The Song of the Hummingbird, written by Graciela Limon, is a novel telling the story of Huitzitzilin an Aztec survivor whose kingdom fell to ruin by her nation's blind reliance on God. The book features Huitzitzilin as the narrator of the story and Father Benito as a naive journalist of sorts. As the story begins, Father Benito meets Huitzitzilin while he’s taking confessions in the church. Through this transaction; Benito is told by the head of the church to take note of the history Huitzitzilin has to tell, while absolving her of her sins. As Benito begins to hear her story, his irritation and discomfort with hearing it becomes clear. He fidgets, buries his head in his hands, and at times even threatens to leave. The reasons for this comes from what Benito knows from history books and the teaching of his faith, Huitzitzilin begins to pick up on things as she tells her story. She uses this to mess with him at times and to distance him from the mindset that he’s just a tool for his god’s word. When the story draws to a conclusion, Benito sees Huitzitzilin story for what it is, he and his people are no different than hers, yet they treated them as savages. …show more content…
When the king opened the gates of the city to your soldiers, treating them as if they had indeed been Gods, we tried to follow his example, but soon those men began to act as if our Palaces where their own to do with as they please. It became clear that they thought that all they had to do was to stretch out their hands and there would be food or drink. They also took an intense liking for women.”
A never ending struggle for survival and revelation when everything is taken away finding what is left to care for. Father Benito captured the essence of Hummingbird and the conquered fate she endured. In the end Father Benito the same priest who listened from the beginning to the end respected and with his recordings on paper the memory of Hummingbird's song will never die as his thoughts fade into the night with a final thought, “His question was answered when he reminded himself that he had captured her word on paper and that her song would live on in Anahuac forever” (Limon 217). The final though of this book validated all that Hummingbird wanted which was her story to be heard. An emotional story griped with enticing character development
The Singing Tree In the year 1914, one of the most terrible wars in history would begin; as innocent people laughed and spoke amongst each other as though they were all family, death was creeping over the horizon. Kate Seredy’s The Singing Tree tells the eventful story of a small and cordial farm that takes in the weak, dismal, and bitter then afterwards converts them into wonderful, determined people during a war-stricken time. The book takes us back to the time period of the horrific World War I, showing us the effects it had on the public while the children show the heroic traits of bravery, kindness, and charity.
Victor Martinez’s “Parrot in the Oven” is a novel that reflects the protagonist’s school days, his athletic activities, and family life. Victor Martinez experiences as a Mexican-American are the influences that induce him to produce such a literary work with figurative language that he receives naturally from his family. In his life, Martinez’s high school days and his teachers take important role as they motivate his to find opportunities that he can get as a son of a migrant worker. He presents his feeling and emotion for finding his identity and belongingness in his novel. As “Parrot in the Oven” is a coming-of-age story of a boy, the high school days and family life of the protagonist is explicitly presented. Everyone has unforgettable school days that made a great impact on the mind of the person. I can never forget about my school days and the sports activities I have participated, got victory, and met failures. I have learnt not only education, but also life, as does the protagonist of the novel. I would like to describe the high school days, athletic contests, and family matters of the protagonist, Manny Hernandez that is concentrated mostly on the chapters 7 and 8 of the “Parrot in the Oven.”
In Song of the Hummingbird by Gracie Limon, It’s clear by chapter three that Father Benito and Hummingbird are starting to reach an impasse. He could no longer hold his tongue “This woman who had a way of prying out thoughts and feeling of which he was not aware”. With her story of transgression, incest and murder her sin was to be forgiven in eyes of the lord, but she wanted Father Benito words. His thoughts conflicted, so he was surprised that the words he spoke were forgiveness. At this point, Hummingbird feels ready to start the next level of her story. I liked in the dialog that it express every insecurity Father Benito went through when saying he forgives her. To me, he seems that he can no longer stand to hear more like he wants to sing
Listening is an important skill that many people take for granted. Listening empathelicay means putting oneself in “someone else’s shoes”. Listening only to get information takes away much of what the speaker is saying, by being able to empathize with someone one is on the same wavelength. In this world, there exist many different cultures and subcultures. 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 even try to understand the Aztecs ways. Limon uses the literary elements of characterization, point of view, and internal conflict to show that in order to understand another culture, one must be able to treat his/her’s history with the same compassion and understanding as if it was their own's.
...g citizens successfully had their attention directed towards their expected gender roles and appropriate spheres of influence within their roles to support the empire in order to continue the domination of the Kingdom.
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 like how Huitzitzilin did not stop believing in her religious beliefs, even though the Spaniards want her to transition.
... middle of paper ... ... Moreover, the power of a god was bestowed upon them only when they were depicted with armor. The women would spend long days on their knees performing their duties.
Just imagine undertaking an important mission without ever giving up. Aengus from the Song of Wandering Aengus undertook the mission to search and find his true love. In the Trials of Apollo, Apollo attempted to save the Oracles and stop the beast. Michael, Bryson, and Sarah's mission in the Eye of Minds, was to stop the evil Kaine from destroying and hacking the world. However, all three had lots of perseverance, after many failed attempts and challenges, they never gave up.
D”. This use of sound is also seen in pantomime 2 where he asks the
After reading the version of Sappho’s hymn by Ann Carson, her version creates a more relatable and clearer view of the poem. The use and context of her words form create more of a realistic imagery. Reading the adaptation by Ann Carson’s, while the original version and other versions, which I read all improved the clarity of the poem. Carson’s version created more relatable visuals. I found her word selection in the beginning the first improvement, immediately in the first line. “Deathless Aphrodite”. Although the poem is about or to the goddess Aphrodite the verbiage is hard to translate. Especially if you are not a person who is familiar with that era of time it may become a challenging read. I have read various types of literature from that
The piece called "Sirens of the lambs" shows a truck labeled "Farm Fresh Meat" and cramming about six different types of cute animal puppets while making distress sound all around New York City, this mobile work of art is the terrifying truth about the meat industry and the animal cruelty take place in it. My thoughts about this piece is almost dark humor, at first glance I thought it was cute and funny observing a truck full of adorable kid toys because it's not everyday that I don’t get to see puppets sticking out their heads from a truck. However as I started listening, I heard the crying and squealing of fears in those stuff animals, it broke my heart. Even though those animals were fake, this piece brought attention to real conditions
The novel I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings goes through the childhood of Maya Angelou as she faces the difficult realities of the early South. This novel does not do a very good job at portraying the hardships of the blacks because she
Keats presents a stark contrast between the real and the surreal by examining the power of dreams. For the narrators of each work, dream works as a gateway to the unconscious, or rather, a more surreal and natural state of mind. Keats presents the world as a place where one cannot escape from his/her troubles. For the narrator in “Ode to a Nightingale” he attempts to artificially medicate himself as a means of forgetting about the troubles of the real world which cause him to feel a “drowsy numbness” (Ode to a Nightingale 1) which “pains / My senses, as though of hemlock I had drunk,” (1-2). The narrator, seemingly in search for both inspiration and relief, drowns out these feelings through an overindulgence in wine as a way to “leave
The books “A Thousand Splendid Suns” and “The Kite Runner” are both written by Khaled Hosseini. The setting of both of the book is in the capital of Afghanistan, which is Kabul. Both books express the themes of betrayal, discrimination, and also redemption; but both novels depict the themes and characters in different ways. Even though the main characters are very much alike.