I found that this week’s reading was a lot less engaging for me. Maybe it was a result of my busy workload, or the fact that I exclusively read this book before I went to bed, but all in all I found this book a lot harder to follow than the last few we have done. I did however find the themes about identity and colonialism very interesting and I also found how Arguedes linked music into this story’s narrative intriguing.
The fact that Ernesto had Native heritage was not something that I realized until after I had finished the book and was reading some analyses of the book. This revelation opens up a whole new perspective onto his character and the experiences that he goes through. This being said, a big theme in this book was how Ernesto’s Native heritage affected his life and his interactions with other non-native kids. Having grown up in North Vancouver my whole life, I cannot really relate to his experiences of being ostracized by his peers or feeling alienated from the majority of people, but it was an experience that i am glad to have read about in this book. I think that the idea of assimilating into white society is one that is familiar with many Native populations around the world and is one that is important to bring to light. The conclusion of the book ending in the Native’s victory over the Western system also provides interesting commentary to the conversation of assimilation and colonialism.
I also found the way that Arguedes used music in the book interesting although I did not fully grasp the meaning behind the songs that he put into the chapters of the book. To me, the music provided Ernesto with a link to his heritage in the Western world that he is dropped in. Through out the book the music that he sings or hears reminds him of his people and provides a refreshing insight onto the cultural meaning of music and how powerful it is as a binding for cultures.
In conclusion, I found that that I appreciated the style that this book was written in a lot. I think that Arguesdes’ writing style aided in showing how important Ernesto’s identity was to his character and the experiences that he goes through in this book. The commentary on identity and belonging that this book provided engaged me especially after doing last week’s reading “Agostino” which also dealt with the theme of belonging and identity as well.
A bit hard to follow, but an interesting read overall.
My Question: Do you guys find that music is an important mechanism for your memories and cultural identity?
Your observations on Ernesto’s path and the subtle but significant influence that music plays in fostering a sense of cultural identity are thought-provoking! I found it really amazing how literature can provide us with windows into rich cultural depths and a variety of experiences that we could not otherwise have, also I was fascinated when focusing on music’s role as a cultural tether since it highlights the close ties between expression and tradition.
“Ernesto had Native heritage”
Well, Ernesto is *mestizo*, or “mixed.” He’s not fully Indigenous, and indeed we see at times he finds it hard to relate to the Indigenous people on the hacienda, for instance, or the Old Man’s pongo. But on the other hand, he doesn’t fully identify either with the Western, Spanish-speaking world. He is, as I say in this week’s lecture, betwixt and between.