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Chapter 2 Native American Religions
Chapter 2 Native American Religions
Chapter 2 Native American Religions
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Imagine living in a civilization that practiced beautiful ritual dances and ceremonies. Then one day, that civilization does not exist anymore because another civilization decided to conquer them. In the novel “Song of the Hummingbird,” written by Graciela Limo, an Aztec women named Huitzitzilin, which means Hummingbird, tells her life story to a Father Benito Lara, along with confessing her sins from her lifetime. I find this novel to be very informative because it tells the reader the truth on what actually happened between the Spaniards and the Aztecs. As I read this novel, I could picture the events in my head as Huitzitzilin described them. The lesson I appreciated the most is that one should not give up on something they believe in, just …show more content…
In schools, students are being taught wrong information. “Our gods were vanquished after the fall of Tenochtitlan as were our traditions. Our warriors and nobles were eradicated, our children starved and our women ravished by the white conquerors and their allies.” (157). In books across America, the Spaniards were said to be good people, but the way that Huitzitzilin described what happened, shows the complete opposite of how the Spaniards actually were. The way that I can relate this to my life is when I was taught about Christopher Columbus. In school, I was told that Christopher Columbus was a hero, but really, he definitely was not. After learning in my Chicano class that he was actually a horrible person because of the way that he treated the natives, I was …show more content…
Racial discrimination is the one thing that is in the novel the most. For example, when the Spaniards first came to Tenochtitlan, the first thing that was taken from the Aztecs was their religion. This would include their customs, traditions, sacrifices, ceremonies, and belief of their gods. Every Aztec was then baptized as a Christian and were then given a Christian name. “Have I upset you?” “Yes!” “It’s my obligation to know these things about you.” “What things?” “That you have a Christian name.” “You mean you have to make sure that I have been robbed of everything, even my name” (62). Here Huitzitzilin tells Father Benito that since everything was take away from her, there is nothing left from her past she shows her Aztec roots. This shows how the Spanish thought that they had more power over others because of their race. In my opinion, everyone is the same, everyone deserves equality. No one should be given a title because of his or her race, ethnicity, culture, or religion. The lesson that I really liked in ”Song of the Hummingbird” is how one should stay true to one’s beliefs. I really liked this because Huitzitzilin kept her beliefs even though the Spaniards tried to convert her to Christianity. After the Spaniards baptized her and gave her a new Christian name, she was not happy. In fact she hated the Spaniards for that. She did not want to give
Segregation has played a substantial role throughout American history. Many court cases and different trials in different time periods have proven that a person’s skin color can dictate many things, such as where they go to school and where they sit on public transportation. The struggle to achieve equality was made even more difficult by the legislation of the Plessy vs. Ferguson case.
In Graciela Limon’s novel, Song of the Hummingbird, Huitzitzilin tells her story as Father Benito listens. She tells Father Benito the native view of what has happened- she tells him things that he has never heard of from his people. Huitzitzilin and Father Benito are products of two different cultures: Aztecs and Spaniards, respectively. Limon portrayed that the Spaniards didn’t
The entire film is based on significantly different racial opinions, opinions of different writing styles and stereotyping of different people in general. Race is a huge issue in the film and many stereotypes are made.
Over the past decades the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee has been taught to American students anywhere from seventh grade to twelfth, credited as a story with themes such as coming of age, discrimination and justice, all of which might appeal to young adults. However, the teachings of the Lee’s recently second published book, Go Set A Watchman seem to be daunting many within the English profession. Some reasons why there is hesitation to incorporate the new novel into curriculum is because it contains incest, racism, and the reconstruction of the heroic Atticus Finch. In order to prevent misinterpretations of characters like those of Jean Louise and Atticus Finch, To Kill a Mockingbird should not be taught unless it is alongside with Go Set a Watchman.
The novel To Kill A Mockingbird, written by renowned author Harper Lee, was published on July 11, 1960. Her novel received the prestigious Pulitzer Prize and has become a modern-day American classic novel. The book’s setting is in Alabama and occurs when widespread racism and discrimination are high in the South. The name of the book arises from the common belief and saying that, ’It is a sin to kill a mockingbird’. To Kill A Mockingbird is narrated by Scout Finch, about her father, Atticus Finch, a well-known lawyer who fights to prove the innocence of a black man (Tom Robinson), who is unjustly accused of rape, and about Boo Radley, her mysterious neighbor who saves both her and her brother Jem from being killed.
The novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee is a simplistic view of life in the Deep South of America in the 1930s. An innocent but humorous stance in the story is through the eyes of Scout and Jem Finch. Scout is a young adolescent who is growing up with the controversy that surrounds her fathers lawsuit. Her father, Atticus Finch is a lawyer who is defending a black man, Tom Robinson, with the charge of raping a white girl. The lives of the characters are changed by racism and this is the force that develops during the course of the narrative.
