To get you started on this assignment, let's talk about four different characters from Mariano Azuela's The Underdogs and identify the learner profile traits they show and the global issues the story reflects.

Demetrio Macias is an obvious choice, for he is the story's protagonist. Demetrio enters into the revolutionary fight against the Mexican government with courage and commitment, but he does not really understand what he is fighting for. He represents other peasants like himself, but his concept of the broader situation is shaky at best. Yet he has the talent for inspiring his men, and he is resilient, coming back from wounds again and again. It is rather difficult to determine which learner profile traits Demetrio exhibits, for he is certainly not an inquirer or a thinker. We can probably call him a risk-taker more than anything else, for he keeps plunging back into battle again and again.

Journalist Luis Cervantes is much more of a thinker. He is reflective, too, always considering whether or not his loyalties are in the right place (and whether or not his current place is in his best interests). Cervantes is an inquirer. He wants to know the truth even though the truth disillusions him.

The woman War Paint is another difficult character to classify. Like Demetrio, she is a risk-taker (although usually only to her own benefit). She is hardly open-minded or reflective or a thinker. She is more interested in looting and stealing. Yet she occasionally shows a hint of caring toward Camila when it suits her purposes.

Finally, General Navera is a thinker. He has excellent leadership skills and the ability to grasp the reasons behind the revolution and reflect on the proper steps to take at each moment. He also seems to be a good communicator in his leadership role.

Now let's reflect on global issues. This novel focuses on issues of oppression and freedom as well as the need to survive. It also reveals the brutality of people in violent situations and leads readers to question the nature of war and to reflect on political corruption.