Columbus's Letter On His First Voyage And The Divine Narcissus

Reading literary texts from different cultures such as the Mesoamerican natives versus the European explorers can revolutionize a profound understanding. This understanding teaches readers how misinterpretation of language can occur between different groups of people because of different cultural perspectives. Therefore, to illustrate an accurate picture of language barriers between these cultures the reader must analyze two separate texts.

The two literary texts that accurately expresses these communication problems are found in Columbus’s Letter on His First Voyage and The Divine Narcissus. The first text called Columbus’s Letter on His First Voyage is in the form of a letter written by Christopher Columbus to the Royal family of Spain,

Occident is proclaiming that miscommunication is rampant, because there is no official ways of translation, and this can create trust issues. For example, when a person or entity pronounces that, “they don’t comprehend what is being said”, suggests a state of confusion and unclear articulation. However, the writings of Columbus does not adequately establishes if there was clear communication, and that the translators did command an understanding between the native Indians and the European Explorers. Columbus’s statement causes ambiguity, because a person cannot have a conversation when there is no one around to have a conversation with. A contradiction of violence created by language barriers is located in the last clause of the quotations when comparing both passages. In the text Columbus’s Letter on His First Voyage, an indication of no inhibited violence is stated, by implying that his platoon did not cause any maltreatment onto the Indians. However, the character Occident utilizes the words “brazenly” and “invade”, which implies harm was used against the Indians. The definition of brazenly is acting in a disgraceful way without humiliation or dishonor. Then “invade” translates to go into a habitation, usually when unsolicited, for the purpose of

For example, Columbus states, “wherever I have gone and been able to have conversation with them, I have given them some of the various things I had, a cloth and other articles” (Columbus). In contrast in the play of The Divine Narcissus, America states “Oh, mad, blind, barbaric man,/disturbing our serenity,/ you bring confusing arguments/ to counter our tranquility; /you must immediate cease”. (Cruz). Both of these statements mark a contradiction in communication, because Columbus’s statement translates to forced bribery, and America’s statement translates to an state of misunderstanding. The use of bribery happens when any material object deemed valuable is given to another party or person as a way to corrupt or manipulate the behavior of another person in exchange for