Now I do not know what Carlos Castaneda was smoking while he wrote Journey to Ixtlan: the Lessons of Don Juan, but it sure did bring out his creative side.
Throughout Journey to Ixtlan, the reader is constantly perplexed and confused by the enigma that is don Juan. Don Juan is a teacher, if you want to call him that, and he teaches Castaneda how to stop the world and how to erase personal history. In reality I really do not think don Juan existed, he was merely a figment of Castaneda's peyote-influenced imagination.
When we watch television, or read through magazines, we often see advertisements featuring stars, or celebrities that we respect. Companies use the celebrity's influence on people to get the public to buy their product, because we will listen to someone that we think knows what they are talking about. So, I believe that in order for Castaneda to truly accomplish his goals of teaching, he projected his lesson plan through the mysterious and fascinating don Juan, to grab the reader's attention. By creating this mystifying and omniscient teacher, Castaneda was able to create someone who people would believe, someone who knows what they are talking about. The idea of an elderly Indian man interacting with a new wave journalist, and having conversations with plants puts a whole new twist on the normal image of education in the mind of the reader. Obviously, because this is not a normal student-teacher relationship, however the elder is still presented as the teacher, as most of us are accustomed to.
When don Juan sends Castaneda up into the mountains alone at the end of the book, Castaneda finally begins to understand that things are not what they seem. He learns to perceive deeper meanings of things, yet he stil...
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...he influence of the psychotropic drugs spoken of.
An apprenticeship can be a very useful thing. It gives the apprentice the hands-on training that you sometimes otherwise cannot get. However, in the case of don Juan and Castaneda I feel once again, that Castaneda was an apprentice to himself, utilizing a fictional character to get his points across. It is just too hard to fathom an old Indian man and a middle aged journalist trotting along the desert together, all messed up on peyote. However, whether don Juan is fact or fiction I think he approaches teaching in an interesting way, but too confusing. Now that I think about it though, the enigma that is don Juan, forced me to think deeper, and perceive things differently, because of his mysteriousness, so I guess Castaneda did accomplish his goal in forcing the reader to look through things for a deeper meaning.
Alvar Nunez Cabeza De Vaca. "The Narrative of Cabeza de Vaca" University of Nebraska Press, 2003.
Miguel Castaneda is the narrator and main character of the story “We Were Here”. Miguel is a young teenager from Stockton, California. He is dark complected because of his Mexican background but he does not have the personality to do the work like that of his Mexican relatives. I know this because in the story it says, “Told us we might be dark on the outside, but inside we were like a couple blonde boys from Hollywood.” He is very different from the rest of his family in terms of being able to handle situations that are put in front of him and completing the task at hand.
As a young child, Rodriguez finds comfort and safety in his noisy home full of Spanish sounds. Spanish, is his family's' intimate language that comforts Rodriguez by surrounding him in a web built by the family love and security which is conveyed using the Spanish language. "I recognize you as someone close, like no one outside. You belong with us, in the family, Ricardo.? When the nuns came to the Rodriquez?s house one Saturday morning, the nuns informed the parents that it would be best if they spoke English. Torn with a new since of confusion, his home is turned upside down. His sacred family language, now banished from the home, transforms his web into isolation from his parents. "There was a new silence in the home.? Rodriguez is resentful that it is quiet at the dinner table, or that he can't communicate with his parents about his day as clearly as before. He is heartbroken when he overhears his mother and father speaking Spanish together but suddenly stop when they see Rodriguez. Thi...
First to start out, we should get some facts straight. A conquistador is basically a Spanish conqueror. Their main goals were to search for gold and other riches from the Caribbean and draw them back to the mainland. The absolute most important conquistador in all of history is Hernan Cortes.
At the beginning of the story, the protagonist, Cleofilas, had an illusion that all romances are like the ones she has seen on television. However, she soon realizes that her relationship with Juan Pedro was nothing like what she had dreamed it would be. Cisneros wants to emphasize the idea that when men bring home the primary source of income in the family, they feel they have power over their wives. Cisneros uses Juan Pedro in the story to portray this idea. For instance, Cleofilas often tells herself that if she had any brains in her, she would realize that Juan Pedro wakes up before the rooster to earn his living to pay for the food in her belly and a roof over her head (Cisneros, 1991, p.249). Cisneros wants to make a point that when men feel that they have power over their wives, women begin to feel a sense of low self-worth.
