queensland , he formed No. 72 Wing , which subsequently deployed to Merauke in Dutch New Guinea , comprising No. 84 Squadron ( flying CAC Boomerang fighters ) , No. 86 Squadron ( P @-@ 40 Kittyhawk fighters ) , and No. 12 Squadron ( A @-@ 31 Vengeance dive bombers ) . His relations with North @-@ Eastern Area Command in Townsville were strained ; " mountains were made out of molehills " in his opinion , and he was reassigned that July to lead No. 2 Bombing and Gunnery School in Port Pirie , South Australia .
On 30 November 1943 , Eaton returned to the Northern Territory to establish No. 79 Wing at Batchelor , comprising No. 1 and No. 2 Squadrons ( flying Bristol Beaufort light reconnaissance bombers ) , No. 31 Squadron ( Bristol Beaufighter long @-@ range fighters ) , and No. 18 ( Netherlands East Indies ) Squadron ( B @-@ 25 Mitchell medium bombers ) . He developed a good relationship with his Dutch personnel , who called him " Oom Charles " ( Uncle Charles ) . Operating under the auspices of North @-@ Western Area Command ( NWA ) , Darwin , Eaton 's forces participated in the New Guinea and North @-@ Western Area Campaigns during 1944 , in which he regularly flew on missions himself . Through March – April , his Beaufighters attacked enemy shipping , while the Mitchells and Beauforts bombed Timor on a daily basis as a prelude to Operations Reckless and Persecution , the invasions of Hollandia and Aitape . On 19 April , he organised a large raid against Su , Dutch Timor , employing thirty @-@ five Mitchells , Beauforts and Beaufighters to destroy the town 's barracks and fuel dumps , the results earning him the personal congratulations of the Air Officer Commanding NWA , Air Vice Marshal " King " Cole , for his " splendid effort " . On the day of the Allied landings , 22 April , the Mitchells and Beaufighters made a daylight raid on Dili , Portuguese Timor . The ground assault met little opposition , credited in part to the air bombardment in the days leading up to it . In June – July , No. 79 Wing supported the Allied attack on Noemfoor . Eaton was recommended to be mentioned in despatches on 28 October 1944 for his " Gallant and distinguished service " in NWA ; this was promulgated in the London Gazette on 9 March 1945 .
Completing his tour with No. 79 Wing , Eaton was appointed Air Officer Commanding Southern Area , Melbourne , in January 1945 . The German submarine U @-@ 862 operated off southern Australia during the first months of 1945 , and the few combat units in Eaton 's command were heavily engaged in anti @-@ submarine patrols which sought to locate this and any other U @-@ boats in the area . The Air Officer Commanding RAAF Command , Air Vice Marshal Bill Bostock , considered the sporadic attacks to be partly " nuisance value " , designed to draw Allied resources away from the front line of the South West Pacific war . In April , Eaton complained to Bostock that intelligence from British Pacific Fleet concerning its ships ' movements eastwards out of Western Area was hours out of date by the time it was received at Southern Area Command , leading to RAAF aircraft missing their rendezvous and wasting valuable flying hours searching empty ocean . There had been no U @-@ boat strikes since February , and by June the naval authorities indicated that there was no pressing need for air cover except for the most important vessels .
= = Post @-@ war career and legacy = =
Eaton retired from the RAAF on 31 December 1945 . In recognition of his war service , he was appointed a Commander of the Order of Orange @-@ Nassau with Swords by the Dutch government on 17 January 1946 . The same month , he became Australian consul in Dili . He had seen an advertisement for the position and was the only applicant with experience of the area . While based there , he accompanied the provincial governor on visits to townships damaged in Allied raids during the war , taking care to be circumspect about the part played by his own forces from No. 79 Wing . In July 1947 , Dutch forces launched a " police action " against territory held by the fledgling Indonesian Republic , which had been declared shortly after the end of the war . Following a ceasefire , the United Nations set up a commission , chaired by Eaton as Consul @-@ General , to monitor progress . Eaton and his fellow commissioners believed that the ceasefire was serving the Dutch as a cover for further penetration of republican enclaves . His requests to the Australian government for military observers led to deployment of the first peacekeeping force to the region ; the Australians were soon followed by British and US observers , and enabled Eaton to display a more realistic impression of the situation to the outside world . The Dutch administration strongly opposed the presence of UN forces and accused Eaton of " impropriety " , but the Australian government refused to recall him . Following the transfer of sovereignty in December 1949 , he became Australia 's first secretary and chargé d 'affaires to the Republic of the United States of Indonesia . In 1950 , he returned to Australia to serve with the Department of External Affairs in Canberra . After retiring from public service in 1951 , he and his wife farmed at <unk> , Victoria , and cultivated orchids . They later moved to Frankston , where Eaton was involved in promotional work .
