In reading the book “Go and come back” I was taken to a place that was described the way I remember camping in the jungles of Belize. From constantly swatting bugs away from myself to bathing in a creek, the village described in the book seemed very minimalist with only a place to sleep and a place to cook for each family. The people of the village lived off the land and each person played a role, when the men would go deep into the woods and hunt if they brought back an animal he would share it with the whole village, and that was expected. When two American anthropologists, Joanna and Margarita decided to stay in this particular village the dynamic changed.
The book was narrated by Alicia, a teenage girl described what the cultural norms were in her village. She talked about interactions, expectations, and things her views on relationships it seemed she was constantly confused as to why Joanna and Margarita did what they did and felt most times that they were dumb. In this case I believe Alicia’s “dumb” basically translated to being different, I
The two women studied and lived in the village for a year, when they first arrived they did not feel as though anyone owed them anything more than they had paid for and in return they did not owe anyone anything either. The village however felt that because they were outsiders with many things that they did not normally have access to like beads, that they should be generous and give much of what they had away. Towards the end of the book when Joanna and Margarita had already been there for a while they started to feel like they were a part of the village. At some point a couple of missionaries showed up to talk to the village about hygiene or something along those lines. During the missionaries visit they had many things and suddenly Joanna and Margarita started viewing the outsiders as the village had once viewed
When John Grady meets Alejandra, he sets himself up for a situation that provokes conflict. This doesn’t seem to bother him, since John Grady is not content to live a life without risk. If anything, it may be that John Grady falls in love with Alejandra because of the potential conflict with her father, the powerful Don Hector. He finds conflict more appealing than harmony because it conforms to his ideal of the dangerous West. When John Grady tells his friend, Rawlins, about his first meeting with Alejandra, the author use...
Upon returning to the Dominican Republic after many years, Yolanda decides to take a trip across the island––something her family views as ridiculous. “‘This is not the states’ . . . ‘A woman just doesn’t travel alone in this country.” (9) This quote highlights the sexism inherent in Dominican society. Yolanda’s family is asserting that women are not individuals capable of taking care of themselves. On another hand, Yolanda’s close friendship with Mundín causes tensions as their mothers confront them about crossing gender lines. “My mother disapproved. The outfit would only encourage my playing with Mundín and the boy cousins. It was high time I got over my tomboy phase and started acting like a young lady señorita. ‘But it is for girls,’ . . . ‘boys don’t wear skirts.’” (228) This is an example of how Dominican societal norms and gender roles have impacted the sisters. Yolanda and Mundín were the only boy-girl playmates out of all the García children, yet this was frowned upon by both of their parents as to not impede the seemingly inevitable growth of Yolanda’s femininity, and conversely, Mundín’s masculinity. Moreover, this shows how societally-prescribed gender roles were instilled in Yolanda at a young age. However, this is not the only way in which women’s freedoms are
Wade Davis’ article, Among the Waorani, provides much of the content brought to light in Nomads of the Rainforest. His article delves deeper into their culture and motivations allowing one to more fully understand their beliefs, relationships, and savagery. Both the documentary and article attempt to create a picture of their close-knit relationships and their desire f...
? . . . it made no difference if they studied medicine or had the right to vote, because they would not have the strength to do it, but she herself [Nivea] was not brave enough to be among the first to give up the fashion.? (6, Ch 1) The women in this society are dependant on the dominant male figure to handle political and economical duties. This point of view is intended to mimic the older generation of women ad present a foundation for the growth of an enlightened generation. Allende uses this excerpt to present a foundation of structure to the novel by beginning with the extremes of opinion, which are followed in the novel through different generations. Alba for example, become a very outspoken activist by trying to attend the student protests and follow Miguel on his demonstrations, a sharp contrast to the indifference or shallowness found in her great grandmother.
This book is a story about 4 sisters who tell their stories about living on an island in the Dominican Republic , and then moving to New York . What is different about this book is the fact that you have different narrators telling you the story , jumping back and forth from past to present . This is effective because it gives you different view point’s from each of the sisters . It may also detract from the narrative because of the fact that it’s confusing to the reader . This is a style of writing that has been recognized and analyzed by critics . Julia Alvarez is a well- known writer and in a way , mirrors events that happened in her own life , in her book . Looking into her life , it show’s that she went through an experience somewhat like the sisters . I interviewed an immigrant , not from the same ethnic back ground as the sisters , but a Japanese immigrant . This was a very
The entire book was leading up to the murder of the notorious Mirabal sisters which also put into perspective how oppressed these people were. Not only did this book give the reader an insight on the life of a citizen of the Dominican Republic between the years of 1930 and 1960 but, it showed how an oppressive government could affect the people in both negative and positive ways, using the sisters as examples. Obviously, negative aspects included citizens being jailed and killed by their own government. In a situation such as this, fear was in every person, whether they were brave enough to join the resistance or not. Families were torn apart, as shown in the book. Minerva, Maria Teresa, and their husbands, along with Patria’s husband, were taken from their children, home, church and family to be jailed for going against the government. Alvarez vividly describes the hurt that came to the families when they were broken apart. In jail, the sisters and husbands were also physically ill. They were being starved and being diagnosed with pneumonia which was not unheard
Gender, ethnicity, and sexuality are core components that create a solid identity. In the western world Jolene is known as a bisexual Latina female. She is bisexual because she is sexually attracted to men and women, she is a Latina because she is a mixed company of Puerto Rican and German American, and she is a female because she has the physical attributes of a woman. Although gender, ethnicity, and sexuality are all relating factors, they are also separate units of identity. Gender refers to physical attributes and traits that make one appear to be male or female. Sexuality refers to how one feels about their body, one’s sexual orientation, and one’s sexual attraction for others. Ethnicity refers to a group of people who share the same cultural background and heritage. Lopez uses these three different factors of identity and crafts them together simultaneously to suggest the damage of stereotypes. Throughout the novel, Lopez’s Flaming Iguanas highlights the conformity of sex and gender stereotypes, and addresses the socially constructed stereotypes to challenge the patriarchy and expose the damage it does to one’s search for selfhood. Jolene exemplifies how they damage one’s sense of self as she ventures
Tales of a Female Nomad provides a welcome reprieve from materialistic societies. This book can transport readers to places where self sufficiency is the standard. Many of her stories give a refreshing glimpse at what makes up true communities. These stories would horrify a xenophobe, but are peacefully enrapturing for those who hope for true freedom, emotionally, mentally and spiritually.
