I Rigoberta Menchu Sparknotes
In I, Rigoberta Menchú, Menchú, an Indian woman from Guatemala, explains the repression of Indians in Guatemala and the subsequent formation of a resistance movement. One of the most memorable parts of the book is her description of the Indian peasants’ 1980 occupation of the Spanish Embassy, in which at least 36 government officials and peasants, including her father, died. In her account, she helps the readers to understand the event through the perspective of the affected Guatemalan population. Though her depiction of this event is likely accurate, it is completely different than the portrayal of the event in The New York Times. Differences between the descriptions of the participants, purpose, and unfolding of events in these two accounts
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media, organized resistance by Guatemalan peasants is only described as guerrilla warfare, a revolutionary military resistance negatively known for harassment of their political enemies. However, this understanding simplifies the nature and objectives of the Guatemalan Indians’ organized resistance. Their fight manifested itself in many different ways: community groups, religious groups, and labor strikes, in addition to military groups. They were most commonly depicted in the U.S. as armed resistors, but according to Menchú, they didn’t have arms and instead used household items as weapons, such as hot water, stones, chile, salt, and lime (Menchú, ch. 17). Menchú most emphasizes their religion as their form of resistance, with “the Bible as [their] main weapon” (Menchú, p. 158). One specific cause for resistance referenced multiple times throughout the book is raising the minimum wage of the peasants working on sugar and cotton plantations. In 1980, 80 thousand peasants participated in a strike to demand a minimum wage of 5 quetzals (Menchú, ch. 32). Many of the indigenous population’s protests, such as the aforementioned, were peaceful, but the depiction of their organized resistance by the U.S. media is confined to the stereotype of militant, armed
media, organized resistance by Guatemalan peasants is only described as guerrilla warfare, a revolutionary military resistance negatively known for harassment of their political enemies. However, this understanding simplifies the nature and objectives of the Guatemalan Indians’ organized resistance. Their fight manifested itself in many different ways: community groups, religious groups, and labor strikes, in addition to military groups. They were most commonly depicted in the U.S. as armed resistors, but according to Menchú, they didn’t have arms and instead used household items as weapons, such as hot water, stones, chile, salt, and lime (Menchú, ch. 17). Menchú most emphasizes their religion as their form of resistance, with “the Bible as [their] main weapon” (Menchú, p. 158). One specific cause for resistance referenced multiple times throughout the book is raising the minimum wage of the peasants working on sugar and cotton plantations. In 1980, 80 thousand peasants participated in a strike to demand a minimum wage of 5 quetzals (Menchú, ch. 32). Many of the indigenous population’s protests, such as the aforementioned, were peaceful, but the depiction of their organized resistance by the U.S. media is confined to the stereotype of militant, armed