Though racism seems to be a thing of the past, there is still room for progression in the United States. Having been a country that was widely accepting of the enslavement of African Americans over a century ago, many Americans have not evolved nor turned the page on the subject. Despite the many movements, trials, and acts developed by our society to ensure civil rights to all African Americans, America remains a principally racist country. The only effective way to defeat racism is to not practice or teach what was once taught one hundred years ago. Author Alex Haley is quoted, “Racism is taught in our society, it is not automatic. It is learned behavior toward persons with dissimilar physical characteristics.” If we do not teach our youth of prejudice or hatred towards human beings for something as trivial as differing skin color I believe racism, not only concentrated in the United States, but globally, will diminish.
Racism has always been a controversial topic in history. All people face racism, no matter what race you are, and it’s an injustice. Racism is a major issue in today’s society, because … THESIS STATEMENT
Discrimination is prevalent in the story “To Kill a Mockingbird”, the most obvious being the excessive amount of racism (Lee). Racism is the easiest to see but there are more forms of discrimination (Lee). Boo Radley is ostracized from the community when truly nobody really knows him (Lee). People discriminate Scout for being a tomboy not a lady (Lee). The last one that no one ever thinks about is how reverse racism is seen when people threaten Atticus for defending Tom Robinson in court (Lee). Discrimination in any form is a controversial topic but everyone knows that it is not right to discriminate against people.
The downfall of the Aztec Empire was a major building block of the Spanish colonial empire in the Americas. Spain’s empire would stretch all the way into North America from the Southwest United States all the way up the Pacific Coast. The unfortunate side effect of this was the elimination of many nations of indigenous people. The three major themes shown in this conquest really give deeper look into the anatomy of this important historical event. Without context on the extent of native assistance given to Cortez in his fight with the Aztecs, a reader would be grossly uniformed. The Spanish conquest was closer to a civil war than an actual conquest. Until reading detailed personal accounts of the fighting it is difficult to judge the deadly effectiveness of the Spaniards technological superiority. Without it is difficult to imagine 500 conquistadors holding thousands of native warriors at bay. Once the greed of Cortez and greed in general of the Europeans one understands that if it wasn’t Cortez if would have just been a different man at a different time. Unfortunately fame and prosperity seem to always win over cares about fellow human beings
Racism presents itself in many ways in the town of Maycomb. Some are blatant and open, but others are more insidious. One obvious way that racism presents itself is in the result of Tom Robinson’s trial. Another apparent example is the bullying Jem and Scout had to endure as a result of Atticus’s appointment as Tom Robinson’s defense attorney. A less easily discernible case is the persecution of Mr. Dolphus Raymond, who chose to live his life in close relation with the colored community.
In 1531, ten years after the capture of Mexico City, a poor Indian named Juan Diego left his house to attend divine service in the beginning of December. On his way he passed the hill of Tepeyacac ("Hill of the Nose", in Nahuatl) and he heard beautiful music from the top of the hill. The music was heavenly; he heard the most beautiful songbirds singing soft and pleasant. He wondered if he was worthy of hearing such beautiful music, and if maybe it was a dream. He thought he might have died and gone to heaven. Over the sounds of birds Juan heard a voice from the hilltop; however, it did not frighten him. In fact he was strangely set at ease by the voice. He climbed the hill in search of the mysterious voice. When he reached the top of the hill he saw a magnificent woman who appeared to glow like nothing he had ever seen before. She radiated like the sun, and the stones that she was standing on were like gems beneath her feet. The foliage surrounding the magnificent woman was full of translucent colors that glimmered in the radiating light.
Sergio Sanchez English 10 Ms. Tran May 14, 2014 Dont Be Told How To Live Your Life, Choose And Stand Up For Your Freedom Being African American in the 1930’s, how free you were was determined by the half you lived in - the North or South. In that time period there was a significant amount of racism, segregation, and prejudice occurring. However, racism was on a whole different level in the South than it was in the North of the United States. In the North, colored people had rights like freedom of speech, but in the South they had no rights. In the book To Kill A Mockingbird, the author, Harper Lee, did a wonderful job of vividly portraying how Negro’s lived in the South, particularly in the state of Mississippi in Maycomb County.
Walker, Pierre A. Racial protest, identity, words, and form in Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Vol. 22. West Chester: Collage Literature, n.d. Literary Reference Center. Web. 8 Apr. 2014. .
'Democracy,' she said. 'Does anybody have a definition?' ... 'Equal rights for all, special privileges for none' (Lee 248).