Question # 1: Indian on the Mountain
Jorge Icaza Coronel was born in 1906 and died in 1978. He is a renowned writer who became famous after the release of his book Huasipungo. He spent most of his life in Ecuador, which ultimately inspired him to write the book. He highlights some of the sufferings that were happening and still happen to the indigenous people and their efforts to revolt. It was such a shame for people to be discriminated against because of their social class by the Ecuadorians yet they were Native Americans. This became one of the many untold stories where Native Americans suffered in the hands of their fellow whites.
The story is an example of how power plays a key role in issues pertaining to land ownership and the rights of the minority. It is not always, about what is in the interest of the people but rather the power that will facilitate such critical issues. Even though the indigenous communities had a right to property ownership, their rights were manipulated simply because they lacked an authority to back them up. Those who felt had the resources, and that is the Ecuadorians took advantage of the situation and manipulated. However, the moment the natives also realized they had a right to ownership and good governance, they revolted against the Ecuadorians. This was a stepping-stone that would ultimately ensure that their future generations were protected.
Even though the book is ranked among fiction novels, it is true and symbolic reflection of the suffering of the indigenous people who lived poor not because they lacked resources but because of the poor leaders, they had. They were even referred to us Indians just to show how insignificant they were in the region. They were associated with indigenous foods, which the Ecuadorians would rather throw to the dogs. The people lived in crowded shanties and were not accessible to health facilities and social amenities. It was ironic that even though the people were surrounded by an adequate of such facilities like oil, they had to struggle to look for them just because of the few who were greedy and not willing to share with them. The need for them to access better facilities and demand what they rightfully deserved led to the revolt. (Icaza 20)
The ultimate lesson from the story is that knowledge is power and the ability to exercise one’s right is a process that can ultimately be achieved through determination. The gap between the indigenous and the known is basically the realization that everyone fights for the few available resources. The indigenous may surrender simply because they feel it is above them, however, when they decide that it rightfully belongs to them and ultimately ready to die for it, they will appreciate the value of hard work. This requires people to think beyond their own self-interest and focus on their generation. Realizing that one may not be personally there to enjoy the fruits of their labor but simply do it for their generation will bear much fruit. This is also an example they set for their younger ones. They grow up knowing that they are being manipulated and the deliverance only comes from their willingness to fight back.
Question number 2: Slaughterhouse by Esteban Echeverria
José Esteban Antonio Echeverría was born in 1805 and died in 1851. He was a fiction and poet writer who was brought up in Argentina. He used his literature to condemn what he termed as barbaric treatment against the Latin Americans. José Esteban Antonio Echeverría was not just a political activist, he was also the founder of argentine literature. This he developed as he travelled across the world and learned more about how other people stayed and carried out their political and social affairs.
The slaughterhouse is mainly a political allegory representing the suffering that a few individuals had to go through because of poor leadership. The characters in the novel have been used to symbolize certain historic events. For instance, the henchmen and Rosas represented the barbaric leadership while the man who was slain represented civilization. The theme of association has come out strongly in the novel where by different people and groups make an impact through association. Rosas was an individual in charge of a group of henchmen who used their powers to demoralize the people and mistreat them.
Discrimination which for long was only associated with the blacks and whites came to light in this story. It was not just a matter of originality and skin color but also more to do with economic and social standing. Latin Americans may have thought themselves to be better in comparison to the blacks who seemed to be on the receiving side of all discrimination brutality. However, as the blacks recognized their rights and ultimately started fighting for them, other minority communities were inspired to know that they can have what rightly belongs to them. Remain quiet over an issue when in the real sense you are not happy about it is a sign of contentment that other superior groups can take advantage. However, when a community that level of dissatisfaction, their eyes open to the fact that they are being used. This is usually the beginning of freedom and deliverance.
The ultimate price has to be tasted when fear is finally conquered and the community is ready to die rather than give in to manipulation. As long as the Latin Americans were quite, Rosas had a right to believe that they were satisfied with their current situation. In fact, it was as if he and his henchmen were doing them a favor by not just chasing them from the land but allowing them to stay as they worked for them. There was no much resistance after they realized that they did not just deserve handouts but property ownership. This also shows that life is all about decision, which are made by the people. They ultimately determine their future and the inheritance they leave for their generation. However tough the battle was and the lives that were lost, freedom was ultimately achieved and the latter generation enjoy what their fathers did not enjoy.
The Latin Americans have gone through a lot before they could be recognized as natives who have a right to the resources of the land. Their skin color, which haunted them for a while, attracted negative treatment from the whites who thought they were the valid owners of the land. They were exposed to hard labor with meager or even no income. It is mainly the unity and love they shared amongst themselves that
It took the idea of one man to either promote or discourage barbaric acts in Argentina, shared them with others and hence facilitating the change that was needed. Were it not for individual ideas and group associations, then nobody would have ever understood or empathized with the situation of the Latin America. Even though complete deliverance is yet to be achieved, it is just one of the examples of what indigenous communities across the world have to go through and the sacrifices they have to pay for freedom.
Question # 3: Horacio quiroga (Wild Honey)
Horacio Silvestre Quiroga Forteza was born in 1878 and died in 1937. He was a Uruguayan short story writer playwright and poet. His stories revolved around the supernatural where the world was all about struggle for survival. He explained the deep realities about the psychological and mental wellbeing of a person that ultimately reflected their outward character and behavior. He believed that everything that occurred to man had its roots deep within their mind and greatly influenced by the environment.
Man and nature have is a theme that has strongly been presented in the narrative where the events of people revolve around nature. It is important to note that the changes that occur in a person his ultimate destiny revolves around their inner strength, ability and willpower. It is strongly believed that man may not have a choice of where they were born but will ultimately determine their destiny. The choices a person makes and what they choose to believe in will influence his or her destiny. For instance, we can see in the narrative that it is only when a man realizes that they did not deserve a particular form of treatment, of which they decided to protest for change. Despite the challenges they face along the way, the willingness a person has to be delivered from their immediate situation will also determine how they will fight for it. Nature can be defined as the attitude that a person holds towards the other. This will make them feel superior or inferior to them. Once they realize that they have equal capabilities, they start fighting for the natural resources that has always distinguished them.
People have always gone wrong when they look for a solution to their problems in the external environment. The fact remains that in as much as the external environment may never change, people will always change. It is therefore paramount to realize that facing the challenges of life is all about a change of attitude and mechanism rather than waiting for the situations to favor us. Every external living thing is fighting for similar resources and it is only the smart ones that will acquire it. Such smartness is not determined by the external environment but rather the internal. A state of dissatisfaction which is responsible for any change begins within (Corrales 74). As a person gets irritated, the mind starts to process ideas which if well implemented will facilitate the required change.
This is exactly what happened to the Latin Americans when hey realized that they were being manipulated in their own land and that the solution to their issues was not external but internal. When the few men realized this, they mobilized others and together they were able to fight jointly for recognition. The pursuit for power and recognition is an aspect that each community has fought. It hence cannot just be given out freely to those who are not willing to fight for it.
Works cited
Corrales Pascual, M.: “Jorge Icaza”. In: Solé, Carlos A. & Abreu, María I. (eds.): Latin American Writers. New York, 1989; vol. III, pp. 1063-1067.
