1. The short story, Ashes for the Wind by Hernando Tellez, the central conflict is focused around two groups, the all-powerful government and powerless farmers. The struggle that is going on is one that is commonly seen in poor third world countries where the government controls everything and where the people make up the complete work force. The story reveals Juan Martinez’s inner beliefs, that he is a stubborn yet proud man that will stand for everything that he owns even if that means death. Even after voting for the wrong side, Juan protects his family from the evil that is the law. Arevalo’s motivations were such that he did not stand up for the family that he grew up with. His betrayal of the political system and his father leaves Simon’s …show more content…
One’s beliefs are a powerful, while they can achieve some things, they can also get one killed. Juan Martinez’s beliefs are what drive him to do what he does throughout the story. These actions define him as both a hero and a fool. Though they do not prevail and do not achieve what he hoped for, he makes a valiant effort to do so. This effort can make him seem as a fool. He stands up to a government and to the law that controls the country and does not back down to citizens that demand change. His sacrifice of his family and himself is an action that can go both ways, it can fuel change in his country or leaves his death in …show more content…
A) One particular character in Ashes for the Wind is always referred to as Simon Arevalo’s son despite having a name. This is symbolic to how community and people dare not speak of his name for his past betrayals. B) The symbolism of dust in Ashes for the Wind refers to the biblical story of the fall of man. Ash and dust are both very similar and in the end, Juan’s house burns down to the ground and all that is left is ashes: “for dust you are and to dust you will return." Juan was born and dies in the dust. C) The nature that dwells on the farm is beautiful and Juan does not notice it in the story. The particular beauty of the farm is mostly mentioned when Simon Arevalo’s son is present there, hinting towards his inner desires or interests. D) The whips are forms of forcing submission onto citizens and how the police does not persecute by the law but rather tyrannize. The change to using these methods is symbolic of the need of a greater force to control the people of the town. E) The oil that sits behind the counter of the store stays there throughout the whole story. It drips from a black drum into a funnel and once again into a bottle. The oil foreshadows the violence and the blood that will be spilled later on the farm. When it is referenced to at the end of the story, it is signifying the continuance of the
the commander of the Rebel army, General Robert E Lee. General Lee is skeptical too of
The Broken Spears is a book written by Miguel Leon-Portilla that gives accounts of the fall of the Aztec Empire to the Spanish in the early 16th century. The book is much different from others written about the defeat of the empire because it was written from the vantage point of the Aztecs rather then the Spanish. Portilla describes in-depth many different reasons why the Spanish were successful in the defeat of such a strong Empire.
Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys, is one of the most famous historical fiction books ever written. This 352 paged book has inspired many teens to acknowledge the Genocide of Baltic people. Ruta Sepetys was inspired to write a fiction book instead of a non-fiction book based on the stories she heard from survivors of the genocide during a visit to her relatives in Lithuania. She interviewed dozens of people during her stay. Between Shades of Gray was her first novel that she had written. This book was interpreted well enough by the readers to become a New York Times Bestseller.
A short, fat man who owns a little band of sheep on the flats at
Throughout time, stories have been passed down from generation to generation in order to make sense of our world and to share that understanding with others. “Los tres hermanos (The Three Brothers)” and “El indito de las cien vacas (The Indian and the Hundred Cows)” are two Tales of the Hispanic Southwest that I feel the reader could truly relate to in terms of the important moral lessons that were meant to be taught, inferred and understood. The lesson in “Los tres hermanos (The Three Brothers)” involves understanding that the characters involved failed to reflect on the needs of the thirsty, hungry and poor, the lonely, as well as the elderly and are ultimately fairly served by means of moral ruin, death, and worst of all, eternal damnation, while “El indito de las cien vacas (The Indian and the Hundred Cows)” in due course, involves the notion that God helps those who help themselves.
Critical Evaluation-Assisi A poem that I have been studying recently is Assisi by Norman McCaig, which I found very interesting to read because it made a statement which relates to our world today even though the poem was wrote about thirty or forty years ago. The poem has lots of ideas including effective figures of speech, good choice of words, important images and irony. The statement that McCaig makes is, where ever there is great wealth it always exists along side great poverty.
This novel is a story of a Chicano family. Sofi, her husband Domingo together with their four daughters – Esperanza, Fe, Caridad, and Loca live in the little town of Tome, New Mexico. The story focuses on the struggles of Sofi, the death of her daughters and the problems of their town. Sofi endures all the hardships and problems that come her way. Her marriage is deteriorating; her daughters are dying one by one. But, she endures it all and comes out stronger and more enlightened than ever. Sofi is a woman that never gives up no matter how poorly life treats her. The author- Ana Castillo mixes religion, super natural occurrences, sex, laughter and heartbreak in this novel. The novel is tragic, with no happy ending but at the same time funny and inspiring. It is full of the victory of the human spirit. The names of Sofi’s first three daughters denote the three major Christian ideals (Hope, Faith and Charity).
