Ya he leido la primera mitad de ... y no se lo trago la tierra de Tomas Rivera y pienso que me gusta el libro. Su manera de escribir es muy informal, y como han dicho unos otros en la clase, el libro parece que estuviera una novela para jovenes. Hay unos elementos, por ejemplo el diseno de la portada, la talla de las palabras, que parece que el narrador es un chavo joven, y la manera de que esta escrito, que nos dice que es un libro para jovenes, pero creo que las temas de que se trata son mas profundas.
Yo tambien estaba un poco confundida de unas cosas como de quien estaba hablando y de que edad tiene el narrador y del orden de los cuentitos que no parece cronologico. Pero de todos modos me gusta los cuentos y no me importa mucho si no tienen nada de orden ni si me confunden un poquito.
Lo que me gusta mas de ese libro es su manera informal de escribir en espanol. Ese texto es mil veces mas facil de leer que el de Marti que era lo mas dificil que yo he leido en mucho tiempo. Rivera usa muchas palabras coloquiales de Mexico y America latina, por ejemplo todos los personajes siempre dicen “n’ombre” o “m’ijo”. Eso para mi es interesante porque nunca he visto esas palabras en un libro. Tambien me gusta la manera de que Rivera uso expresiones como “por favorcito” y “Diosito” porque eses dichos diminutivas tambien son bien mexicanos. Yo tambien tome nota de que Rivera siempre escribe luego…luego y que tambien siempre habla de la verguenza y del orgullo y el coraje. Todavia no se porque el escribio asi, pero tal vez hablamos de eso el lunes en clase.
Creo que ese texto es muy interesante y es una manera facil de aprender sobre la situacion social y economico de la gente chicana en los anos 1950.
domingo, 28 de septiembre de 2008
lunes, 22 de septiembre de 2008
jose marti
Yo estaba leyendo esa lectura en camino hasta Penticton. Tenia mi mini-diccionario de espanol conmigo y tambien yo estaba con una amiga ecuadorana en la coche pero de todos modos tenia problemas con el lenguaje de ese texto. Al principio no queria leerlo porque tuve que buscar muchas palabras en el diccionario. Al fin yo decidi que no valia la pena busar todas porque muchas de las que no conoci no estan en el diccionario, y mi amiga ecuadorana tampoco las conoce. Decidi que seria mejor leer el texto y intentar de entender el sentido de la lectura. Jose Marti escribio eses cuentos con un estilo muy poetica y por eso creo que no es necesario conocer todas las palabras sino hay que sentir el sentido que el queria expresar.
Parece que a Marti le gusto escribir frases bien largas con mucha descripcion porque hay muchas frases asi en sus obras. Normalmente yo no soy muy interesada en la poesia, tampoco me da mucho gusto leer algo con tanta descripcion. Pero, despues de leer algunos de estes cuentos, me parece que no cuesta tanta trabajo que yo pensaba que iba a cuestar.
Ese parafo del cuento Fiestas de la Estatua de la Libertad es muy interesante:
"Vedlos: todos revelan una alegria de resucitados! No es este pueblo, a pesar de su rudeza, la casa hospitalaria de los oprimidos? De adentro vienen, fuera de la voluntad, las voces que impelen y aconsejan. Reflejos de bandera hay en los rostros: un dulce amor conmueve leas entranas: un superior sentido de soberania saca la paz, y aun belleza, a las facciones; y todos estos infelices, irlandeses, polacos, italianos, bohemios, alemanes, redimidos de la opresion o la miseria, celebran el monumento de la libertad porque en el les parece que se levantan y recobran a sus propios." (183)
Ese parafo explica, como otros que ha escrito Marti, el sueno que tenia la gente a llegar a los Estados Unidos. Aqui tambien Marti habla de los diferentes nacionalidades de la gente y con todas sus experiencias variadas que todos habian llegados a nueva york para empezar una nueva vida. Tambien habla de la estatua de libertad como un simbolo de esperanza y fe, que ese monumento permite que la gente pueden dejar sus experiencias de opresion y miseria en el pasado, en Europa, y que pueden empezar una vida mejor en los Estados Unidos.
La busca para la libertad todavia pasa hoy, que la gente quieren mudarse a los EEUU o a Canada para una vida mejor. Entonces ya me di cuenta que ese texto de Marti es importante para la vida de hoy y entonces voy a dejar de quejar y seguir leyendo.
Parece que a Marti le gusto escribir frases bien largas con mucha descripcion porque hay muchas frases asi en sus obras. Normalmente yo no soy muy interesada en la poesia, tampoco me da mucho gusto leer algo con tanta descripcion. Pero, despues de leer algunos de estes cuentos, me parece que no cuesta tanta trabajo que yo pensaba que iba a cuestar.
