Claim: Because of their deception in the movie El Dorado, Miguel and Tulio belong is circle eight of Dante’s hell as falsifiers. Data: In the opening scene of El Dorado, Tulio and Miguel use loaded dice to win themselves a map to El Dorado. They continue this pattern of conning when they sneak onto the ship of Hernan Cortes to get to the New World. When they arrive in South America, the Natives in El Dorado mistake them as their natives gods. Miguel and Tulio fail to correct them and do not hesitate to accept gifts and special treatment from the Natives. They even go as far as to request that Tannabok, the leader of El Dorado, construct them a ship and fill it with gifts so that they can return to Spain. Miguel and Tulio continue to deceive …show more content…
the Natives when they play in the ball game against the Natives. Miguel and Tulio do not possess the same skill as the Natives, but they succeed in the game by replacing the ball with an armadillo that favors Miguel and Tulio. Warrant (also referred to as a bridge): By scamming while gambling in Europe, Miguel and Tulio win the map through false actions instead of through random chance. Miguel and Tulio actively tell elaborate lies with the goal of tricking the Natives. Instead of correcting the Natives, they reinforce their misconception and pretend to be all powerful, exclaiming “ beware the wrath of the Gods!” as if they had real divine power (El Dorado). They also give false information to the Natives when agreeing that they are gods and when claiming to be skilled in the ball game. They win the game through cheating when they rig the game with the armadillo. Backing (also referred to as the foundation): Falsifiers are people who lie and deceive others for personal gain. Miguel and Tulio are overall defined as falsifiers because their interactions with others follow a pattern of deception and scamming. Their interactions show how they impact people in their society. Dante assigned people to circles in hell according to how they negatively impacted society. Therefore, Miguel and Tulio belong in circle eight because they interact with others and impact society through deceit. Counterclaim: Some may claim that Miguel and Tulio are blasphemers because they pretend to be foreign gods, dishonoring the Christian God. They may also be considered hoarders and wasters because the “extravagance” of the gifts they receive as gods “ mocked all reason” (7.42). Other might also describe them as traitors to hosts. Miguel and Tulio could also be thought of as thieves because they swindle the Natives out of gold and treasure and con men in Spain for the map to El Dorado. Rebuttal: Miguel and Tulio do not belong in circle seven as blasphemers because they do not reject and show contempt towards God as bitter souls in The Inferno “scorn” Him (14.66).
By promoting themselves as false gods, they do dishonor God. However, they do not carry contempt for God that would follow them beyond death, like the souls in circle seven. They are only temporarily dishonoring God for personal gain. Although Miguel and Tulio do experience extreme luxury and wealth as gods, this extravagant lifestyle only lasts a few days for them. All their treasure is lost by the end of the movie in a ship crash when they protect El Dorado from Spanish invaders. Miguel and Tulio are also not traitors to hosts because at the end of the movie they resolve to aid the people of El Dorado against the Spanish at the expense of losing all their treasure. Miguel and Tulio better fit the punishment of falsifiers rather than thieves because their thievery is only possible because of their deception. Their thievery is also ultimately unsuccessful when their ship is lost. Their deception impacts the Natives more negatively than their thievery because it leads to turmoil when the High Priest of El Dorado rebels and tries to overthrow Tannabok as a result of Miguel and Tulio’s
lies.
Bowden’s idea of why this happened focused mainly on the old misunderstood traditions of the tribes living in Mexico. He shows how the friars, churches and icons took the blunt of the revolts force. Bowden points out the religious differences and similarities be...
There seems, also, to be a great trust in their gods because of this reverence that the people have, as though the people believe that they will be rewarded for their reverent service of the gods. The royal family seeks sanctuary at the altar of their household gods. The queen, Hecuba, tells her kingly husband
... god. Religious meeting were held in secrecy in the homes of members of the church, mainly female members of the church. Amalia risked her freedom by holding a meeting in her home. (p232) Both the Ladinos and the Indians believed that they were being punished by their gods for the sufferings they experienced. The Mayans believed that they were being punished by their gods for the suffering their people were experiencing at the hands of the Europeans. “They came, who were destined to come; haughty and hard of manner and strong of voice, such were the instruments of our chiding”. (Castellanos, year, p 56) The religious rites and customs practised by the indigenous people were constructed by Europeans as “lies and deceptions which the devil had invented” (Tignor et al 2002, p97) They were to worship only the Christian God instead of bowing to their many idols.
The perspective of another society is always subjective, especially when two completely different cultures interact for the first time. In Bernal Diaz del Castillo’s The History of the Conquest of New Spain, the first hand account illustrates a barbaric and pagan society where sacrifices are pervasive in everyday life. However, David Carrasco’s essays titled “The Exaggeration of Human Sacrifice” and “Human Sacrifice / Debt Payments from the Aztec Point of View” shed a significant amount of insight into the religious roles that human sacrifice played in Aztec society rather than the cruel and barbaric connotations which Díaz heavily implied. Based on the readings of Bernal Diaz del Castillo, Carrasco’s essays offered an outside perspective
Dante Alighieri presents a vivid and awakening view of the depths of Hell in the first book of his Divine Comedy, the Inferno. The reader is allowed to contemplate the state of his own soul as Dante "visits" and views the state of the souls of those eternally assigned to Hell's hallows. While any one of the cantos written in Inferno will offer an excellent description of the suffering and justice of hell, Canto V offers a poignant view of the assignment of punishment based on the committed sin. Through this close reading, we will examine three distinct areas of Dante's hell: the geography and punishment the sinner is restricted to, the character of the sinner, and the "fairness" or justice of the punishment in relation to the sin. Dante's Inferno is an ordered and descriptive journey that allows the reader the chance to see his own shortcomings in the sinners presented in the text.
