History is more than a collection of facts from pastimes, or a one-sided story containing the “right” answer. History contains a narrative; however, this narrative combines historical narratives from different perspectives, in order to create an inclusive history. Unfortunately, this narrative is sometimes hidden by overpowering perspectives, and consequently, prevents other perspectives from being recognized. American history is argued as one of these overpowering perspectives, as it has portrayed history from a white American view point. This argument is not uncommon, nor is it exclusive to the United States. Most of the developed world has and overpowering perspective of history. However, it is important to use the building blocks found in less developed nations to reconstruct history, in order to represent a more inclusive narrative. Dr. Paul Ortiz’s, …show more content…
This is shown throughout Latino culture, mainly through art and literary works. For example, in another iconic novel, Bless Me, Ultima, Ultima played the same character as La Inca. Ultima’s relationship with Antonino was analogous to La Incas relationship to Oscar. In Bless Me, Ultima, there is a clear theme of spirituality, especially within the narrative of Ultima as a spiritual being, which is the same case for La Inca. Both characters are based on real cultural aspects of the Latino identity. For example, in Mexican-American culture, a curandera is one of the most spiritual figures, as she is a powerful healer and has “magical” qualities. Many other Latino countries have figures like that of the curandera. The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao contributes to the narrative of the Latino culture being heavily influenced by spirituality. This novel capitalizes on spirituality, as it is a building block that needs to be included into reimagined narrative of American
In the novel, Bless me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya, a boy goes through many more experiences than any child in the hot summer days in Santa Rosa, New Mexico. He witnesses the deaths of his close friends and family. This boy expresses his emotions and grief through his dreams, only to wake up with fear and confusion in his mind. Antonio’s life is filled with dreams that foreshadow future incidents, as well as influences Antonio’s beliefs of religion and ideas of innocence.
Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless Me, Ultima is a magical-realism novel about Antonio, a young boy at the mere age of six turning seven, realizing the many cruelties the world has to offer. As he matures, Antonio is conflicted while trying to choose between the career expectations from his two divergent families and attempting to figure out a true religion. Anaya depicts hidden messages to help the reader comprehend a perceptive insight of Antonio’s inner schism through symbolism.
...n, Gonzalez states his identity; "I am Aztec Prince and Christian Christ." This combination of culture is the basis of his poem, which can be found at http://www.pbs.org/chicano/joaquin.html, and is representative of the heritage of Mexican Americans. The concept of Aztlan is explained in Chicano!, and the mural ‘Corazon de Aztlan,’ found in Chicano Park (http://chicanopark.org/murals/north/n8.html ), reinforces the importance of this image in the lives of Chicanos. The myth of Aztlan symbolizes centuries of culture and struggles of Mexican Americans who went through incredibly difficult times throughout history, but never lost hope and always stayed strong, determined to one day be treated equally as citizens of the United States of America.
Torres, Hector Avalos. 2007. Conversations with Contemporary Chicana and Chicano Writers. U.S.: University of New Mexico press, 315-324.
America is a nation that is often glorified in textbooks as a nation of freedom, yet history shows a different, more radical viewpoint. In Howard Zinn’s A People's History of the United States, we take a look at American history through a different lens, one that is not focused on over glorifying our history, but giving us history through the eyes of the people. “This is a nation of inconsistencies”, as so eloquently put by Mary Elizabeth Lease highlights a nation of people who exploited and sought to keep down those who they saw as inferior, reminding us of more than just one view on a nation’s history, especially from people and a gender who have not had an easy ride.
In “The Case for Reparations,” Ta-Nehisi Coates sets out a powerful argument for reparations to blacks for having to thrive through horrific inequity, including slavery, Jim Crowism, Northern violence and racist housing policies. By erecting a slave society, America erected the economic foundation for its great experiment in democracy. And Reparations would mean a revolution of the American consciousness, reconciling of our self-image as the great democratizer with the facts of our history. Paying such a moral debt is such a great matter of justice served rightfully to those who were suppressed from the fundamental roles, white supremacy played in American history.
Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya is a coming of age story about a young boy named Antonio Marez. The novel takes place in New Mexico where Antonio tries to fulfill his parent’s expectations while struggling with religion. Through Antonio, Anaya defies the some of the principles in religion and expresses her interpretation on the system of beliefs. Antonio’s religious confusion suggests that man should be able to choose his own religion and destiny. In the Bless me, Ultima, Antonio experiences conflict in his religious beliefs because of the deaths he witnesses, the new ideas that he learns, and his open-minded mentality.