Ese parafo del cuento Fiestas de la Estatua de la Libertad es muy interesante:
"Vedlos: todos revelan una alegria de resucitados! No es este pueblo, a pesar de su rudeza, la casa hospitalaria de los oprimidos? De adentro vienen, fuera de la voluntad, las voces que impelen y aconsejan. Reflejos de bandera hay en los rostros: un dulce amor conmueve leas entranas: un superior sentido de soberania saca la paz, y aun belleza, a las facciones; y todos estos infelices, irlandeses, polacos, italianos, bohemios, alemanes, redimidos de la opresion o la miseria, celebran el monumento de la libertad porque en el les parece que se levantan y recobran a sus propios." (183)
Ese parafo explica, como otros que ha escrito Marti, el sueno que tenia la gente a llegar a los Estados Unidos. Aqui tambien Marti habla de los diferentes nacionalidades de la gente y con todas sus experiencias variadas que todos habian llegados a nueva york para empezar una nueva vida. Tambien habla de la estatua de libertad como un simbolo de esperanza y fe, que ese monumento permite que la gente pueden dejar sus experiencias de opresion y miseria en el pasado, en Europa, y que pueden empezar una vida mejor en los Estados Unidos.
La busca para la libertad todavia pasa hoy, que la gente quieren mudarse a los EEUU o a Canada para una vida mejor. Entonces ya me di cuenta que ese texto de Marti es importante para la vida de hoy y entonces voy a dejar de quejar y seguir leyendo.
domingo, 14 de septiembre de 2008
the drama continues
I'd say that what has most astonished me from this novel has been Hackwell's ability to manipulate most of the female characters. Hackwell is a very interesting character, he really did become the villain of the novel and quite a player as well. He has wooed Lavinia, Mrs. Hackwell (who dies) and Mrs. Norval however this does not suffice him and he attempts to win Lola. I really do feel sorry for Lola for she is taken advantage of, manipulated and lied to many times throughout the story. I just wish that she and Julian could be together, that's probably the most annoying part of the story. Her relationship with Julian is so difficult to maintain.
It also makes me think about the means of communication that were available in that day. All of the telegraphing, letter writing and traveling is quite comical, it seems that all the characters are constantly writing to one another and taking trains to maintain in contact. Ruiz de Burton does not make much of a fuss of how long these processes take or how they happen, it is simply stated, for example that Isaac goes to Mexico and that he returns. Ruiz de Burton does not romanticize the journeys or the waiting between letters or telegraphs nor does she hint at how long it would take for Isaac to travel to and from Mexico.
Speaking of Isaac, I'm confused about him. When he found the manuscript how did he not figure out that it was about Lola? It's really too bad that he didn't figure it out because it made everything more difficult. But, at the same time Ruiz de Burton did that on purpose to make more of a story I guess.
I enjoyed this novel way more than I would have expected. I thought Ruiz de Burton's use of the narrator that sometimes addressed the reader was clever, it made me feel more involved. While this novel had its share of drama and could be considered to be a little telenovela-like, the ending did not match the rest of the novel's drama. I too was lost by all the political ramblings in the conclusion and would have preferred a happily-ever-after story about Lola and Julian. But I guess the romantic plots of this book were secondary to the political plot that runs throughout the novel.
It also makes me think about the means of communication that were available in that day. All of the telegraphing, letter writing and traveling is quite comical, it seems that all the characters are constantly writing to one another and taking trains to maintain in contact. Ruiz de Burton does not make much of a fuss of how long these processes take or how they happen, it is simply stated, for example that Isaac goes to Mexico and that he returns. Ruiz de Burton does not romanticize the journeys or the waiting between letters or telegraphs nor does she hint at how long it would take for Isaac to travel to and from Mexico.
Speaking of Isaac, I'm confused about him. When he found the manuscript how did he not figure out that it was about Lola? It's really too bad that he didn't figure it out because it made everything more difficult. But, at the same time Ruiz de Burton did that on purpose to make more of a story I guess.
I enjoyed this novel way more than I would have expected. I thought Ruiz de Burton's use of the narrator that sometimes addressed the reader was clever, it made me feel more involved. While this novel had its share of drama and could be considered to be a little telenovela-like, the ending did not match the rest of the novel's drama. I too was lost by all the political ramblings in the conclusion and would have preferred a happily-ever-after story about Lola and Julian. But I guess the romantic plots of this book were secondary to the political plot that runs throughout the novel.
lunes, 8 de septiembre de 2008
It's better than I would have thought
I must admit that when I heard that our first novel was written in 1872 I was a little skeptical about whether or not I would like it. Generally, I do not enjoy historical writing; I have always preferred contemporary fiction with concepts that are translatable to my life and what I know. However this book has surprised me. While I do not love it nor would I choose to read it on my own, I do not find it a chore to read. sI actually might even enjoy it a little bit.
