Rigoberta Menchu (Diez)

1. Chapter 31 speaks in detail about power of being a women. What was the most inspiring to you?
I think what is most inspiring in this chapter is the women's willingness and dedication towards the cause of their people. Even though it is very hard they still do everything they can. Menchu talks about how she had to choose between her love and the cause of her people and how in the end she chose her people. That must have been a very hard decision for her but it shows what a selfless person she is. It makes me sad when she writes about how her and many of the other women have chosen not to have children because of the conditions they will be born into. It is not that they do not want children but they do not want their children to suffer. When you think about all the things they had been through it is not hard to understand why they would feel this way but it still makes me sad. It is sad that the world can be so bad that women feel like they can't bring anymore children into it. I admire the women that Rigoberta mentions who do have children(up to five or six) and still do magnificent work for the cause. I just admire all the women in general. I really like what Rigoberta says in the next chapter regarding women and their involvement in the revolution, she says, "Women have played an incredible role in the revolutionary struggle.... We don't to [it] because we want power, but so that something will be left for human beings. and this gives us the courage to be steadfast in the struggle, in spite of the danger.

2. What was the January 31st Popular Front?
The January 31st Popular Front was a united front made up of different peoples orginizations. It is named in honor of the people who died in the January 31st burning of the Spanish embassy.

3.Rigoberta has to keep everything secretive as she moves from place to place when she is in hiding. Why is it so important that she do this?

As Rigoberta says at the beginning of the chapter, she is now a hunted women. It is very important for her to keep things secretive so that she does not give away her whereabout. It would put both her and those involved in hiding her in danger. At this point in the game it would surely mean death for Rigoberta if she were to be found by the army.

4. Menchu begins the ending of her book with the following Popul vuh quotation: "We are the avengers of death. Our race will never be extinguished while there is light in the morning star." Use this as a prompt to capitulate what you got from this book. Explain how Menchu's life honors this quotation. Be sure to provide at least 5 different examples.

I, Rigoberta Menchu is one of the best books I have ever read. This quote sums up it's story beautifully. All Rigoberta and her people wanted was peace and freedom to practice their culture and to raise their children without oppression and suffering. Rigoberta fought for this with all her might. There was nothing more important to her. She even left behind the man who wanted to marry her because she was so committed to the cause. Even after all the suffering she had been through she was still able to push on. I can not imagine going through the things that she went through; seeing the things she saw, and still being able to function. Instead of becoming bitter and hardened she was able to open her heart to work for peace. One of the most inspiring things to me is that she was able to realize that not all Ladinos are bad. After all that she had been through it would have been easy to keep on believing that they are all bad, and honestly most people probably wouldn't blame her but she was able to rise above that.
Rigoberta talks about how she never was able to have a proper childhood. All she knew was work and suffering and corruption. She talks about how she does not want to have children because she does not want them to be born into the same kind of world. I think that her involvement in the cause is part of that bright morning star because as long as there are people striving to make fight for their freedoms the light will never go out and hopefully one day the world really will be good enough that no one will have to be scared for thier children.