The stylistic language of Jos\u00e9 Mart\u00ed\u2019s \u201cOur America\u201d, one of the most famous texts written by a Latin American, is as important as the text\u2019s content. Mart\u00ed\u2019s plea to Cuba, his home, and more generally to the people of Latin America, to beware the seemingly unchecked imperialism of North America, and unite as a unique American culture separate from the northern continent, relies heavily on vivid imagery and metaphor. Understanding that \u201cbarricades of ideas are worth more than barricades of stones\u201d (para. 1), Mart\u00ed needed to encourage his readers to generate ideas through the guidance of his text. When urging the people of Latin America to embrace those aspects of culture that set them apart from the northern British colonies, he writes, \u201cMake wine from plantains; it may be sour, but it is our wine\u201d (para. 10). Mart\u00ed compares the nurturing of the Latin American culture to a community of bakers \u201crolling up their sleeves and plunging their hands into the dough, and making it rise with the leavening of their sweat\u201d (para. 10). This animated prose is meant to appeal to the people on a level beyond academic contemplation or political discourse; Mart\u00ed\u2019s primary motive is to \u201cawaken the inhabitants of Our America to the fact that the United States\u2014the country that Mart\u00ed allegorizes as \u2018the giant with seven-leagued boots\u2019\u2014stood poised and ready to expand\u201d (Belnap and Fernandez 5). Since the publication of \u201cOur America,\u201d generations of scholars have explored the rhetorical dimensions of Mart\u00ed\u2019s text.<\/p>\n
The term rhetoric has been reduced in modernity to mean simply \u201cinflated words.\u201d The historic meaning of the term, however, is broader: it is the art of persuasive communication. Moreover, classical rhetorical principles acknowledged that discourse is transactional, meaning that the reader\u2019s interpretation is as important to the message as the author\u2019s words (Deer 4). Mart\u00ed\u2019s use of metaphor and imagery, particularly imagery that is distinct to the nations of Latin America, comprised heavily of the indigenous, is designed to encourage active interpretation in his readership. In reference to American-born mestizos<\/em>, Mart\u00ed claims that they are \u201cashamed of the mother that raised them because she wears an Indian apron\u201d, and he uses similar but contrasting imagery to describe North America, who \u201cdrowns its own Indians\u201d (para. 3). This imagery is intended to engage the Latin American people in individual and collective reflection so that they come to the desired conclusion: Our America is neither Spain nor the United States, but something distinct. Mart\u00ed calls for the celebration of the diversity of Latin America, the embracing of the blend of colonial and indigenous roots, and a rejection of the idea that the United States is the sole, defining example of progress. \u201cOur America\u201d is a call to the people of Latin America to unite, recognize the diversity of their rich culture on its own merits, and guard against the imperialism of the United States. The rhetoric of the text accomplishes this goal by engaging the reader\u2019s active interpretation of metaphor and imagery.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The stylistic language of Jos\u00e9 Mart\u00ed\u2019s \u201cOur America\u201d, one of the most famous texts written by a Latin American, is as important as the text\u2019s content. Mart\u00ed\u2019s plea to Cuba, his home, and more generally to the people of Latin … Continue reading