Final Blog

Overall, I found Spanish 365 to be an interesting and useful class. After reading the wide range of texts, I have gained new knowledge of Spanish literature and appreciate it much more. As I had never used a blog before I was quite hesitant at first, but I soon realized that it helped with my understanding of the studied texts and was to my advantage. Group discussions in class further developed my understanding of the pieces and exposed me to different thoughts and opinions of others.

I appreciate the wide range of pieces presented to us by Jon; not only the type (such as poems, short stories and novels) but various regions, periods and themes were portrayed throughout the literature. Cumanda was a great novel to choose to examine interracial/ cultural relationships and since it is highly recognized in Ecuador. Neruda was one of my favorites since it was in poetic form, easy to understand and played heavily on descriptions. Mama Blanca was extremely boring, but it was good to see a different style of writing and observe what the introduction of modernization brought to the family. On the other hand, Piedra Callada was action filled and destructive, while the loss of modernization went together with devastation.

I definitely liked Cien Años de Soledad the most out of all the literary pieces. Even though the character list was numerous and hard to keep up with, themes presented were very intriguing. Family, solitude and incest were shown in a very creative and unique manner and the magic realism of the book kept my interest. Moreover, I liked how this was a more contemporary piece in comparison to the others which were more difficult to understand.

Cien Años de Soledad: Entry 4

I found Cien Años de Soledad to be a very interesting and well thought out novel. It was very intriguing from start to finish and in my opinion the ending was a perfect one as it made a full circle or connection to the beginning. It started off with the incestuous relationship between Ursula and Jose Arcadio while ending with the incestuous relationship between Aureliano and Amaranta Úrsula, resulting in a deformed child and the end of the Buendia family. This almost seemed inevitable as in the beginning Ursula and Jose Arcadio were worried that their child would bear signs of deformity. Also, incestuous relationships continued for the whole novel and the whole Buendia family (and Macondo) experienced a progressive destruction. It also seems that connections between the past and the present are seen throughout the book. For example, Meme enters a convent in the same town her mother came from.

As continuously stated in class, there seems to be a continued struggle to keep memories alive throughout the book and in the last section we continue to see this. Even though Jose Arcadio Segundo struggled to keep the massacre of the innocent plantation workers alive, their deaths were completely unacknowledged by the town, and instead forgotten and no trace of the banana plantation remained. Moreover, the destruction of Aureliano Segundo and Petra Cotes’ animals further showed the loss of the past. All in all, the eradiation of memory is predestined in this novel even though many characters try to conserve it by living in the past.

I definitely think this is a good book to end the course and would recommend it to others.

Cien Años de Soledad: Entry 3

As the story develops, time continues to pass by quickly and marriages, births and deaths continue to occur frequently.

I definitely like Ursula’s character in the novel because I feel she has strength which many others do not possess. For example, she has been blind since the birth of her son and she has not let this interfere with her life, enabling it to go unnoticed by using scents, shadows and her memory to guide her. Also, throughout all this time, she appears to be more together than most of the family members as she is still able to keep the house in order and take care of others while appearing rather mentally composed.

Solitude seems to constantly come up often as the family members suffer from this in their own way. Amaranta closes herself off from others as she foresees her own death and leads a solitary life while Colonel Aureliano Buendia realizes his solitude will watching the circus passing by the house. Not only do the characters suffer individually, but also as a collective group; for example, it says “solo despues de la muerte de Amaranta, cuando la familia volvio a encerrarse por un tiempo en la luto….” On the positive, Aureliano Segundo was able to cure his solitude by caring for his daughter and having a role in her life.

Not only is there a continued destruction of the family, but of the town, which demise is inevitable.

100 Años de Soledad Continued

As I continue to read this book, it gets more and more interesting and every page is packed with new events. What is a bit frustrating is that more and more characters get introduced and intertwined with the Buendia family. Not only is the amount of characters hard to follow, but the names of characters (for example the children of Arcadio) overlap with the initial characters of the novel. I don’t really understand why everyone has such similar names and the fact that the “sons” of Colonel Aureliano Buendia’s military expedition are all named Aureliano doesn’t really help.