The emotional letter that Juan left for his mother might be one of the most emotional scenes in the documentary. The pure emotions that the letter was written by Juan to her mother leaves the audience with the bonds and emotions felt between the kids and families. Juan Carlos’s father abandoned the family years ago and left to New York, consequently Juan believe it is his responsibility to provide for his family. He also wants to find his father in New York and confronts him about why he has forgotten about them. The story of Juan is not just about migration of children, but also the issue of family separation. The documentary does not dehumanize but rather bring the humane and sensitive lens to the story of Juan where the human drama that these young immigrants and their families live. Juan Carlos is not the first of Esmeralda’s sons to leave for the United states, his nine-year-old brother Francisco was smuggled into California one month earlier. Francisco now lives with Gloria, his grandmother, who paid a smuggler $3,500 to bring him to Los Angeles, California. Once Juan Carlos is in the shelter for child migrants his mother eagerly awaits him outside. After she sees him she signs a paper that says if Juan Carlos tries to travel again, he will be sent to a foster home.
Jimmy Santiago Baca was born into what seemed a closed net family. He had a mother and father along with siblings. From the outside world looking in, they seemed like the ideal family. The Baca 's even had extended family nearby to help with needs and to keep a close relationship with one another. Although Jimmy 's parents were together for many years, their family did not end up how Jimmy or the siblings wanted it to. A close net family is the first that babies and toddlers learn from. The family is who shows you the first words you learn to speak, how to take your first steps, your first everything. When you love and respect your family members, especially your parents you end up under the same influences and beliefs as them and ultimately
The first encounter with Helga Crane, Nella Larsen’s protagonist in the novel Quicksand, introduces the heroine unwinding after a day of work in a dimly lit room. She is alone. And while no one else is present in the room, Helga is accompanied by her own thoughts, feelings, and her worrisome perceptions of the world around her. Throughout the novel, it becomes clear that most of Helga’s concerns revolve around two issues- race and sex. Even though there are many human character antagonists that play a significant role in the novel and in the story of Helga Crane, such as her friends, coworkers, relatives, and ultimately even her own children, her race and her sexuality become Helga’s biggest challenges. These two taxing antagonists appear throughout the novel in many subtle forms. It becomes obvious that racial confusion and sexual repression are a substantial source of Helga’s apprehensions and eventually lead to her tragic demise.
Martinez’s story is not so much one that pieces together the events of the crash, nor the lives of the three youths, but it is an immigrant’s tale, discovered through the crossings of the various Chavez family members and profiles of Cheranos in Mexico.
... Down, by Eduardo Galeano allows for the reader to open their eyes to the inequality and the injustices faced by those on the receiving end of the whip in today's cultural capitalist society.
Life in Mexico was, before the Revolution, defined by the figure of the patron that held all of power in a certain area. Juan Preciado, who was born in an urban city outside of Comala, “came to Comala because [he] had been told that [his] father, a man named Pedro Paramo lived there” (1). He initially was unaware of the general dislike that his father was subjected to in that area of Mexico. Pedro was regarded as “[l]iving bile” (1) by the people that still inhabited Comala, a classification that Juan did not expect. This reveals that it was not known by those outside of the patron’s dominion of the cruel abuse that they levied upon their people. Pedro Paramo held...
A person's ability to develop is due to two factors, maturation and learning. Although maturation, or the biological development of genes, is important, it is the learning - the process through which we develop through our experiences, which make us who we are (Shaffer, 8). In pre-modern times, a child was not treated like they are today. The child was dressed like and worked along side adults, in hope that they would become them, yet more modern times the child's need to play and be treated differently than adults has become recognized. Along with these notions of pre-modern children and their developmental skills came the ideas of original sin and innate purity. These philosophical ideas about children were the views that children were either born "good" or "bad" and that these were the basis for what would come of their life.
In John Donne’s sonnet “Death, Be Not Proud” death is closely examined and Donne writes about his views on death and his belief that people should not live in fear of death, but embrace it. “Death, Be Not Proud” is a Shakespearean sonnet that consists of three quatrains and one concluding couplet, of which I individually analyzed each quatrain and the couplet to elucidate Donne’s arguments with death. Donne converses with death, and argues that death is not the universal destroyer of life. He elaborates on the conflict with death in each quatrain through the use of imagery, figurative language, and structure. These elements not only increase the power of Donne’s message, but also symbolize the meaning of hope of eternal life as the ultimate escape to death.