Charles Eaton died in Frankston on 12 November 1979 . Survived by his wife and two sons , he was cremated . In accordance with his wishes , his ashes were scattered near Tennant Creek , site of his 1929 forced landing during the search for the Kookaburra , from an RAAF Caribou on 15 April 1981 . His name figures prominently in the Northern Territory , commemorated by Lake Eaton in Central Australia , Eaton Place in the Darwin suburb of Karama , Charles Eaton Drive on the approach to Darwin International Airport , and the Charles Moth Eaton Saloon Bar in the Tennant Creek Goldfields Hotel . He is also honoured with a display at the Northern Territory Parliament , and a National Trust memorial at Tennant Creek Airport . At the RAAF 's 2003 History Conference , Air Commodore Mark Lax , recalling Eaton 's search @-@ and @-@ rescue missions between the wars , commented : " Today , we might think of Eaton perhaps as the pioneer of our contribution to assistance to the civil community — a tradition that continues today . Perhaps I might jog your memory to a more recent series of rescues no less hazardous for all concerned — the amazing location of missing yachtsmen Thierry Dubois , Isabelle <unk> and Tony <unk> by our P @-@ 3s that guided the Navy to their eventual rescue . My observation is that such activities remain vital for our relevance in that we must remain connected , supportive and responsive to the wants and needs of the Australian community . "
= Tina Fey =
Elizabeth <unk> " Tina " Fey ( / <unk> / ; born May 18 , 1970 ) is an American actress , comedian , writer , and producer . She is best known for her work on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live ( 1998 @-@ 2006 ) , for her impression of former Alaska Governor and 2008 Vice @-@ Presidential candidate Sarah Palin , and for creating acclaimed series 30 Rock ( 2006 – 2013 ) and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt ( 2015 – present ) . She is also well known for appearing in films such as Mean Girls ( 2004 ) , Baby Mama ( 2008 ) , Date Night ( 2010 ) , Muppets Most Wanted ( 2014 ) , and Sisters ( 2015 ) .
Fey broke into comedy as a featured player in the Chicago @-@ based improvisational comedy group The Second City . She then joined SNL as a writer , later becoming head writer and a performer , known for her position as co @-@ anchor in the Weekend Update segment . In 2004 , she co @-@ starred in and wrote the screenplay for Mean Girls , which was adapted from the 2002 self @-@ help book Queen Bees and Wannabes . After leaving SNL in 2006 , she created the television series 30 Rock for Broadway Video , a situation comedy loosely based on her experiences at SNL . In the series , Fey portrays the head writer of a fictional sketch comedy series . In 2008 , she starred in the comedy film Baby Mama , alongside former SNL co @-@ star Amy Poehler . Fey next appeared in the 2010 comedy film Date Night and the animated film Megamind . In 2015 , she created and produced the television series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt , originally for NBC and eventually for Netflix . Her recent films include Sisters and Whiskey Tango Foxtrot .
Fey has received eight Emmy Awards , two Golden Globe Awards , five Screen Actors Guild Awards , and four Writers Guild of America Awards and was nominated for a Grammy Award for her autobiographical book Bossypants , which topped The New York Times Best Seller list for five weeks . In 2008 , the Associated Press gave Fey the AP Entertainer of the Year award for her satirical portrayal of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin in a guest appearance on SNL . In 2010 , Fey was awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor , becoming the youngest @-@ ever recipient of the award . On January 13 , 2013 , Fey hosted the 70th Golden Globe Awards with her long @-@ time friend and fellow comedian , Amy Poehler , to critical acclaim . The duo hosted again the following two years , generating the highest ratings for the annual ceremony in a decade and receiving similar acclaim .
= = Early life = =
Fey was born on May 18 , 1970 , in Upper Darby , Pennsylvania , a suburb of Philadelphia . Her mother , Zenobia " Jeanne " ( née <unk> ) , is a brokerage employee ; her father , Donald Henry Fey ( died 2015 , age 82 ) , was a university grant proposal writer . She has a brother , Peter , who is eight years older . Fey 's mother , who was born in Piraeus , Greece , is the daughter of Greek immigrants : <unk> <unk> , Fey 's maternal grandmother , left Petrina , Laconia , Greece on her own , arriving in the United States in February 1921 .
