1.) After reading the first five chapters, what is your reaction to what you have read? What do you know about Guatemalan culture now? what do you want to know after reading the first five chapters? What do you expect to find out as you continue reading?
After reading the first five chapters of I, Rigoberta Menchu I didn't want to put the book down. The way she uses words is beautiful and she succeeds in painting a vivid picture in my mind of her way of life and experiences. She describes her peoples customs and traditions. They have a deep sense of culture that is very sacred and special to them. It so sacred and special to them that they do not give out any of their secrets to outsiders. This is their way of making sure their culture is preserved. They raise their children in a way that they not only understand what the customs and correct way of doing things are but why. One thing that specifically stuck out to me is that they prepare their children from before birth for a life of hardship and suffering. This to me says a lot about the things they must go through.
After reading the first five chapters I want to learn even more about the culture, specifically the things that they value. I expect that as I continue to read I will learn more about the Civil War and the hardships Rigoberta and he people have had to face.
2.) Menchu begins the third chapter by including a quote from Miguel Angel Asturias, which states, "That night he spent howling like a coyote while he slept as a person.' / "To become an animal, without ceasing to be a person.' / 'Animal and person coexist in them through the will of their progenitors at birth." Why did she include this quotation? How does it relate to the Guatemalan people? How does it NOT relate to the Guatemalan people?
I think that she includes this quotation because it relates to her peoples belief in the nahual. They believe that each person has an animal counter part and it is reflected through their personality.
3.)Menchu speaks in depth about the finca. What is your impression of the fnca? What does it remind you of?
The finca is a terrible place. It makes me sad that any soul would have to endure a place like that. The whole system is unjust and cruel. It reminds me of slavery and the cotton plantations in America before the civil war. The people worked tirelessly for little pay and often ended up in debt to the owners of the finca. Essentially, they were captives to the system and had no way to get out.
4.) On page 31, Menchu writes, "My father told me: "When you're old enough, you must travel, you must go around the country. You know what you must do what I do." Why would he say this? Does a seemingly simple statement like that posses power? Explain.
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