The reading for this week, I, Rigoberta Menchu, was not difficult in the sense that it confused me, but difficult in the sense that I found it extremely hard to get through, as the reading was filled with discrimination, injustice, and inequality that was faced by Rigoberta Menchu and her family. It is a tough thing to stomach thinking about the fact that this was the reality for not only the person we are reading about, but countless others who are not able to express their story in the same way.
However difficult it was to absorb the material covered in this testimonio, it is undeniably important to read works like this one, especially while we are going through school. I think sometimes we can get away from realizing the privilege many of us experience in our day to day lives. I know I can especially, as I have been fortunate enough to face minimal discrimination in my life, if any at all. Growing up, I was lucky to be able to embrace my childhood to the fullest, and even now as an adult I still have many luxuries that enable me to embrace the playful side of life whenever I wish. As discussed in the reading, the beautiful thing of childhood was not experienced by Rigoberta Menchu. I think we often can forget how different life and growing up is experienced by those in other parts of the world. This reading was a reminder of how life like this is not far behind us, and in some parts of the world is not gone at all. If someone had told me this reading came from the beginning of the 1900’s instead of towards the end of the decade, I would have believed them, simply because it is hard to wrap my head around the fact people who are alive today faced troubles like this.
Another thing that I took away from this week was the concept of a testimonio, which I had never heard of before this reading. After doing some research into it, I think it is really important to teach testimonios in school. So much of the learning we do and literature we read does not focus on oppression from the view of those who have been oppressed but reading from this perspective really paints a clear picture of not only what has occurred, but how it impacted those who experienced it.
My question for this week is, was this your first time reading a testimonio from this time period/region? If not, how did I, Rigoberta Menchu, compare to what you have read in the past?
Reading this testimony will be for many the first time they find out about realities like this. Without voices like Menchú’s, all experiences of resistance and struggle are lost, for different reasons. It seems important to me that they be read in schools, but also that they appear through other media, not only from literature but from documentary films or music.
Hi! This is, to my knowledge, the first autoethnography I have read from the region but I do remember reading “A Narrative of The Life and Adventures of Venture, A Native of Africa: But Resident Above Sixty Years In The United States of America” a few years ago. Although, this is officially classed as a ‘slave narrative’ I would argue it is also an early autoethnography. Similar to “I, Rigoberta Menchú” it centres around themes of discrimination. I wonder if there is a market for autoethnographies not surrounding discrimination and hardship? Would this be beneficial and make such stories stand out more or would it overshadow and take focus away from important works?
A while ago in SPAN 280 (Revolution in Latin American Literature) I read excerpts from Fire From the Mountain by Omar Cabezas and liked it enough that I ended up reading the full book. Theoretically, it was quite similar to this one: the testimonial of a Central American revolutionary in the nearby country of Nicaragua during the 1960s-70s and published in the 1980s, featuring a similar story of building revolutionary consciousness, suffering brutal injustices, and struggling against an oppressive colonial regime interspersed with descriptions of everyday life. Plus, I believe that book was also dictated by Cabezas, though I’m not entirely sure. However, the experience of reading the two books felt completely different: I found Cabezas’s story to be extremely inspiring above all else, while Menchú’s left me less optimistic. I suppose his background – middle-class, male, non-indigenous – combined with the fact that he chose to participate in the revolution of his own free will rather than being forced to by circumstance gave him advantages over Menchú reflected in his more optimistic, utopian perspective.
Hi! I like how you brought up how Menchu didn’t have a childhood. We discussed in class how she was forced to grow up quickly and never had the chance to “play.” I also agree that it’s important to teach pieces of work like this one. It’s important to show that while we may live in parts of the world where discrimination isn’t as obvious, that doesn’t mean the rest of the world is as fortunate. In regards to your question, this is the only testimonio I’ve read. I’ll definitely look into more to read though.