The first few pages were difficult to get through, but then as the drama ensued I began to think of it as a little telenovela. I have read a little bit of what others have blogged and I would have to agree that the characters are not very well developed and that the plot is a bit difficult to follow, however the melodrama is enough to keep me reading. While the novel is melodramatic it is also a very interesting commentary on the society in which Ruiz de Burton lived. I was most intrigued by the way she describes gender and power dynamics in the 19th century United States.
Ruiz de Burton exemplifies the way that women were perceived in that society by the comments made by male characters. Regardless of what the male characters say about women in that time, many of the female characters in the novel are strong and powerful women: Lavinia is a single woman of thirty-two who is a confident and capable of nursing. She is aware of how hard she works and she says this, however she still allows herself to be put down by Mr. Blower and she in turn also puts herself down. Mrs. Norval is a powerful and opinionated woman who demands respect and obedience, however she still allows Dr. Norval to make important decisions even if she does not agree with his choices. Ruiz de Burton offers an interesting look into the place of women in that society and how powerful men, such as the politicians with whom Lavinia and Mrs. Norval interact, perceive these women and shape their views of themselves.
Related to the gender dynamic illustrated in the novel is Ruiz de Burton’s commentary on reputation and power. She makes it very evident that one’s reputation is greatly affected by one’s political views, actions and friends or acquaintances. It is also clear that reputation is a big deciding factor for what advantages ares available to one in that society.
All in all I feel that this novel has done a good job of providing significant drama to keep me intrigued while also allowing me to learn a bit about 19th century society in the U.S. and the U.S. Civil War, topics about which I knew very little previously.
The first few pages were difficult to get through, but then as the drama ensued I began to think of it as a little telenovela. I have read a little bit of what others have blogged and I would have to agree that the characters are not very well developed and that the plot is a bit difficult to follow, however the melodrama is enough to keep me reading. While the novel is melodramatic it is also a very interesting commentary on the society in which Ruiz de Burton lived. I was most intrigued by the way she describes gender and power dynamics in the 19th century United States.
Ruiz de Burton exemplifies the way that women were perceived in that society by the comments made by male characters. Regardless of what the male characters say about women in that time, many of the female characters in the novel are strong and powerful women: Lavinia is a single woman of thirty-two who is a confident and capable of nursing. She is aware of how hard she works and she says this, however she still allows herself to be put down by Mr. Blower and she in turn also puts herself down. Mrs. Norval is a powerful and opinionated woman who demands respect and obedience, however she still allows Dr. Norval to make important decisions even if she does not agree with his choices. Ruiz de Burton offers an interesting look into the place of women in that society and how powerful men, such as the politicians with whom Lavinia and Mrs. Norval interact, perceive these women and shape their views of themselves.
Related to the gender dynamic illustrated in the novel is Ruiz de Burton’s commentary on reputation and power. She makes it very evident that one’s reputation is greatly affected by one’s political views, actions and friends or acquaintances. It is also clear that reputation is a big deciding factor for what advantages ares available to one in that society.
All in all I feel that this novel has done a good job of providing significant drama to keep me intrigued while also allowing me to learn a bit about 19th century society in the U.S. and the U.S. Civil War, topics about which I knew very little previously.
jueves, 4 de septiembre de 2008
hola
Hi everyone, my name is Heather, I'm a fourth year global resource systems (grs) student. That basically means that I get a science degree but that I take a bunch of arts classes :)
I'm focusing my degree on food security/ food sovereignty in the Americas...I think. It seems that my focus changes daily.
I'm looking forward to this class so I am hoping to be able to remain in it, since I'm now registered in 6 classes but really can only handle 4.
You can usually find me in Sprouts, in the basement of the sub...if you'd like to have coffee or soup at sprouts and talk about literatura chicana I'm sure I'd be up for it.
chau
I'm focusing my degree on food security/ food sovereignty in the Americas...I think. It seems that my focus changes daily.
I'm looking forward to this class so I am hoping to be able to remain in it, since I'm now registered in 6 classes but really can only handle 4.
You can usually find me in Sprouts, in the basement of the sub...if you'd like to have coffee or soup at sprouts and talk about literatura chicana I'm sure I'd be up for it.
chau
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