ipl-logo

Analysis Of The Alhambra

2485 Words10 Pages

The Alhambra is constructed on two distinct levels which are equally important for its creation and which will be addressed separately: the level of 19th century Spanish-Moorish world which entices Irving by means of customs, manners and the divers traits of its inhabitants, and the level of Moorish legends and folklore. The first part of the analysis will examine the first aspect and the way it is depicted in this work, but not before briefly stating that the coming of Irving in Granada took place in a period of deep turbulence for Spain as a nation due to monarchal matters, losing the colonies in South America and the precarious conditions of rural life (Bertrand and Petrie 316-322). Very few of these situations surfaces extensively in the …show more content…

We are introduced to a new, but traditional space of culture where people`s natures unfold in front of our eyes: the inn. It is a place of gathering and also of the fantastic and mythical, often being associated with the entrance to a new world or time. As Dorsky explains in one of his essays on Irving, the latter relies heavily on visual images and minute descriptions in order to give the reader the impression that he is being a part of the action (232). The portrait of the hosts is an exact example of the affirmation above, since it is an in-depth account of their personality originating in their choice of clothes. Brother and sister, the innkeepers preserve something of the yore, “the bold, fiery spirit” (Irving 38) as we are informed, which pertains to the traditional Spanish behavior of a maja and, respectively a majo, a lower class person. An important fact to be noted is that no metaphors are used in the account of these two characters` appearance, the language is clear and although the words are most carefully chosen, to my mind the lexical field to which they belong enables the reader to enter the world of the text without any discomfort. Therefore the apparel, stylish and somewhat too ornate, represents a part of the traditional cultural heritage and through these meticulously created images of the people, Irving seeks to put an emphasis on the European-oriented side of their character. But how are these Spaniards still partly Moorish? For answering this questions, it is necessary that we should turn out attention to a passage from Thomas Bourke`s book of early 19th century about

Show More
Related

Judas At The Jockey Club Summary

1602 Words | 7 Pages

Throughout the Porfirian era Mexico had struggled to develop as a country and move towards any steps of progress up until the year of 1910. In William H. Beezley’s book Judas at the Jockey Club he considers this period on Mexican history to begin around 1876 and he points out many of the social, economic, and political factors that helped shape the foundation for modern Mexico. Beezley also looks at some of the regular aspects of the daily lives of Mexicans. Whether it be the sports and recreations, ceremonies and celebrations, or jobs and work that are part of the Mexicans everyday live, he uses these aspects to illustrate the extent of the two main culture groups of Mexican society. The two main culture groups in Mexico were the Los de Arriba,

Read More

Summary Of Down The Santa Fe Trail

1028 Words | 5 Pages

This intermarrying came with a mix of culture, and Magoffin benefited most from being able to be immersed in Americans who respected the Mexican culture, and who also adopted the Spanish language, thoughts, dress, and diet. In this unique, multicultural environment she was able to confidently assume that Americans had a great capacity to be open-minded and, at times, ethnocentric. Places like Ben’s Fort, gave solace to these tolerant types of people and those who embraced other cultures, because it was so far removed from the eyes of the judgmental East. During the times her husband worked, Magoffin was free to be able to account all the experiences and culture she encountered by diligently writing in her diary every

Read More

Macaria's Daughter Analysis

1149 Words | 5 Pages

In the altar’s center is “a plaster image of the Virgin of Guadalupe, quarter-life size, its brown Indian face staring down on the woman” (Paredes 23). The implication of the stare is of criticism as the Virgin, symbolic of an ideal Mexican womanhood, looks down on Marcela, whose Anglo features starkly contrast with the Virgin’s, and whose actions are in opposition to the values that she represents. This carefully constructed scene is meaningful. Marcela’s lifeless body lies between the bed and the altar, and opposite to the altar is Marcela’s shrine dedicated to Hollywood movie stars. These are the visual images of the opposing forces that characterize the Mexican-American struggle for resistance against American cultural hegemony.

