Nature's Gift

“Four [trees] who reach and do not forget to reach. Four whose only reason is to be and be.” (Cisneros 75)

My favorite chapter from The House on Mango Street was “Four Skinny Trees.” This short description of four trees that are in her neighborhood: “four who do not belong here but are here.”  Every single sentence in this section struck me as an important statement describing Esperanza’s life, feelings, and maturity.

The description of these four lone trees and comparison to herself encouraged me to think about the nature that surrounds me. What can I see that connects to my own soul and personality? I wonder, what is it that draws us to nature? Why do humans feel so connected to it? I just barely read in my other class a letter written by the poet Petrarch, in which he described his journey up a mountain. When he reached the top, his journey and the view both contributed to inspiration on his life and his purpose. Just as he found out new things about himself, Esperanza found out new things from those four trees that she walked by probably every day. When she is feeling down, those trees show her what is possible and perhaps desired, “to be and be.”

I love the quote that I began with, because I do feel as if this should be a goal that we can strive for. To always be reaching for something, never letting ourselves become just a stump, without progression. I want to be something, and continue to be something even after I’m gone. I want to be and be, reaching for something better until I've become it.

Have you ever seen a creature, a plant, a landscape, and realized something about yourself? I imagine there are few who haven’t. What was it for you? What gives you the most inspiration?

In the Past

This semester in Latin American Humanities was fantastic! I loved all of the works that we read, but there were definitely some that I enjoyed more than others. My favorite movie was Black Orpheus, while I also really enjoyed reading Bless Me, Ultima.

The reason I enjoyed Black Orpheus the most is because not only was it a great story, but I loved what the director did with the fact that it wasn’t just a new version of Orpheus, but instead that story still existed. The symbolism was very interesting, and fun to look for. Also, while other people may not have liked how slowly the story went, with so much dancing and moments without any movement in the story-line  I enjoyed it! It did a great job of showing the atmosphere of the festival, as well as the lifestyles that the people lived every other day of their life as well.

In Bless Me Ultima, the comparisons with Jesus Christ were very obvious. The only way a reader wouldn’t have noticed is if they didn’t know the story of Christ’s crucifixion. The story itself was a great example of author’s life, but whenever a reference to Christ’s story appeared, I wasn’t sure whether to consider it a good thing, or sacriligious. Other symbolism throughout the story was not so easy to see. Ultima, the owl, the river, it seems as if everything and everyone in the story could have a hidden meaning. But I wasn’t able to pick up on them so well. I’m still trying to figure it out. However, that didn’t make me enjoy the book any less.

I’m also very excited for the things we are doing the rest of the class. Like watching the Prisoner of Askaban. I’m curious to see what differences I can see between the Harry Potter that was written by a Latin American director. Will it be obvious?

Innocent until Guilty

“My father had tried to keep his land holy and pure, but perhaps it was impossible. Perhaps the llano was like me, as I grew the innocence was gone, and so too the land changed.” (Anaya 167-168)

The concept of losing one’s innocence throughout the book Bless Me, Ultima really interests me. When I was thinking about what stories were written about a young boy’s journey to becoming a man, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn came to mind. I thought it very interesting that both main characters, Antonio and Huck, had a black and white view on the world. Antonio was a completely pure child, just as all start out as, until he began to witness what the world did to people: rage, death, and carnal desire. And yet, even after witnessing these, he’s still innocent, although he doesn't see himself so. He believed either you were completely innocent, or you were doomed to destruction: a completely black and white view.

Like Antonio, Huck Finn also viewed the world similarly, but from a contrasting perspective. Huck is much older than Antonio, and has seen a lot more sin, in a sense raised by it. Yet, he’s still innocent, because his knowledge of right from wrong was a child’s. He had no religious education until his foster mother taught him. But everything about religion made little sense to him, resulting in this passage suggesting men are either completely clean or damned:

“…I would take up wickedness… for a starter I would go to work and steal Jim out of slavery again; and if I could think up anything worse, I would do that, too; because as long as I was in, and in for good, I might as well go the whole hog. (Twain 26)

Why, even coming from completely different mindsets—one knowing he was “wicked” and the other wanting to stay innocent—do these two boys see only the black and white? What does this say about childhood? Does there even need to be a grey? 

A Lovely New View

“Thank you Eurydice. Thank you for this new day.” (Orpheus in Black Orpheus)

                 The film Black Orpheus was a fantastic movie. After thinking about the plot, I realized that it was very similar to A Walk to Remember. Or I guess I should say that A Walk to Remember is similar to Black Orpheus. In both movies, it starts with a boy, confident and popular, but shallow and unfaithful. And then, he meets a girl.. the girl that will change his life. She gives him a purpose, and he learns about himself in the process of learning to love her. In the end, the girl passes away, and the boy- turned into a man- is left with a new perspective.

                 

The ending scene when Orpheus has his monologue, speaking of what he now believes. (1:42:00)

                 

Very similar to the ending scene when Landon reflects on what Jamie taught him.

                 Both men were changed by love, love that was unexpected. It can even be argued that it was unwanted. What is it about these stories that strikes our own hearts so strongly? Is it true? Can love really change a person’s character so quickly and so completely? I believe that it can. In fact, it may be the only way that one’s heart can truly be changed from a cold and distant heart to a warm and giving one. Love is able to sneak into the small cracks of a stone heart. Orpheus had a hard heart, aware that he was able to get away with doing whatever he wanted. Landon was the same way, but in a high school sense, able to do whatever he wanted to the other students because of his popularity. Why do you think love is so powerful that it can change how someone thinks, not only about the one they love, but also about their whole view on life?

Pursuit for Greatness

“But man's greatness consists in the very fact of wanting to be better than he is. “ (Carpentier, Kingdom of this World)

The book that this quote is taken from, Kingdom of this World, was a hard book to get through— not only because of the wording and style of writing, but also because of the actual subject material. The confusing story-line was full of base actions, tyranny, and horror. And yet in the middle of all the chaos, there’s this line, speaking of man’s greatness. Man, great? After all they've done and are doing? Yes, even after all of the sin. This book attributes greatness not to actions of the past, but to those that are planned for the future.

Often, a man’s life is analyzed by his actions, who he affected, etc. If he didn't know too many people, touch anyone, or accomplish anything great, then he is often deemed a failure. However, "The Pursuit of Happiness" with Will Smith is a great example of how untrue this is. The main character had an honest life, but it was unsuccessful. His wife left him for hopeless and he was stuck trying to take care of his kid without a job. According to the quote by Carpentier, this does not matter. The fact that this man wanted so badly to take care of his son and be a better father made him a great person.

And yet, is merely wanting to be better enough? I certainly can want to do a lot of things, but until I put desires to action, how can it count toward anything? I can think that someone is exceptional, desire for them to know it, and yet if I don’t tell them so, they can never feel the confidence-boost.

So, what makes a human great? Man’s greatness is more than a desire, it’s when we work toward our better self. Should we be looking at our past actions for judgment or just for guidance?