The topic of incest seems to come up a lot in this book; for example, Aureliano Jose having a liking for his own aunt. Maybe this is trying to show how we have a tendency to want what we can’t have, but on the other hand, incest is not natural or normal. So, I’m not really sure why this seems to be such a dominate theme in the novel.

Furthermore, the novel just continues to get more outrageous, with more incest, bestiality, the two brothers sharing the same girl and it just seems to continue.

I am very intrigued by 100 years of solitude because I really don’t know what’s going to happen next and the suspense is what makes this a good book in my opinion. With the new found connection that links Maconda with the outside, I am really curious to see what will result of it.

Beginning of Cien Años de Soledad

So far I am quite enjoying Cien Años de Soledad by Garcia Marquez. I am finding it both easy and hard in that the word usage and style of writing is more contemporary and easy to read than Cumandá or Mama Blanca, yet characters are harder to follow. There are quite a few characters in this novel and Marquez refers to a lot, such as aunts, grandparents and acquaintances that I find myself having to read carefully.

From the start, I found the book to be pretty intriguing; the gypsies, the magic and the town of Macondo all demonstrated Marquez’s creativity and imagination. Moreover, the book seems pretty eventful and interesting to read. I like in the very beginning how Macondo and the gypsies are being described because the isolation and magic of the town and transformation by the gypsies seem very mystical and supernatural. For example, “todavia no tenemos un muerto” and the gypsies provided “un millar de invenciones.”

The intrigue of the novel also came with the slow development and disruption of the town, such as the missing son and the first death in the town.

A few themes or topics that have come up thus far include incest, lust/sexuality, and power of the gypsies.

Although not very far in the novel, I’m looking forward to continuing and discussing it in class to better analyze it.

The Course Thus Far

In general, up until this point, I have thoroughly enjoyed the course material and differences in literary pieces that we have studied. I liked how Cumanda focused on the difference between the distinct indigenous culture of Cumanda’s family with that of Carlos'. Mama Blanca was a good contrast, although not as exciting, in that it enabled us to learn more about family life and interaction within the hacienda.

Moreover, I also found it interesting how Mama Blanca revealed destruction with the progression to modernization, while Piedra Callada was the opposite which really emphasized their differences.

My favourite piece would be Veinte Poemas by Neruda since the style of writing and chronological format of the poems appealed to me greatly. Piedra Callada was another piece I liked a lot because it was action packed and full of drama and the character of Eufrasia was quite extreme. The one reading I was not fond of would be Las Hortensias because the story was just too bizarre, weird and a bit creepy for my liking. I didn’t like how the story revolved around dolls which feed Horacio’s and Maria’s imagination and obsession.

I have never read Cien Años de Soledad so I am looking forward to starting the book and learning more about it!

"Piedra Callada" by Martha Brunet

“Piedra Callada” by Martha Brunet was an eventful, attention-grabbing yet violent story which mainly revolved around the conflict between Eufrasia and Bernabe.

In my opinion, Eufrasia’s violence was rooted in her love for her daughter, Esperanza, and how she wanted better for her child’s life. She was opposed to their marriage from the start, threatening her that she would no longer have a mother if she married this beast. As the story continues and conflict and violence grows stronger between the mother and Bernabe, she says “Claro que otra como la Esperanza no va’hallar.” This makes me feel that all her violence is coming from the hurt inside of what has become of her daughter and how she deserved a husband that could offer her more in life. Furthermore, I think this story is a good example of “Mother knows best” since if Esperanza never married Bernabe, this mess would have never occurred between the two families.

In the beginning, I felt somewhat sorry for Esperanza because she whole-heartedly loved Bernabe and wanted to marry him, but her mother was completely opposed to her wishes. “Ambicion de madre que tal vez queria un hombre con mayores posibilidades para marido de la muchacha…” (36). It’s interesting how different in personality and physical appearance the mother and her son in law are; Bernabe is described as a “bestia…con un nez enorme…y una frente estrecha” and often answers with a grunt (40), while Eufrasia is seen as cold and firm. As the story develops, I begin to sympathize with the children; they become victim to the violence and furious behavior of the family and have Bernabe as a father, and after all, in the end, they are left without a mother or father.