Read More

The Decolonial Imaginary Summary

1190 Words | 5 Pages

She poses more questions and introduces more concepts which leave the reader with this bittersweet feeling of nostalgia. In part three she touches on the subjects of genealogy as it pertains to desire. She extrapolates form the ideas of Sigmund Freud’s theory of the Psyche to argue how the Oedipus complex has left its imprint on Chicano/a cultures. She juxtaposes four “cultural bodies”, Selena, La Malinche, Delgadina, and Silent Tongue, which if read from a third space feminist interpretation shifts the perspective to unveil women’s desires through their own agency. She analyses the Oedipus complex and introduce the Oedipal conquest triangle.

Read More

Inga Clendinnen In Fierce And Unnatural Cruelty

1376 Words | 6 Pages

Unlike DBC Pierre, Clendinnen has a more rigid contextual application to her history, having studied Anthropology and therefore approaching the Aztecs through the intensely human aspect, in the manner of history from below. In dealing with the reasons for defeat of the Aztec Empire, Clendinnen focuses on the intensely intimate and brutal cultural practices of battle and further war. She focuses intensely on the cultural forces, as defined by humans, in losing the war - and she raises the question of the adaptability of the Aztec Empire to the Spanish terms of engagement. She provides interesting insight into the inability for both the Spanish or the Aztecs to understand one another; clearly influenced by her background in Anthropology. Undoubtedly, her contextualisation of the downfall through the insuperable cultural clash and demands of ritual, that is hand to hand combat only and the criminal death system in battle is reflective of her familiarity with Anthropology - certainly her character dissection of Cortes is done in an intense, anthropological detail.

Read More

La Noche Boca Arriba Analysis

1707 Words | 7 Pages

Discuss and analyze how and to what ends fantasy and reality are intertwined in stories you have studied. In this essay, we will discuss how magical realism uses elements of real and of magic to create the literary style. At first, we will try to give a background of what magic realism, where it comes from, and how a story can be labelled as such. Alejo Carpentier’s “Viaje a la semilla” and Julio Cortazar’s “La noche boca arriba” will be our focus.

Read More

Jacob Lawrence's This Is A Family Living In Harlem

506 Words | 3 Pages

The family shows signs of being part of either a low or poor class based off the conditions of the household they are living in and the bareness of their apartment. For instance, the dining room is extremely small and the kitchen seems old and worn out. Correspondingly, the family members seem to lack personality due to to the simple clothing they are wearing. However, the bright colors found interior of the home create a contrast between the dreary environment of the household. This helps convey the message that although the family may not be as economically stable and live a dull life, they still happily interact among one another and come together every evening to have a meal together.

Read More

Figurative Language In 'The Facade Of Gatsby's Parties'

329 Words | 2 Pages

The mention of Castile illustrates that the partygoers have such elaborate clothing, even the Kingdom of Castile would be jealous. As the night goes on, “the air is alive” and “the lights grow brighter.” Both metaphors encapsulate the buzz and conversation of the soiree, and how even inanimate objects feel alive, like they are people at the party.

Read More

Summary Of Caramelo By Sandra Cisneros

1046 Words | 5 Pages

One of the area of conflict that rose in the book involves the usage of the English language in relation of the family’s native language, Spanish. As a Mexican-American raised in the States the exhibition of the English language, whether the use of the tongue is fluent or not, cause a strain in the Mexican culture as the culture takes in consideration of their romance and richness of history in their native tongue (Rothman 204). Language represent the supporting backbone of a person as the progress in life as the ability to communicate without misunderstands, however a person can cause the loss connection to the past romance of the culture and art of cultivation that brings the language to lifes from their inabilities to comprehend the ability/asset to its fullest potential (Rothman 204). To fully understand the true meaning behind a spoken chain of words can be understood by the method of trying to first comprehend the cultivation of the word and the definition behind them. Cisneros embeds the use of Spanish in fragments depicting a sense of reality within a fictional novel, Caramelo, as well with the use of interchangeable dialogues with spanish phrase to express the illustration of Celaya’s family and the culture in which is translate in of importance of pride.