The general thems is gods are not as good as they are supposed to be.
The Conquest of New Spain Cortés came not to the New World to conquer by force, but by manipulation. Bernal Daz del Castillo, in the "Conquest of New Spain," describes how Cortés and his soldiers manipulated the Aztec people and their king Montezuma from the time they traveled from Iztapalaopa to the time when Montezuma took Cortés to the top of the great Cue and showed him the whole of Mexico and its countryside, and the three causeways which led into Mexico. Castillo's purpose for recording the mission was to keep an account of the wealth of Montezuma and Mexico, the traditions, and the economic potential that could benefit Cortés' upcoming conquest. However, through these recordings, we are able to see and understand Cortés' strategy in making Mexico "New Spain." He came as a wolf in sheep's clothing and manipulated Montezuma through his apparent innocence.
...the ground! Even with the theft, the worst the English captain did was warn them. “He made knowne vnto them the Custome of England to be Death for such offences.” (Source 2) This difference in respect and relations wiped out one native civilization and made another prosper. Both the English and the Spanish at first encountered unfamiliar people and cultures that possibly even made them uncomfortable. The difference was that the spanish assumed that the natives were inferior and sub-human. this is a wrong way of thinking and still continues today. With much work, it can be stopped and situations like the relationship between the conquistadors and the natives can be prevented. The conquistadors simply valued the wrong things, putting money over life. As Bernal Diaz del Castillo, a conquistador once said, "We came to serve God and to get rich, as all men wish to do."
Moreover, Dante, the narrator of the Inferno, has succeeded in not only telling the frightening story of the Inferno, but also pointing out the importance of the relationship between human’s sins and God’s retribution, using the monsters as the symbols for each kind of sin and its punishment throughout the progress of the story, which teaches his readers to be well aware of their sins through the literature – a part of humanities; the disciplines that teach a man to be a human.
Despite Beowulf’s almost supernatural strength, stamina and stature, he ages just the same as any other human being. In the human life cycle, one generally begins naive and inexperienced and ages into an adult of more wisdom and knowledge. Akin to others in his time, Beowulf starts as a young fearless warrior and grows into an aged prudent king.
...ards monstrous figures and sympathy towards those who seem to be tortured unjustly. In his perverse education, with instruction from Virgil and the shades, Dante learns to replace mercy with brutality, because sympathy in Hell condones sin and denies divine justice. The ancient philosopher Plato, present in the first level of Hell, argues in The Allegory of the Cave that truth is possible via knowledge of the Form of the Good. Similarly, Dante acquires truth through a gradual understanding of contrapasso and the recognition of divine justice in the afterlife. Ultimately, Dante recognizes that the actions of the earthly fresh are important because the soul lives on afterwards to face the ramifications. By expressing his ideas on morality and righteousness, Dante writes a work worth reading, immortalizes his name, and exalts the beliefs of his Christian audience.
Cristóbal Colón landed on an unknown island in the Caribbean on October 10, 1492. He planted banners in the beach claiming the land for the Spanish throne. Colón’s perceptions and interactions with the indigenous people, the Taino, sparked the events that lead to the colonization of the Americas. Colón’s perceptions of the Taino were misinterpreted by him. His misconceptions about the Taino were built from a compilation of his own expectations, readings of other explorers, and strong religious influence in Western Europe. The Taino also misunderstood the Spanish as well. Their false beliefs about the Spanish were driven by their religious beliefs as well as their mythology. Through misunderstandings backed by the religions, physical appearances, and the histories of both the Taino and the Spanish, the Taino believed that the Spanish were god-like figures that fell from the sky, while the Taino were perceived by the Spanish as simplistic, uncultured natives, that would be easily converted to Christianity and used as servants (Wilson, Hispanola p. 48-49).1 To better comprehend these events one must look at the preceeding events in both the lives of the Taino and The Spanish.
The relationship between gods and mortals in mythology has long been a complicated topic. The gods can be generous and supportive, and also devastating and destructive to any group of humans. Mortals must respect the powers above them that cannot be controlled. The gods rule over destiny, nature, and justice, and need to be recognized and worshipped for the powerful beings as they are. Regardless of one's actions, intentions, and thoughts, the gods in Greek myth have ultimate power and the final decision of justice over nature, mortals, and even each other.
Dante’s Inferno presents the reader with many questions and thought provoking dialogue to interpret. These crossroads provide points of contemplation and thought. Dante’s graphic depiction of hell and its eternal punishment is filled with imagery and allegorical meanings. Examining one of these cruxes of why there is a rift in the pits of hell, can lead the reader to interpret why Dante used the language he did to relate the Idea of a Just and perfect punishment by God.
In 1519 Hernando Cortes` led over 500 men into Aztec territory in search of gold, what he found were the magnificent golden statues of the Aztec deities. The Aztecs believed him to be the representative for some white skinned god, and hence feared and respected him. It was not until they saw him melting their statues and shipping the blocks of gold to Spain that they acted. They attacked Hernanado and his men, and succeeded in driving them off. However, Cortes returned later with the support of local Indian tribes that hated the Aztecs for centuries of cruel treatment to defeat the mighty Aztecs and take the empire. This ended the Aztec civilization forever.