Teresa de la Parra: Las Memorias de Mama Blanca

I didn’t exactly like “Las Memorias de Mama Blanca” by Teresa de la Parra as I found it very boring, rather tedious and confusing to follow. I didn’t find it exciting or interesting at all and wouldn’t recommend it to others. But, on the upside, I did learn more about the culture and upbringing of Parra and her family on their hacienda and their life as an upper-class, privileged family.

I liked how this book was realistic and showed different sides of Mama Blanca. From the first Chapter, I got the impression that Mama Blanca was a very caring and harmonious individual as “su trato hospitalario, [es] una muestra natural de su amor a los humildes.” Although poetic and emotional in character, in the later chapters, her strict, rather narracistic and beauty-consiencious side was reaveled by Parra.

This family was not a typical family as non-relatives played a large role in the family’s life. Evelyn seemed to engage the most with the girls, caring for them and she was favoured by Mama Blanca due to her love for order and strictness. I found it rather sad the mom left for Caracas often and the Dad was not very warm to his children as he hoped for a son to begin with.

The children seemed rather spoiled, as Mama Blanca says “no sean tan desobedientes!” and since they played games and had a lot of leisure time, which I suspect was not the commonality of children at that age at that time, but I’m not quite sure.

I liked the character of Vincente because I found it gave the book a different dynamic and showed the life of the servants and other less-privileged workers on the Hacienda and their interaction with the family. Parra describes him to be passionate, full of heroism, faithful and basically an individual of excellence. The dad’s character was revealed when Parra made a parallel of his interaction with Vincente with a Christian persecution, since the father was cruel and intolerable. Parra uses rather harsh words and descriptions when addressing her father; “se abrio la puerta con violencia y lleno de arrogancia,” “cruel” “[el] dijo terrible” are examples of words and phrases associated with her father.

On a whole, I did not enjoy “Las Memorias de Mama Blanca” as it was boring, somewhat hard to understand and follow, and tedious to get through. Hopefully the next book will be better and more eventful!

Pablo Neruda: Veinte poemas de amor y una cancion desesperada

I definitely enjoyed reading “Veinte poemas de amor y una cancion desesperada” by Neruda as I found it romantic and enjoyed the storyline of the poems. I liked how the poems progressed and really showed the change of the author’s feelings towards his love. The first demonstrates his strong physical attraction towards this women; Neruda states, “cuerpo de mujer, blancas colinas, muslos blancos” (31). The first few poems seem to show his passion towards her mystery, allure and beauty. The feeling of the author seems to slowly shift from passion and intrigue to love and sadness. At the very end, I found his style of writing to be very effective, using repetion and word choice, to make the reader (at least for me) feel sorry for him and better understand his sorrow.

This last poem (page 109) was my favorite because of the repetition (“puedo escribir los versos mas tristes esta noche…”) and his dramatic change in mood to sadness, frustration and loss. “Ya no la quiero, es cierto, pero tal vez la quiero…aunque este sea el ultimo dolor que ella me causa, y estos sean los últimos versos que yo le escribo” (110-110). I also noted that this was quite a dramatic switch from his mood in poem 18 when he says “y como yo te amo, los pinos en el viento”.

I also liked reading the poems because they showed how infatuated and intrigued he was with this woman by his words, which in turn showed how well he can express his feelings and make the reader sympathize with him.

After reading the poems, I feel that perhaps he was infatuated with the woman and adored the excitement and secrecy of their relationship opposed to the actual woman . Page 67 states, “nadie nos vio esta tarde con las manos unidas” and page 32 , “me sed, mi ansia sin limite.”

Spanish 365: The Second Half of Cumanda

The second half of Cumanda, in my point of view, was much more eventful than the first. There were many more elements of suspense, for example at the end of chapter 11 when “Cumanda contuvo el lloro por atender y observar,” intriguing the reader to continue. Moreover, I found myself wondering how the novel would end and knew something tragic would result with the constant references to death and the several attempts made on Carlos.