Read More

The Other Side Of The River Analysis

709 Words | 3 Pages

In this paper, I will describe the concepts of meaning and social audiences and show how they are illustrated in this novel. Many believe that meaning is based on one’s behavior or choice of action and how it reflects a person; however, that is not necessarily true. The essence of evil, immoral, and unjustifiable acts do

Read More

White Women In Early America Essay

1647 Words | 7 Pages

Early American social hierarchies differed markedly for women of color—whether free or enslaved—whose relationships to the white regimes of early America were manifold and complex. Throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, women in the colonies of the English West Indies and Carolinas, particularly women of color, were seen as subordinate by white male slave owners because of race and shared oppression of the female gender. However, these women were a means of economic gain for white slave owners. Taken from Africa to the New World as slave laborers, white slave owners valued these women for their ability in domestic work and fieldwork where they performed primarily unskilled agricultural tasks, as well as their potential to bear children. White slave owners of the Early Americas, driven by greed and opportunism, used political laws, physical characteristics of women, and social constructs of gender roles to appropriate

Read More

Of Cannibals And Of Coaches Montaigne Analysis

425 Words | 2 Pages

In Montaigne’s essays, Of Cannibals and Of Coaches, he examines the way of life and culture of those in the New World, and compares them to that of Europe. Through his examination of the people of the New World, Montaigne gains a unique perspective compared to many Europeans around him at the time, in which he seems to favor the culture and people of the New World over that of Europe. Although Montaigne starts these essays with seemingly unrelated topics such as motion sickness, this is his way of preparing the reader for what he really wants to say, which is a criticism of his own culture and people of Europe. In Montaigne’s Of Cannibals, he shares information about the strange way of life of the “noble savages”.

Read More

Calderon De La Barca's Life Is A Dream

1821 Words | 8 Pages

The very act of cross-dressing itself was subversive, especially in Spain where costume was hugely important, not just on stage but in real life. Literary critic William Egginton notes in An Epistemology of the Stage, that when it came to costume the "Spanish public was extremely sensitive to such signifiers of class and could not, for example, tolerate or comprehend a scene in which the signs of social status presented by costume and speech would conflict". (402) With the audience so sensitive to costume details, what must they have thought about Rosaura 's male attire? Women dressing as men was a common device used by playwrights in the Golden Age (mujer vestida de hombre ) and one wonders was it merely because it was practical?

Read More

Rhetorical Analysis Of The Myth Of The Latin Woman

965 Words | 4 Pages

The author mentioned popular media people (like Rita Moreno) and literary characters (“Mammy” from Gone with the Wind) to show the source and the deepness of stereotypes. She includes dialogues and description of own ruefulness during the current event to create more emotion-oriented essay. Several main issues and single words are highlighted with the aid of italics, like the word ripen (Cofer 4) that showed boy’s expectances to Cofer’s sexual behavior. Was it author’s choice or not, the decision helps readers to see an important topic.

Read More

Sweatshops Impact On Society

1825 Words | 8 Pages

Abstract The global garment industry, worth more than $400 billion dollars today, is a very lucrative industry. Garment factories in developing countries working for retailers in developed ones shows how efficiency is increased and every party can benefit through outsourcing of labour from developed countries; retailers and consumers get clothes at cheaper prices while employment is provided to areas plagued with poverty. However, it is evident that many of these garment factories are sweatshops, which are factories and businesses that violates local or international labour laws, such as providing workers with atrocious working conditions, providing minimal compensation or even employing child labour. Like it or not, many of our clothes does not come ethically and they have probably encouraged labour exploitation in one way or another.

Read More

More about Analysis Of The Alhambra

Related Topics

Open Document