Three major aspects of colonial takeover of American lands based on Foreigners in Their Native Land - Essay Example

? A LITTLE LATIN, A LOT OF ENGLISH UNIT 3 Journal Entry 7: A Different Mirror Chapters Chapter 7 In this chapter, the writer considers three major aspects of colonial takeover of American lands that was captioned under the heading of “Foreigners in Their Native Land”. The first component of the chapter looked at the war against Mexico where foreigners taking over the land of Mexico turned around to be lords of the land and battled the original natives of the land. Essentially, the writer used this part of the chapter to drum home the unfortunate beginning of racial supremacy in the American continent. Further on in the chapter, there is a discussion on the entrenched position taken by the English to conquer at all cost, as a refusal to do that makes them robbers. The final part of the chapter discusses the outcome of the fight, which was an obvious win for the strangers, occupying and conquering at the same time because of their ideological supremacy. Chapter 12 It is more like it is in this chapter that the effect of the struggle that had gone on between the Mexicans and the English was discussed. This is because part of the chapter looked at how the English lived with the Mexicans there after the war. In the chapter, we are told of how right after the war, the Mexicans were made to further sprinkle the field with the sweat of their brows because they were captured as servants and slaves in their own land. But after a while, there were mixed marriages, which became an era of coherent living. But in most cases of these marriages, it was observed that the eventual benefactors of the marriages were the English. This is because they were the ones who married Mexican women and subjected them and their male offspring to hard labor. Pages 361-367 Among the many mixtures of people from different geographic backgrounds who had come to be part of the American nation as Americans were the Mexicans, who according to the writer, were mainly found in the area of presidio of Tucson from 1773 and seeking protection against the Apaches. But throughout the pages 361 to 367 of the book, the writer brings out some key characteristics of these people, who became known as the Mexican Americans. Typically, the Mexican Americans are identified to be battling inferiority complex as they search for an identity. This search was supposed to be an expected event because these people, who were originally from Mexico where not being offered the opportunity to be live by the very native nature and identity that they bore (Gramsci, 1971). Pages 426-433 In what may be referred to as a typical conclusion, the writer finishes the book with an admonition for change and empowerment. This is because throughout the book, acts of identity misplacement and misplaced priorities had plagued most people who otherwise should have been in the position to stand very firm and defended what belonged to them. From page 426 to 433, the focus of the writer was on Mexico, whom he labeled as being the Beckoned North. The Mexicans were classified as being beckoned because of the indication they had started giving to people from other backgrounds who had suffered similar things as they suffered. In comparison to the African Americans, the writer saw the Mexicans as being able to take their own destinies in their hands much quickly and making amends for themselves. Journal Entry 8: Kaleidoscope Pages 31-47 These are pages where the story of Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca is told from de Vaca’s own perspective and according to his original narratives. Generally, de Vaca tells the story of his life and other people as they made expedition through the New World in 1527 in what became known as the Narvaez expedition. As one of only four survivors, the story is revisited as a message to the current world of the power in a determing power to endure. This is because even though de Vaca had gone through several trialing times including being a slave, he could eventually wait for that new reconnection with Spanish colonial forces in Mexico in 1536 to tell his story (Ghalioun and Costopoulos, 2004). Pages 265-279 “Posson Jone” exemplifies the power of indoctrination, education or any form of advocacy that is undertaken without a prior need to be realistic with the explanation of ideas. This is because the lessons received by Jules in his infant days, using the illustration of how round the world is like a cheese remained with him even at manhood. Such power of the mind could be generalized for our type of world to idealize the impact of teaching people stereotype conceptions when they are young. Pages 474-483 These pages of the book is dedicated to Bulosan’s autobiography in which his exhilarating experience of America before his arrival is compared to the actual situation as he met it when he arrived. Instead of what was supposed to be a fulfillment of a promise for better life in America, the young immigrant arrived only to be met with acts of injustice, discrimination, prejudice and struggle. In its totally, the writer used this story to drum home an ongoing phenomenon where people continue to perceive certain parts of the world as being with greener pasture and flowing with honey and milk when the actual situation does not speak as such. Pages 558-564 In these pages, the story of Nash Candelaria in the 1984 short