The visual medium drives our world today. We do not need to use our imagination, but simply turn on TV, watch DVD’s, or look at pictures. How refreshing to read a novel where the visual pictures consist of words. One of the first things I noticed was Mera’s incredible ability to paint pictures using only words. The scenes unfolded like strokes of a paintbrush on canvas. To appreciate the words however, an individual also needs to be receptive to this medium. Have we lost the ability and appreciation of the written word? As much as I hate to admit it, TV was in its infant stages when I was a child and there was nothing such as videos, DVDs or MTV. I was dependent on words to capture my imagination. I wonder if our world today is so dependent on visual stimulation that we have forgotten how to use our imagination, appreciate what we read, and hear, which brings me to ask my next question.
Do families still tell stories of their lives to the next generation? How else can we understand our history unless we hear it or read about it? Fortunately, there are still cultures that pass their heritage on to the next generation through stories, songs and words. This tradition allows the explanation of culture, myths, ceremonies, beliefs and importance of families. This semester we are considering the relationship between family and literature. Words connect one generation to the next and literature can be that link offering far greater insight than even the visual medium can offer us. Is that what we are looking for: a greater understanding into where we came from and who we are now? Sometimes it is not what is said but how it is said. Other times words filled with passion and emotion allow hidden things to become known.
In these first chapters, we learn about the passion of first love between two people, the loyalty and devotion of family, the importance and preparation of ceremonies, the relationship between tribes, the desire of the church to ‘help’ the indigenous people and the horrible effects because of the interference. For instance, Orozco comes to realize his part in the tragedy that befalls his family. On page 133 we read “eres culpable – le dijo la consciencia - y en cierta manera tú mismo fuiste la causa del exterminio de tu familia”. We cannot gloss over the details, change the channel or fast-forward. We must read each word and experience the joy of first love, the love of family and the horror of revenge.
Cumandá is a love story. Cumandá is a young beautiful indigenous girl and Carlos is a young white man full of passion and life. They fall in love yet are from different cultures and ways of life. From Shakespeare’s ”Romeo and Juliet” to Sidney Poitier starring in “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner”, the theme of forbidden love is timeless. The influences and dynamics of family play a crucial role in the development of our relationships and as we will find out, Cumandá is no exception.
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4 comments:
Wow, I couldn’t have put it any better than you. Mera is great in describing the setting of where the story takes place and does an amazing job of making sure you get settled in before the actual story takes place. This story also makes you realize that the story of the family and its relations to the changing times in Latin America were also present on the side of the indigenous population. Cumanda and Carlos show the story of other Mestizo couples and how their love towards one another usually caused great uproar between the different families.
Cheryl, just one small point: I think it's probably more accurate to say that for Mera the church is in fact an unqualified good. Orozco turns to the church only after the massacre of his family, in part out of penitence for his previous oppression of the indigenous. Indeed, Mera suggests that if only the Jesuits had not been expelled from the country, the Amazon would now form part of a truly civilized nation.
Cheryl, gracias por tu post titulado The Power of Words, me gustó muchísimo. Es cierto en algunos sentidos que nuestra generación ha perdido el uso de la imaginación por la culpa de nuestra preocupación con los medios visuales. Mera nos enseña el poder de la palabra cuando describe el amor entre sus dos amantes en este libro. Es muy cierto que un imagen de una película no puede expresar lo que una palabra puede. Bien hecho Cheryl!
Good for people to know.
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