...Leòn serves both as an artistic stroke and an underlining of the stories message. The tale of Ponce de Leòn's futile search for the fountain of youth is well known, and this allusion hammers down the nail of pain and loss that alcoholism has brought Merrill.
In the story of Don Quixote, a middle aged “gaunt” man sets off to become a knight-errant. Within the beginning chapters of the story, Quixote goes on a journey to prove himself as a knight. The narrator speaks sarcastically about Quixote’s and his adventures. On account of the voice of the narrator, perception is crucial relative to forming an opinion about Don Quixote and his journey of becoming a knight-errant. The constant opposition of the narrator in relation to Quixote’s goals and actions create a feeling of tension within the audience as the reader becomes perplexed in trying to figure out if Quixote’s journey can really be considered a knight’s errant. Still, despite the narrator’s sarcastic tone and Don’s idiotic actions, Don
it is unmistakable that life situations inspired Juan Rulfo to write this story. He like no other person had a greater understanding of how to portray the theme of family especially missing a father as a role model, death, survival and revenge. Moreover, through the use of local Mexican language it furthermore developed the society in which peasants had to live during the post-revolution. Additionally Juan Rulfo tries to add all five senses in the story forming magical realism and a vivid picture that the readers can understand. Overall, the readers learn a lot about peasant’s approach to life after revolution that the main drive was
The author connects Antonio’s anxieties about change in his life to the culture in which he lives. Ultima’s intrusion into Antonio’s life marks a crazy time of change for Antonio. Anaya reiterates Antonio’s position on the threshold of change by showing his nerves about beginning school, moving away from his mother, and facing his unusual future. The vaquero lifestyle preferred by his father renews the values of freedom, independence and mobility, all of which are rules in the vaqueros’ love of the llano. The Luna family lifestyle preferred by Antonio’s mother, but emphasizes family and productivity,
Señor Bravo was a quirky freshman-level Spanish teacher who always managed to brighten his students’ days. The man always came into class with a gleaming smile and a different and eccentric tie on his neck every day. His teaching style, speaking habits, and gentlemanly mannerisms were concrete evidence of his old age. His class was less about learning Spanish and revolved more around passing on the important lessons he amassed from his lifetime. He preached about how smoking was one of the biggest regrets and often told cautionary tales about his rebellious youth in Spain. “I am only telling you these stories so that you guys can avoid the mistakes I’ve made in the past,” he warmly told his classes.
Don Quixote, our most noble of nobleman was blinded by his passion for devotion. He often came to the point of losing his reason. Don Quixote became a traveling caballero, or a knight errant. He did not travel far before it occurs to him that he had forgotten his squire, not that he ever had one. Though he knew he was without a squire he felt it was necessary to turn back. As the journeys travel on we see that Don Quixote has previously been termed the reasonable one. He is often very foolish along with a foolish squire, who becomes not only the voice of reason but allows Don to live in his fantasy as long as possible.
Author’s Techniques: Rudolfo Anaya uses many Spanish terms in this book. The reason for this is to show the culture of the characters in the novel. Also he uses imagery to explain the beauty of the llano the Spanish America. By using both these techniques in his writing, Anaya bring s the true culture of
In 1949, Dana Gioia reflected on the significance of Gabriel García Márquez’s narrative style when he accurately quoted, “[it] describes the matter-of-fact combination of the fantastic and everyday in Latin American literature” (Gioia). Today, García Márquez’s work is synonymous with magical realism. In “Un Señor Muy Viejo con Alas Enormes,” the tale begins with be dramatically bleak fairytale introduction:
The book Daily Life of the Aztecs: On the Eve of the Spanish Conquest written by Jacques Soustelle gives a great insight into the Aztec people and their immersive culture. This book is set in Tenochtitlan and covers the span of the Aztec civilization to their invasion by the Spanish Conquistadors. This book brilliantly discusses the Aztec civilization like never before. I hope to show the importance of Aztec religion and education to their society as a whole.
Style: The typical Magical- Realistic story of García Márquez placed in a familiar environment where supernatural things take place as if they were everyday occurrences. Main use of long and simple sentences with quite a lot of detail. "There were only a few faded hairs left on his bald skull and very few teeth in his mouth, and his pitiful condition of a drenched great-grandfather took away and sense of grandeur he might have had" (589).