Week Fourteen

"But I think diseases have no eyes. They pick with a dizzy finger anyone, just anyone." (The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros, 59)

The House on Mango Street pulled on my heartstrings from page one. And it never let up. Page after page, my heart ached for Esperanza and her situation. That's why I chose this quote to discuss this week. In my interpretation of this text, I feel that "diseases" can be replaced with "trials." Surely Esperanza knows what it's like to face trials that were not of her own choosing. And why does she have to face these trials, such as living in a house she hates, being surrounded by people who she can't help or change, and being abused by those she thought she could trust?

Because trials have no eyes. Sometimes our trials come from poor choices we make. But most times, they come unexpectedly and unwelcome. A family from my ward back home just lost their father and their brother in an airplane accident. Why does this family have to go through that trial? It's not because of something they did or didn't do. It's just part of the human experience. As hard as it is to think about, trials are for our good. Without these experiences, we would not have a chance to grow and become refined. 

Check out this video. Your trials might not be the same, but I'm going to assume that you can relate in some way to this situation.

I honestly have no idea what it's like to be an immigrant or part of that kind of community, like in The House on Mango Street. I don't know what trials people like Esperanza have to go through on a daily basis. But I have trials of my own- and you have trials of your own- and we're all just trying to get through it together. Maybe the really hard trial you're having right now will one day help you to relate to someone better in the future.

We just have to trust the Lord. He knows what He's doing.

Week Thirteen

Making choices is hard. When Professor Mack said that we could choose our favorite work to write about this week, I honestly froze up a bit. It's not that I don't have favorite things. For example, my favorite color is blue. My favorite book series OF ALL TIME is Harry Potter. My favorite food is pizza. But what is my favorite work/text/film from this class?

That's a tough choice. From Diego Rivera's murals to Bless Me, Ultima, the works we've looked at in this class have all been fantastic. But because I have to choose, I would say I particularly enjoyed Black Orpheus.

To me, this movie is a Gesamtkunstwerk. The cinematography is beautiful. Unlike the flat, insubstantial movies we have today, each angle meant something. The lighting meant something. The staging meant something. For example, at the end of the film, Orpfeu falls off the cliff and lands with arms outstretched as if he were hanging on a cross. We talked about this symbolism in class, and it is a very significant aspect of the film. 

 Another reason I think this film is a total work of art is because of its reference to ancient myth. The story of Orpheus and Eurydice comes from Greek mythology. The integration of a modern, Latin American theme with a Greek myth is very well done. This use of mythology helps me to connect better with other Latin American works. In my mind, Latin America art and literature and film seems so different than Western art and literature and film. The origins of Latin America are so different than the origins of my own country, that sometimes it's hard for me to relate to these works. But this film helped to realize that, although our cultures are very different, we often draw from the same sources. 

I guess what impacted me the most about this film is that it shows that, at the end of the day, we're all human. Despite cultural differences, we are all still human.    

Week Twelve

"'Is that how long eternity is?' Agnes asked bravely. 'Is that how long the souls have to burn?'

'No,' Father Byrnes said softly, and we looked to him for help, but instead he finished by saying, 'when the little bird has moved that mountain of sand across the ocean, that is only the first day of eternity!'"(Bless Me, Ultima, Rudolfo Anaya, 202.)

The context of this quote is that the Priest is trying to explain eternal suffering in Purgatory to Antonio and his friends. He uses the analogy of a small bird moving a mountain of sand, one piece at a time. Although it is a fitting analogy, the Priest is using scare tactics to frighten the children from making mistakes that could lead them to Purgatory.

How else do people use scare tactics to promote reform? 

Politicians are notorious for using intimidation to dissuade people from following their opponents. More often than not, a political ad is usually composed of misrepresentations. For example, this attack ad about women's rights sheds a frightfully bad light on President Obama. Although there is truth in this video, there is also more there that is not being acknowledged.

For the Catholics in Bless Me, Ultima, God seems to be like a politician in this regard. God is not merciful. He is not kind. He is not gracious. He punishes those that need to be punished. His purpose is to be intimidating to keep His people righteous. He makes it clear that, if you choose to follow his opponent, you'll end up suffering in Purgatory for eternity. And quite frankly, this scare tactic is effective. Fear is a great motivator.

Although the Priest has good intentions- he wants the children to stay righteous- creating fear is not always helpful.

But there is hope. For the people in Bless Me, Ultima, this hope comes from Mary. She is the merciful protector that will ultimately prevent us from suffering. This would also be like the kind politician that simply states his agenda and moves on without attacking his opponents. (Okay, there aren't actually any American politicians like that. Let's pretend.)

Ultimately, we just have to remember to hope.

Week Eleven

"'You are to bring honor to your family,' my mother cautioned. 'Do nothing that will bring disrespect on our good name.'" (Bless Me, Ultima, Rudolfo Anaya, 53)

Why are names so important? I have theories, but I don't feel they adequately delve into the subject. However, for the sake of this post, my main theory is simply this:

Names create a sense of individual identity. Within a group, they create a sense of unity.

This is a crucial component of Bless Me, Ultima. Although I have only read a portion of the novel, it's clear that the Márez and Luna families place much emphasis on their name. This is something we discussed in class. But I want to take it a step further.

Why do we need a name to identify who we are?
Antonio is not simply Antonio. He is Antonio Juan Márez y Luna. He has his father's name and his mother's name. He is identified as an individual (Antonio) but within an established group- in his case, two established groups. He is a culmination of everyone that has come before. Expectations, behaviors, everything is based off of who preceded him in his family.

 We are a product of what has come before. Whether or not we were raised by biological parents, aunts, uncles, adoptive parents, whoever, the idea is the same.

We were raised by someone who was raised by someone else, who was raised by someone else, who was raised by someone else. I could go on, but you get the point.

Our names connect us to the chain. Maybe they aren't actually important when it really comes down to it. But the symbolism of a name, that identifiable, connecting component, is important.

Does this make sense?