story anthology named “Cuentos chicanos” is revisited. Basically, the writer uses this section to outline some of the major changes that Chicano literary tradition had experienced as the days went by from their days of historic attribution to other forms of literature that were not considered to be of their tradition (Gramsci, 1971). In these pages, there is generally an admiration for the changes experienced, classifying them as positive signs of a Mexican people who were ready to take charge of their personal traditions and culture. Pages 615-624 The consequence of living another person’s dream instead of living one’s own dream is depicted in “Rosa in Television Land”, which was originally found in Daniela Gioseffi’s writings. In the story Rosa is made to bring home the key lesson that holding on to one’s cultural values may have negative sides and so there is the need for there to be changes where necessary. But in fighting for changes, it is always important to give recognition to the need for the key principles that promote growth to be held on to. Pages 648-657 Revisiting the story of Mariah, the writer lays emphasis and gives focus to the place of women in traditional cultural development. This is because often times, there is stereotype that seek to undermine the place of women in national development. But just Mariah exemplifies herself as being with the ability of living above reproach and rising to the occasion when it mattered most, the idea is created clearly that women also have a place in the cultural transformation of every society. Unit 3 Journal Entry 9 Journal Entry 9: Hispanic American Arts Hispanic American arts may be discussed as a phenomenon that is part of a larger Hispanic American heritage. By implication, this means that Hispanic American arts were born out of the core traditional and cultural identity of the Hispanic people (Ghalioun and Costopoulos, 2004). to this end, there have been different moments and times that the defense on the relevance in continuing to stick to Hispanic American arts have been debated as larger argument on the need to keeping up of Hispanic culture as a whole. Once this understanding is had, Hispanic American arts will be appreciated as a tool for national or traditional identity for the Hispanic people in the United States of America and other parts of the world. Day in and out, there have been cries over the suppression of Hispanic culture. But with a reexamination on the need to continually preserve the existing heritage of Hispanic American arts, the said suppression will be a thing of the past when arts is used as a symbolic representation of the Hispanic people. Generally, Hispanic arts can be categorized into many forms depending on the people who are practicing and the approach from which it is being performed. The core essence of Hispanic American arts however remains the fact that these forms of arts originated from the Hispanic people, is performed by the Hispanic people, and represents the ideas and ideologies of the Hispanic people. With this understanding, forms of art such as music, painting, sculpture, acting and folk telling will be identified or mentioned. There has always been a characteristic of Hispanic American arts, no matter the form it takes. This characteristic is that these arts are performed as a trace to the very cultural history of the Hispanic people. Often times, there have been a number of criticisms against the form of Hispanic American arts that exists today, with most commentators arguing that what is seen today is not the precise culture of Mexico but an adulteration with indigenous American culture and art (Abrahms, 2012). But as much as this argument may be valid to extent, what may be very important may be the fact that to some extent, names such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Carlos Santana and Jennifer Lopez continue to promote Hispanic American arts by using exemplifications of native Mexican acts and arts. In conclusion, there will be further admonishment that the type of Hispanic American arts that are seen today can be made even better and more lucrative. As economic empowerment becomes a key word that controls the facets of human society, it is important that the Hispanic people find a way of making their arts even more economically viable. As recommendation, it is expected that the mastery of these forms of arts as an educational tool for gaining self empowerment into employable areas or ventures should be taken seriously. If younger Hispanic student going to school have a realization that when they complete, they can use their native arts as a means of livelihood, they would have a greater urge to take their lessons in these course areas even more seriously. Cited Works Abrahms, Max. ‘The Political Effectiveness of Terrorism Revisited’, Comparative Political Studies, 45.3 (2012): 366-394. Print. Ghalioun, Burhan and Costopoulos, Philip. ‘Persistence of Arab Authoritarianism’, Journal of Democracy, 15.4 (2004): 126-132. Print. Gramsci, Antonio. Selections from the Prison Notebooks. Edited and translated by Quinton Hoare and Geoffrey Nowell Smith, London: Lawrence and Wishart. 1971. Print. Perkins, George and Perkins, Barbara. Kaleidoscope: Stories of the American Experience. Oxford University Press: Oxford. 1993. Print. Takaki, Ronald T. A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America, Revised Edition. Back Bay Books: New York. 2008. Print. Read More