Tag Archives: slavery

Week 10, Menchú, “I, Rigoberta Menchú: An Indian Woman in Guatemala”

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Rigoberta Menchú’s book, I, Rigoberta Menchú: An Indian Woman in Guatemala, was a powerful account of the struggles and oppression faced by the indigenous people in Guatemala. It was a striking read, one that brought up a strong exchange of emotions.

One of the most striking aspects of Menchú’s story was the sheer brutality and violence that she and her community were subjected to. The indigenous people in Guatemala were treated brutally, their rights systematically violated. Menchú’s description of how she and her community were forced to work in virtual slavery on the large estates owned by the ladinos, and how they were denied access to basic resources like education and healthcare, was extremely painful to read. While the Menchú’s sufferings were painful to read, the strength and hope she and her community held onto was inspiring. The quote that resonated with me was “They’re dead but our people keep their memory alive through our struggle against the government, against an enemy who oppresses us. We don’t need very much advice, or theories, or documents: life has been our teacher” (181).

While reading the book, I constantly found parallels between Menchú’s experiences and those of other marginalized groups around the world: the indigenous peoples of Canada and the Jewish victims during the Holocaust (as I am currently studying the Holocaust in a different course). Despite the extreme violence and repressions they faced, the indigenous people in Guatemala fought back against their oppressors; Menchú herself became involved in the movement for indigenous rights and worked tirelessly to promote awareness and advocacy for her community. Similarly, the indigenous people in Canada have been fighting for their rights and the recognition of their sovereignty for decades, and the Jewish community has worked to ensure that the atrocities of the Holocaust are never forgotten.

Lastly, thinking more broadly about the genre of this book, I questioned the credibility of biographical works in general. There is no doubt that biographical works—and the individual-level of history—are crucial aspects to better understand a historical event. However, biographical works do have their limitations; they are mostly based off one’s memories, which can easily be distorted. Additionally, biographical works are usually told by one specific perspective; it undoubtedly contains personal bias, sometimes explicit, other times not.

Dwelling on this thought, my question for this week is:

How “credible” did you think Menchú’s book is, in terms of objective credibility? Not in terms of historical accuracy, per se, but more on how credible the book felt to ‘you’. Were there any parts of the book that seemed to indicate bias? Should we even care about objective credibility when engaging in biographical works such as this?

Week 6 – Carpentier, “The Kingdom of This World”

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Alejo Carpentier’s The Kingdom of this World was an exciting read. The novel touched upon interesting themes like colonialism, revolution, race, slavery, power dynamics, and, most importantly, magic realism—which I have placed most thought towards while reading. The novel is a masterful example of magic realism, blending the real and the surreal to create a vivid and enchanting narrative. This week’s lecture was also particularly interesting as it focused a lot about magic realism, or “marvelous real,” and how it was proposed in the Prologue of the original 1949 novel.

Professor Jon’s quote, “the idea that fiction can supersede reality, emerges as a more appropriate vehicle for history than does ‘history’ itself[,]” seemed as a spot on description of Carpentier’s work, and an accurate summary of the underlying idea of magic realism (1). While reading the novel, it felt like history and fantasy were being weaved together, creating a surreal and dreamlike setting—where the line between reality and imagination were blurred. While the Haitian Revolution was a historical event, the depiction of it and the events Ti Noel goes through were quite mystical. Still, I spent a lot of time thinking about the idea of magic realism itself—specifically, what exactly it could be. The idea is still unclear to me, despite trying to find a clear example of it within Carpentier’s book. Some of the thoughts I went through include: “Why is magic realism known as a production—or innovation—of Latin American literature?”; “How can we distinguish between magic realism and the more European notion of ‘surrealism’?”

Another aspect of the book that I enjoyed was the way freedom was portrayed. Leading up to and throughout the revolution, Ti Noel remained committed to the cause of freedom, and he participated in the final battle for independence. Ti Noel reflected on the meaning of freedom and the price that must be paid for it. It felt like he realized that true freedom is not just about physical liberation, but also about spiritual and emotional liberation.

Lastly, I would like to read some book reviews—or critiques—on this book just for my own curiosity. It was intriguing to learn about the “conjuncture or interplay between the European and the African, the West and its Other, that gives the real marvellous or marvellous real” (Lectrue 8, 6). Thinking beyond the context of Carpentier’s book and its particular celebration of “African-derived religiosity[,]” I would like to approach magic realism in more of a historical point of view—in a context of comparison between Europe, America, and Africa (6).

Question: For you, were there any particular events or scenes from the book that exemplified what “magic realism” could be?