Castro as a symbol
To Arenas, Castro symbolized a kind of government which posed a legitimate threat to the health and well-being of his family. That is historical sensible, and to the reader, the symbolism is all-the-more clear because of popular knowledge about Castro. In the story, the symbolism takes place in an evolving plot line, while in real life, the reader likely knows something about Castro and his geopolitical influence and his tendency to abuse his own people. The fate of Cuba is darkened by Castro, like a bad king in epic literature.
Femininity and motif
Arenas's personality was learned from his closest and nearest community, a community of all women—a single mom, a sister, and a grandmother—and so his personality is openly feminine. He learns early in life that his preference for feminine personality is also related to a sexual attraction toward other boys. Through motif we see that his character is defined by a kind of emotional connection to femininity which is historically not tolerated by masculine and traditional societies. The motif defines Arenas's "man versus society" conflict.
Sex and agony
Through motif, we see that Arenas does not have a nice time with sexuality. He ends up with abusive men who are critical and will not commit to him, so his reputation becomes public. Before long, the government has located him and institutionalizes him—this begins his martyrdom of sexuality. The agony he experiences because of his attraction to men is constantly worsened. He is starved, beaten, tortured, and raped by the men in the jail. He decides to escape to the United States.
The false accusation
A fitting symbol for the bitter twist of shame is found when the government (who tolerated their guards raping this man) accuses Arenas publicly of being a wanted rapist on the run. That shame makes his community happy to betray him to the police, but of course that is an extremely horrible outcome because now his character is permanently assassinated in his community. He is disenfranchised because of his sexual orientation to a staggering and harrowing degree.
Writing as betrayal
The Cuban government considers it betrayal that Arenas wrote the truth about their government and shared it with the world. That is an apt symbol for what tyranny and corruption do to the truth. They are so unconcerned with the truth that to them, it is unspeakable to actually admit to what is being done there. They are not interested in defending him because he is gay; they allow him to be brutally raped and tortured for years—but when he deigns to document this abuse, they consider that treason and punish him even more.