The theme of relations among different cultures was a main focus of “Cumanda.” It was interesting that the love between Carlos and Cumanda was an exchange and sharing of different cultures, for example the sharing of the Christian faith and cultures of the indigenous people (for example, during the Fiesta). At the same time, this novel portrays the difficulty of mixing different cultures together and the problems they face to be accepted by the other, and moreover by society. Mera showed, through this novel, the Indian societal norms and views at that period and how the intrusion of “el blanco” was shunned upon and not accepted.

The second half of the book continued to portray Carlos’ poetic and romantic nature of speech, for example on page 190 (“jamas abandona al que pena y llora…fiemos en sus manos nuestra suerte, y vamos, vamos, Cumanda”) and on page 267. Although nice to read at times, I found it a bit tedious to read through. Futhermore, I found the events around the brother/sister or incestuous relationship between Cumanda and Carlos a rather surprising development to the storyline.

This book was a typical romantic-tragedy, but I did enjoy it since it revolved around main characters, an interesting plot, and personal matters such as the family and ethnic relations. In this sense, it was much different that previous novels I have read in Spanish 364, for example “Brevisima relacion de la destruction de las Indias” by Las Casas, which took on a completely different point of view.

Spanish 365: Cumanda, Chapters 1 to 10

Cumanda, by Juan Leon Mera seems to be a very interesting, descriptive and informative novel which is based around a love story between an Indian girl, Cumanda, and a European, Carlos. After reading the first ten chapters, I have gained more knowledge about the lifestyles, scenery and nature which the indigenous people flourished in. The author does a great job of describing the scenery and portraying it not only as miraculous, but foreign to the Europeans inflicting “peligrosos y sopresas” (Mera, 89). He uses a lot of exaggeration to get across his point, for example “millones de millones de arboles” and “palmas que parecen gigantes” (Mera, 90).

I appreciate Juan Leon Mera’s use of poetic devices in his descriptions, such as metaphors, and detailed descriptions of customs, towns (such as Andoas) and nature (the rivers and the forests) because I am able to imagine what it would be like for the European explorers. From his descriptions, I can imagine the scenery as heavenly since he emphasises the abundance and diversity of flowers and scents found in the area. Chapter three was interesting in that he describes the Tongana family as harmonious and mutually cooperative, enabling readers to understand the indigenous lifestyle and culture better. Furthermore, Leon Mera does a great job in describing his observation of the different nomadic tribes, and how travelling among them can be dangerous and necessary precautions must be taken.

My favourite part thus far would be the exchange of words between Cumanda and Carlos when they profess their love for one another due to the romanticism; “tu presencia me transforma” (Mera, 111). I like Carlos’s poetic nature as he has a “corazon de poeta” (Mera, 136). I also liked Chapter ten's use of poems and events around Cumanda y “el blanco.”

Overall, I have enjoyed the first ten chapters, since they are interesting and descriptive in my opinion, and I am fond of Leon Mera’s style of writing.

Spanish 365: Assignment 1

Spanish 365: Assignment 1
The Relationship between Literature and Family

Literature is a principal method of expressing ones feelings and insights, but it also reflects society and culture by the stories or accounts the author documents. Authors may write about stories of family interactions and what is the norm for the family structure in the given time period and culture. Furthermore, we may also use literature of different time periods to infer what the typical family structure of the past was or how society and culture played a role on the family system. In a cultural sense, families differ from region to region; they may be groups tied by genetics or just by a common area, such as a town, and literature portrays their existence and illustrates their differences. Many stories describe everyday routines a family faces and the roles of the family members.

Moreover, literature often tells stories of extraordinary families to spark interest to readers and make the piece interesting in order for it to be successful. It may describe struggles the family faces in life in order to develop the story and make it of interest. Families in literature may be compared to one’s own to determine what makes a happy, dysfunctional, strange or exceptional family according to the author, and it enables the classification of one’s family.

Literature can describe the relationship between the genders, such as between husband and wife, and therefore, reflect societal views and norms in that given period. It also describes cultural differences of family types and norms; for example, various pieces demonstrate relationships between members of a community, such as a town, as a family system. In this type of family, each member of the community plays a different role (such as the income earners and caretakers). In this sense, readers gain knowledge of how different family systems function and exist.