There was an encounter with the sister in law of a Lima merchant, a misunderstanding with Catalina’s brother over his mistress and other occasions being betrothed to women in the New World. At one point in her travels she comes very close to dying on the way to Tucman from Concepcion. Two men on horseback save her and they take her back to their mistress’ ranch. As gratitude for saving her life she helps tend to the ranch for about two weeks. The mistress is so overwhelming thankful to Catalina that she offers her daughter for her to marry. “And a couple of days later, she let me know it would be fine by her if I married her daughter—a girl as black and ugly as the devil himself, quite the opposite of my taste, which has always run to pretty faces.” (28) These instances happened a lot, where because of her hard work throughout her life she was offered many women to marry. Those engagements, however, ended after she exploited the situation and rode off with gifts and dowry
Set in the time of the Mexican Revolutionary War, the De la Garza family consisted of Mama Elena and her three daughters. “The most significant, life-changing activities women carried out in the Revolution at the outset were related to their families” (Monk). The oldest daughter was Rosaura, followed by Gertrudis and then the youngest, Tita. Tita’s father had died shortly after Tita’s birth. They lived on a self-serving farm where all members were expected to help. Each female had chores that were to be completed without complaint. Even though the fictional story revolves around recipes, other gender based ideals are revealed. “These activities were no longer carried out inside four walls, causing family survival to become essential” (Monk).
Kumaraswami (2007) identifies that the females presented are stereotypical in their nature; this is to say that they either exist in the domestic atmosphere or that they have lost their purity due to being forced into the revolution. Although Camila and Pintada are complete opposites, the similarity lays in the fact that they both fit different parts of society at that time: “En combinación, forman una síntesis de dos extremos irreconciliables que se le presentan a la mujer mexicana y entre los cuales tiene que escoger” (Clark, 1980). In this sense, the mexican women were in two different situations, those who wished to remain traditionalistic and those who sought self-advancement through the likes of previously considered male characteristics. One can see the traditional character through Camila, Azuela has ensured that initially Camila would fit the traditional role of the female, caring, weak, and doting to the men’s needs. Thus Camila seems to be a flat stereotypical character that is expected to appear in novels of this era if women were to appear at all. Nevertheless, the character of Camila becomes more dynamic as Los de Abajo develops, thus she becomes more of an indication as to how women involved in the revolution did not remain ‘sana y buena’. On the contrary, the almost paradoxical characteristics of Pintada seem to confuse Azuela. Pintada is an emasculated character but only in the sense of
Between the years of 1985 to 1987 Conklin spent a total of 19 months living amongst the Wari’ tribes. Her primary source of gathering information was to interview the Wari’ about their own culture and history. Performing return trips to the Amazonian society in 1991, 1999, and 2000 Conklin was able to confirm her gathered information by asking different Wari’ about their beliefs and cultural history. Amongst Conklin’s interview subjects were dozens of elderly Wari’ who could remember the life before the outside world had become a major influence. They c...
the story in the Phillip Whitten and David E. K. Hunter anthropology book of No
In her book Around the World in 30 Years, Barbara Gallatin Anderson presents a convincing and precise representation of the many aspects that go into the being a cultural anthropologist. Her visually impacting story follows her around the world throughout her personal career. The attention to detail and thorough explanations make the reader feel as though they too are an anthropologist. Anderson uses a unique structure of information throughout the chapters of her book. An example of this is found towards the beginning: “In this, as in many other anthropological issues, fieldwork is to theory as air is to fire, illuminating the enticing scope of culture’s complexity.
The “Girl” written by Jamaica Kincaid is essentially a set of instructions given by an adult, who is assumed to be the mother of the girl, who is laying out the rules of womanhood, in Caribbean society, as expected by the daughter’s gender. These instructions set out by the mother are related to topics including household chores, manners, cooking, social conduct, and relationships. The reader may see these instructions as demanding, but these are a mother’s attempt, out of care for the daughter, to help the daughter to grow up properly. The daughter does not appear to have yet reached adolescence, however, her mother believes that her current behavior will lead her to a life of promiscuity. The mother postulates that her daughter can be saved from a life of promiscuity and ruin by having domestic knowledge that would, in turn also, empower her as a productive member in their community and the head of her future household.