This week I read Deep Rivers. While I did enjoy this reading, all the vivid descriptions, and the bits of information about Peru, I had a lot of trouble paying attention and finishing it. This book felt very long to me and at times I was unsure of what was really going on. I think it could have been all the Quechua words included in the text. This was such a cool way to learn about Peru and its landscape of people and history, but also incredibly confusing at times as it stopped my flow of reading. I would forget what the words would mean and just brush past them. But one thing I really enjoyed about this book was all that I learned about the culture of Peru and the indigenous (“Indians”) in the story. There was so much information about the social hierarchy and class of that time in Peru and how important religion and beliefs were to the people. Little Ernesto was almost the perfect narrating character because he was so likable and curious about everything. He was learning so much about the world as he was just a child, but as he learned so did we.

I felt kind of thrown into the story, it probably took me at least 30 pages to get a full sense of the story and an understanding of what was actually happening. One thing I was surprised about was the use of the word “awesome” on more than one occasion. Awesome just feels like such a modern and slang word. It really stuck out to me while reading because it’s hard to picture people almost 100 years ago using that word. On the note of language, this story is used beautifully. There was so much description, especially of the people around Ernesto, like all the boys he went to school with. That was one aspect that helped to ground me in the story when the plot confused me.

One quote that especially stuck out to me was “I used to weep. Who wouldn’t? But the Indians must be kept down. You can’t understand because you’re not a landowner.” (pg 164). This made me feel quite upset because it is basically an excuse for the slavery of the Indigenous people of Peru. I definitely think a theme of this reading was the butting heads of Christianity versus Indigenous, Quechua beliefs. This was highlighted through Ernesto and his relationship to both religions/beliefs. I was actually confused about whether or not Ernesto had Quechua heritage. I think his father was white, but there were some references to Ernesto not being white that made me have doubts. There was one quote that illustrated this; “You’re a little Indian, even though you look white! A little Indian, that’s all!” (pg 93). What did you think of Ernesto’s background? My other question would be about the ending. Do you think that Ernesto wanted to die from the plague? Did he stay in Abancay or go to The Old Man’s Hacienda?

See you all in class!