1. Menchu includes two Bible verses from the book of Judith to begin chapter 26. They read, “He bragged that he would burn up my border and kill my young men with his sword, and dash the suckling children against the ground, and make mine infants as a prey, and my virgins as a spoil. But the Almighty Lord hath disappointed them by the hand of a woman.” Why did she include these verses for this chapter?
This quote is at the beginning of this chapter because this chapter is about Menchu’s mother and what a strong women she was. She helped so many people from all different areas and made a huge impact in their lives. The “He” that is referred to in this quote is the army in Guatemala and they are doing all of the things mentioned. This chapter showed that it is the women in Guatemala that can make a difference.
2. In chapter 26, Menchu describes the incredible courage her mother demonstrated during the torture as well as the gruesome and disturbing imagery associated with her death. How did her words make you feel? What story do they tell of the war?
This chapter was definitely the worst chapter I ever read. I could never imagine if I knew my own mother went through what her mother did. Menchu’s mother showed extreme courage by not telling the men torturing her where her children were. She put up with brutal torture and died in one of the worst ways ever. This story of the war is a sad one because it shows how terrible the army men were to the Indians. They were bad to not only men but to everyone; women, children, and the elderly.
3. Explain how death is handled in the Indian culture using chapter 27 as your guide.
Death is much accepted in the Indian culture. They prepare for it and have ceremonies for it. When a person is ready to die they share all of their collected and secrets with special people. When the person is deceased the entire community has a fiesta to remember the person’s life. He or she is then buried and the community then moves on. It is an amazing tradition that connects the Indians with the departed.
4. One of my favorite quotations from the book comes from Rigoberta Menchu, and she uses it start chapter 29: “What hurts Indians most is that our costumes are considered beautiful, but it’s as if the person wearing it didn’t exist.” What does she mean when she says this?
The chapter that this quote is tied to is about how there is a festival with both an Indian and Ladino Queen. The Queen chose is the most beautiful girl in the Indian community and must wear the clothing of her people. She is presented AFTER the Ladino Queen and is placed in a bad hotel. Once the festival is over the girl is told to go back to where she came from with hostility. The only people that can go to these festivals are the rich tourists and ladinos. The tourists love to see the colorful presentation of the Indians culture, but when they leave the ladinos make the Indians leave too.
5. Using chapter 30 as your guide, compare the lessons taught by Indian women and Ladino women.
Ladino women do not live the hard lives that Indian women do. Ladino women grow up wearing shoes and makeup, while Indian women work hard in the fields and in the home. Indian women work extremely hard and work as hard if not harder than the men. Indian women learn things about nature, medicine, and taking care of their work and family. The lives of Indians are much harder than those of the ladinos.
No comments:
Post a Comment