To me, this book was one of the harder ones to read. Not for the same reasons as Jorge Luis Borges, but because of how graphic the subject matter was at times. Because of this, I did find it hard to pick up, but I don't know if this was due to the length of the novel during the late-mid semester burnout or the intense, nonfiction subject matter. In particular, the section in the middle of the book where Rigoberta's father went in and out of prison, requiring her to work round the clock to try to help pay for his release was really heartbreaking. It reminded and made me appreciate the little things that we take for granted here like access to legal support and fair trials. We also have the right to fight for our opinions and the ability to form/take part in unions, which is obviously a large part of the struggle in Rigoberta's community in Guatemala.
What surprised me a lot in the novel was Menchu's discussion of religion and her Christian affiliation. I was surprised at her strong faith in following the bible. This could partly be due to my naivety on the subject of Guatemala's Indigenous religious history, but it was interesting how so much struggle within her community was due to racism and suppression, which I heavily attribute as part of the history of Christianity and Catholicism in Latin America. The line about using the "bible as the main weapon" (158) really stuck out to me, as when I picture the conquistadores of the day, this is something that I also considered them doing by pushing their religious doctrine on the existing communities. The realities of Menchu's life were also very grey and intertwined. Parts of her life show severe struggles from the class and race war, such as the fight for land, whereas others give her more opportunities, like learning Spanish and following a "western" religion. Her life seems to negotiate between the positives and negatives of historical religious suppression in Latin America, which I found really interesting.
Overall, I don't have much to say about this novel and writing this post was a bit of a struggle. Given the subject matter and its shocking nature, I couldn't find much to "critique" or "analyze" about this novel, it was more about just sitting and learning.
Question for the class: What did you think about Menchu's relationship with religion? Did it surprise you? How do you think this impacted her outlook and struggles throughout her life experiences dictated in the novel?
Yes, I can see that this book can be difficult in the way that you say... I did warn you!
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, I wonder why you call this a "novel." I talk about the relationship between books like this and literature (specifically, novels) in my lecture...
I usually listen to the lecture on my commute to school on Monday after I've already read the book, I find I get more out of the lectures if I already know the context of it. I admit I've never thought about the difference in novel vs literature vs book terminology as I use them interchangeably. I'm looking forward to seeing what you say about it. It does seem to blur the lines between journalistic works, memoirs, fiction (?), and nonfiction. I wonder how the translation into English impacts this as well.
DeleteThat's fine, but I did try to highlight that I think that this week's lecture is especially important... you'll see! :)
DeleteHi!
ReplyDeleteThe religion did surprise me a bit, but from the way she was describing it, they only used it as a tool to respect humanity, which ultimately made sense to me even though I don't think religion is necessary for that. I definitely think it informed her choices and motivations! (On top of the injustice of course).
- Nandita
Hi Julia,
ReplyDeleteReally interesting topic here.
I think that Rigoberta's relationship with both Christianity and Mayan religiosity/spirituality really highlights the fractionated life she lived. Of course, her Mayan-Kiche heritage is greatly important to her, and her omittance of certain talking points about her indigenous tradition/knowledge reveals how sacred the culture is to her. Yet her the Christian influence in her life is notable too! She and her parents engaged with Christian mass and Christian doctrine.
She tries to marry these two belief systems together, which, to my mind, is always an interesting endeavor. As a personal aside, while I was not raised religious, at my current stage in life I prescribe to quasi Catholic-Taoist beliefs... It's an odd combination perhaps, but these beliefs are what appeals most to my mind (and I guess soul haha). It's a personal endeavour/struggle to remedy these two positions, but I feel that's what Rigoberta struggles with as well.
And, just a small mention, of course her relationship with Christianity is a harsh one as well, as, in the name of Christianity, horrendous things were done to native populations - yet her family and herself prescribe to some Christian beliefs. The question, here, is then silently asked: Are Rigoberta and her family prescribing to Christianity simply as a byproduct of colonial pursuits/indoctrination, or is these something actually appealing, truly of substance, in the Christian doctrine, and they are strong enough people to remove the abhorrent political Christian motives from scripture itself? An interesting thought for sure.
All the best,
Curtis HR