Fey 's father had English , German , and Northern Irish ancestry ; one of Fey 's paternal great @-@ great @-@ great @-@ great @-@ great @-@ grandfathers was John Hewson ( 1744 – 1821 ) , a textile manufacturer who immigrated to America with the support of Benjamin Franklin , enabling Hewson to quickly open a quilting factory in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia , Pennsylvania . According to a genealogical DNA test arranged by the television series Finding Your Roots , Fey 's ancestry is 94 % European , 3 % Middle Eastern , and 3 % from the Caucasus .
Fey was exposed to comedy early :
At age 11 , Fey read Joe Franklin 's Seventy Years of Great Film Comedians for a school project about comedy . She grew up watching Second City Television , and has cited Catherine O 'Hara as a role model .
Fey attended Cardington @-@ Stonehurst Elementary School and Beverly Hills Middle School in Upper Darby . By middle school , she knew she was interested in comedy . Fey attended Upper Darby High School , where she was an honors student , a member of the choir , drama club , and tennis team , and co @-@ editor of the school 's newspaper , The Acorn . She also anonymously wrote the newspaper 's satirical column , The Colonel . Following her graduation in 1988 , Fey enrolled at the University of Virginia , where she studied play @-@ writing and acting and was awarded the Pettway Prize . She graduated in 1992 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in drama .
After college , she worked as a receptionist during the day at the Evanston YMCA and took classes at Second City at night .
= = Career = =
= = = Saturday Night Live ( 1997 – 2006 ) = = =
While performing shows with The Second City in 1997 , Fey submitted several scripts to NBC 's variety show Saturday Night Live ( SNL ) , at the request of its head writer Adam McKay , a former performer at Second City . She was hired as a writer for SNL following a meeting with SNL creator Lorne Michaels , and moved to New York from Chicago . Fey told The New Yorker , " I 'd had my eye on the show forever , the way other kids have their eye on Derek Jeter . " Originally , Fey " struggled " at SNL . Her first sketch to air starred Chris Farley in a Sally Jessy Raphael satire . Fey went on to write a series of parodies , including one of ABC 's morning talk show The View . She co @-@ wrote the " Sully and Denise " sketches with Rachel Dratch , who plays one of the teens .
Fey was an extra in a 1998 episode , and after watching herself , decided to diet and lost 30 pounds . She told The New York Times , " I was a completely normal weight , but I was here in New York City , I had money and I couldn 't buy any clothes . After I lost weight , there was interest in putting me on camera . " In 1999 , McKay stepped down as head writer , which led Michaels to approach Fey for the position . She became SNL 's first female head writer that year .
In 2000 , Fey began performing in sketches , and she and Jimmy Fallon became co @-@ anchors of SNL 's Weekend Update segment . Fey said she did not ask to audition , but that Michaels approached her . Michaels explained that there was chemistry between Fey and Fallon , though the decision was " kind of risky " at the time . Her role in Weekend Update was well received by critics . Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly wrote : " ... Fey delivers such blow darts – poison filled jokes written in long , precisely parsed sentences unprecedented in Update history – with such a bright , sunny countenance makes her all the more devilishly delightful . " Dennis Miller , a former cast member of SNL and anchor of Weekend Update , was pleased with Fey as one of the anchors for the segment : " ... Fey might be the best Weekend Update anchor who ever did it . She writes the funniest jokes " . Robert Bianco of USA Today , however , commented that he was " not enamored " of the pairing .
In 2001 , Fey and the rest of the writing staff won a Writers Guild of America Award for SNL 's 25th anniversary special . The following year at the 2002 Emmy Awards ceremony , they won the Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Variety , Music or Comedy Program .
When Fallon left the show in May 2004 , he was replaced on Weekend Update by Amy Poehler . It was the first time that two women co @-@ anchored Weekend Update . Fey revealed that she " hired " Poehler as her co @-@ host for the segment . The reception was positive , with Rachel Sklar of the Chicago Tribune noting that the pairing " has been a hilarious , pitch @-@ perfect success as they play @-@ off each other with quick one @-@ liners and deadpan delivery " .
The 2005 – 2006 season was her last ; she departed to develop 30 Rock for Broadway Video . At the time she left , the 117 episodes she co @-@ hosted made her SNL 's longest @-@ serving Weekend Update anchor , a mark that would later be passed by her replacement , Seth Meyers . In Rolling Stone Magazine 's February , 2015 appraisal of all 141 SNL cast members to date , Fey was ranked third in importance ( behind John Belushi and Eddie Murphy ) . They credited her with " salvaging ' Update ' from a decade @-@ long losing streak , " and " slapping SNL out of its late @-@ nineties coma . "