One main central idea from the article "The New Heros" is that no matter how old you are you can still make a very big difference in your community whether you're trying to change something huge or something small, and it doesn't matter the size of your project. In this article, the author talks about how Albina Ruiz was worried about her communities health and environmental status because of all the pollution from people throwing out their waste into the streets, rivers, and empty lots.…
Andres Resendez, A Land So Strange, The Epic Journey of Cabeza de Vaca (New York: Basic Books, A Member of Perseus Book Group, 2007).…
The notorious drug war and wanton violence is taking over Mexico. The government and police seem to have no control over the situation as the drug cartels have the most power out of anyone in the country. However, there are a few who attempt to denounce the violence of the drug cartels that spreads across the country like a bloody wildfire through poetry, music, and painting. Javier Sicilia, a poet, denounces the drug violence that killed his son through his last poem and Marcos Castro painted a picture of the destruction of the Mexican culture and people, influenced by the lyrics from singer Lila Downs, who sang about death because of the drug trade in Mexico. Marcos Castro’s “La Reyna del Inframundo”, taken directly from Lila Downs’s lyrics, illustrates the control of violence over Mexico and its culture through the contrast between light and dark, referencing the battle between destruction and hope, shape, the spiral in the middle of the painting suggests a tornado of extermination, and scale and position of objects, namely the gun which exemplifies the emphasis on violence and death.…
“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference” (Reinhold Niebuhr). In the novel Bless Me, Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya, a young boy name Antonio Marez has faith to go through his childhood life to perceive in learning new aspects and independence in Catholicism in which he goes in the real world in order to create and establish new ideas and acknowledge himself into adulthood. Through the use of religious symbolism that connects to different cultural beliefs, the author, Rudolfo Anaya seeks to explain how New Mexico’s cultures can combine with each other to create a new culture with combined religious beliefs using knowledge. Antonio discovers more about the Lunas and how it relates to him and the world he is living in while also appreciating the Virgin of Guadalupe and the religious beliefs he has for the Catholic Church. Not only that, but also becoming a true believer and having struggles going through understanding religion as the golden carp appears. Anaya does this in order to compare and contrast New Mexico with Antonio’s rite of passage into adulthood and with the growth of others during World War II. The golden carp and the Virgin of Guadalupe are two different cultures, while the moon is the one that explain who Antonio really is.…
This next literature I will be discussing is “Don Quixote” written by Miguel De Cervantes which has a powerful message of social classes. This story tells you a lot about social classes and how it everyone is treated differently within the classes. Don Quixote is an old man who has read a lot of books about knights and decides to be come one. He is a very weather man and is one of the smartest people in his town. He set off on a great adventure in pursuit of eternal glory and drops what everything he was doing at home. This is alright for people who are wealth to do this, but people in the lower classes couldn’t afford to drop everything to chase a dream around.…
Finally, Las Casas uses figurative language as a rhetorical appeal. For instance, Las Casas uses figurative language when describing the Spaniards treatment towards the natives. In the preface it says, “the Spaniards fell like ravening wolves upon the fold, or like tigers and savage lions who have not eaten meat for days”(11). Las Casas describes Spaniards as horrifying individuals. In particular, Las Casas describes the Spaniards as animals. The figurative language has the possibility to create an image in your mind. Second of all, Las Casas use figurative language when describing Spaniards treatment towards natives. In one part Las Casas got into depth as to how Spaniards treated natives. His usage of words put into perspective the…
In the class we read several texts written by Latino/as writers. Two of these texts are “Volar” by Judith Cofer and “La Gorda and the City of Silver” by Sabrina Vourvoulias. Both texts have some similarities and some differences that I’m going to be identifying in this essay. I’m going to talk a little about the authors and their literary texts. Afterwards I will be comparing both texts and the authors. I would also be talking about the authors as latinas writers and comparing them.…
The legend of La Llorona is a big part of Hispanic folklore. It is used to scare children from wandering in the night and to warn them of the danger of being alone. In this essay I will talk about Llorona. I will talk about her life before having kids, what she did to her kids and present day beliefs about her ghost. Stories of La Llorona date back to 1502, and differ in origins (Santistevan, 2007). Most of the stories have things in common. I will be talking about the most common and important points.…
In the short story The Cast of Amontillado, Edgar Allan Poe shares a story about insults and revenge in action. Montresor is the protagonist who holds a grudge against the antagonist, Fortunato. The first sentence sets the stage for the murder of Fortunato. “The thousands injuries of Fortunate I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge” (Poe, p. 108). It does not say what the “injuries” Montresor is referring to are, but in his book they were enough to murder Fortunato.…
Education is usually viewed with a positive connotation. Chief Canassatego, however, sees education as a burden and a set back to his culture. The Virginia government offered Chief Canassatego formal education for his people, leaving him grateful for the opportunity, resentful of the “colleges of the northern provinces,” unsure of the future. (Cumulative)…
Arising out of the ashes the phoenix came back to life again. In Greek mythology the phoenix is the symbol for idealism and hope. It falls only to arise and live again. The main character of Eudora Welty's short story, "A Worn Path", is much like this phoenix. She must overcome much adversity on her life path. Eudora Welty in "A Worn Path" uses the idea of the phoenix to characterize and symbolize the indomitable spirit of the main character, Phoenix Jackson, who though old, weak, and forgetful can conquer obstacles put in her way as she heads toward her goal.…
La Route de Chlifa par Michèle Marineua est à peu près d'un garçon qui va sur un voyage au Chliaf pour échapper le guerre avec lui est une fille nomé Maha. Les traits personnels de Karim et Maha change à cause de leur experiences vécues après la mort de la famille Tabouret, car ils doivent développer des stratégies pour faire face au conflit, à l'isolement, et à la perte. Le voyage aux Chliaf est long des dure et sa change Karim et Maha beaucoup.…
The first-person narration style of “The Cask of Amontillado” is essential in creating the original quality of the story. The reason this is so important in this particular story, is because when a sane killer, Montresor, is allowed to tell the story from his point of view, the reader gets a unique, disturbing look into the calmness of his mind. The audience can more clearly see how he thinks and feels, which the audience does not normally get in mainstream, commercial literature. The reason the narration style is so important to the tone of the story, is because it lets the reader become personally acquainted with the thoughts and intentions of the main character, and since the reader somewhat knows the outcome from the beginning, it allows certain ironies to make sense to the reader. Furthermore, were it told from a different perspective, I do not believe the story would have been as psychologically powerful.…
The program starts with Deems Taylor breaking down the types of visuals the audience will see in Fantasia. He describes three different types of music, absolute music, program music, and definite story music. The first segment, featuring absolute music, shows the audience that music is not made up of any one component. Taylor tells the audience that it could envision anything it wanted to go along with the music, but that the images on the screen are what the Disney artists have envisioned themselves. In stating this, Taylor tells his audience that the music is subjective with no wrong or right way to perceive it. While the Disney artists may have envisioned these particular colors and shapes to go along with Toccata and Fugue, different Disney…
In "Santiago and the Eternal Feminine: Gendering La Mar in The Old Man in the Sea" written by Susan F. Beegal, she discusses the significance of calling the sea "La mar" as a feminine aspect. First, she explains the sin of masculing nature because it is offensive. It is like saying nature is an enemy or being met in combat instead of beauty. She explains the tragedy of Santiago and its relation to tendering the sea. She thinks Hemingway describes nature as wild and dangerous but often sweet, like women are. This is offensive and sexist to some people. She goes on to say, when Santiago calls the fish his "brother" it is not gender specific. Santiago calls the sea la mar but the creatures in the sea are not specified. To la mar, Santiago…