This book is written from a perspective foreign to most Americans. Historically, American students are taught from a single perspective, that being the American perspective. This approach to history (the single perspective) dehumanizes the enemy and glorifies the Americans. We tend to forget that those on the opposing side are also human.
The core principle of history is primary factor of African-American Studies. History is the struggle and record of humans in the process of humanizing the world i.e. shaping it in their own image and interests (Karenga, 70). By studying history in African-American Studies, history is allowed to be reconstructed. Reconstruction is vital, for over time, African-American history has been misleading. Similarly, the reconstruction of African-American history demands intervention not only in the academic process to rede...
Wheeler, William Bruce, and Susan D. Becker. Discovering the American past: a look at the evidence. 6th ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 2007.
The contrast between the Mexican world versus the Anglo world has led Anzaldua to a new form of self and consciousness in which she calls the “New Mestiza” (one that recognizes and understands her duality of race). Anzaldua lives in a constant place of duality where she is on the opposite end of a border that is home to those that are considered “the queer, the troublesome, the mongrel and the mulato” (25). It is the inevitable and grueling clash of two very distinct cultures that produces the fear of the “unknown”; ultimately resulting in alienation and social hierarchy. Anzaldua, as an undocumented woman, is at the bottom of the hierarchy. Not only is she a woman that is openly queer, she is also carrying the burden of being “undocumented”. Women of the borderlands are forced to carry two degrading labels: their gender that makes them seem nothing more than a body and their “legal” status in this world. Many of these women only have two options due to their lack of English speaking abilities: either leave their homeland – or submit themselves to the constant objectification and oppression. According to Anzaldua, Mestizo culture was created by men because many of its traditions encourage women to become “subservient to males” (39). Although Coatlicue is a powerful Aztec figure, in a male-dominated society, she was still seen
The struggle to find a place inside an un-welcoming America has forced the Latino to recreate one. The Latino feels out of place, torn from the womb inside of America's reality because she would rather use it than know it (Paz 226-227). In response, the Mexican women planted the seeds of home inside the corral*. These tended and potted plants became her burrow of solace and place of acceptance. In the comfort of the suns slices and underneath the orange scents, the women were free. Still the questions pounded in the rhythm of street side whispers. The outside stare thundered in pulses, you are different it said. Instead of listening she tried to instill within her children the pride of language, song, and culture. Her roots weave soul into the stubborn soil and strength grew with each blossom of the fig tree (Goldsmith).
To help me understand and analyze a different culture, I watched the film Selena. The film tells the life story of the famous singer Selena Quintanilla-Pérez. Not only does it just tell personal stories from her life, it also gives insight to the Mexican-American culture. Her whole life she lived in the United States, specifically in Texas, but was Hispanic and because of that both her and her family faced more struggles than white singers on the climb to her success. Even though the film is a story about a specific person, it brought understanding into the culture in which she lived. Keeping in mind that these ideas that I drew about the Mexican-American culture is very broad and do not apply to every single person in the culture, there were very obvious differences in their culture and the one that I belong. Mexican-American culture identifies with their family rather than individualized or spiritual identities and the culture has gone through significant changes because of discrimination and the changing demographics of the United States.
Ultima is a Catholic who is also a practicing curandera; she is like a hybrid; something that women of Anaya’s time and culture had to be, they fought for their rights as women and also for the rights of their raza. In Gloria Anzaldúa’s essay “La Concencia de la Mestiza: Towards a New Consciousness” she claimed, “la mestiza is a product of the transfer of the cultural and spiritual values of one group to another” (78). This describes Ultima and her role within her society; she has to blend being Catholic and being a curandera to create a new role no matter how misunderstood it may be.
A common debate around the world is whether or not America cherishes diversity. Authors such as Edward Patel and Jena McGregor have differing view points on this topic and numerous amounts of points to back it up. Patel argues that America cherishes diversity because political leaders such as George Washington and Martin Luther King fought to have a country with all groups of people that are willing to demean themselves as good citizens and help the country grow. On the other hand, McGregor believes that American industries like Hollywood limit high roles to white males. In the discussions of whether or not America cherishes diversity in my class, one controversial issue has been that America was once a slave country. On the one hand, fifty