Blog 4

For anyone who knows me, they know I love The Great Gatsby. first off I think the book is very good and I think the movie is even better. anywho, with that in mind, while I was reading the part in Cecilia Valdes about the party hosted by Mercedes, I found a lot of similarities between that party and the party that Gatsby hosts in F. Scott Fitzgeralds book. First off, I found similarities between the party guests. In the Great Gatsby, the guests are all kinds of people, different people from everywhere. some are poor and some are rich; some are famous, others are school boys. However, no one has an invitation. Nick Carroway seems to be the only one who received an invite and no one really seems to care whether or not people had been invited. In Cecilia Valdes, the only people invited seem to be the band, Cecilia and her friend, Leonardo, and Cantalapiedra. aside from that, people just start showing up. Similar to the Great Gatsby, the people who show up are from all different classes. there are whites and mulattos and blacks all there and, though they don't really seem to interact, they are still all in the same place and for the same reason.

Another similarity, I found, is between Cecilia and Daisy. Daisy is described as admired by all, and Gatsby specifically has these parties hoping that, someday, she will show up. Daisy is told to be a very beautiful woman who, upon arriving, is basically the center of the party. she is always accompanied by someone, whether it be Tom Buchanon, Gatsby, or Nick. She has boys falling for her left and right, though she is married to Tome Buchanon. Cecilia is very similar. She is very beautiful and dressed very well when she shows up to Mercedes Party. She is also always next to someone, this person being Nemesia at Mercedes party. She has boys falling all over her, particularly Pimienta and Leonardo. Whatever she does, everyone else wants to do. if she is dancing, everyone follows, when she sits down, everyone assumes that its time to eat and sits with her. she didn't want to leave the dancing early because she didn't want people to assume that she got tired and had to sit down, because that obviously is very terrible to do and you mustn't do that at a party (sorry guys, that was my touch of sarcasm for the blog).

However, with this comparison in mind, I found a lot of differences. The overall messages of the books are completely different. In Gatsby, I find the overall message to be not to live in the past, you have to get past the past (I'm funny sometimes) and move on. But in Cecilia Valdes, the purpose of the story to show the differences between the social classes in Cuba and how they interact. In Gatsby, Jay Gatsby throws all these parties in the hopes that Daisy may arrive some day so they can fall in love. in Cecilia Valdes, it is Mercedes "saint's day" or birthday, so that is the purpose of her party. Also, in the Great Gatsby, almost everyone was not invited to his party. In Cecilia Valdes, it was split mostly in half between those who were invited and those who were not.

Overall, when I was reading chapters 4-6, I was reminded greatly of the Great Gatsby. But I am not saying they are the exact same thing. I just thought the similarities were pretty cool and interesting how really the definition of a "party" and "the popular kids" is not really different over the years.

Blog 3

I just want to touch on how sarcastic Echeverria was in his story of the Slaughter House. I just thought it was interesting how he was talking about the people who were seen as the "civilized" ones: he talked about them in a somewhat normal but demeaning manner. It's so sarcastic you almost can't pick it up, and that was my problem when I first read it. It took me about close to the end to realize that Echeverria was a Unitarian and was completely making fun of the Federalists and degrading them throughout his story. I thought it was also incredible funny. I'm a strong believer in sarcasm and I love that Echeverria was so into it that readers(including myself) had to look over it and double check what he said to see if he was being sarcastic or not. I simply loved it. Sorry this is so short. I really just wanted to state the fact that he was so sarcastic and sarcasm is basically my life. Also, there really needs to be a snow day tomorrow. I will be really sad if there isn't. Actually, I wouldn't be completely sad. Just a little hurt.

Gabbie

Blog 2

I apologize so much for getting this blog up late. I'm not very good with computers and such. this past week I really liked the connection that some people made between nations wanting to design themselves off of Europe and disney songs. I thought it was a really good analogy and clever. it was really interesting to me also how nations would even want to have a foundation in European modern customs and traditions after they tried so hard to try to get rid of the European influence on them. I mean, all the places we have talked about had become independent of Spain or Portugal because they felt that there was too much power over them and then many individual problems. And then right after they declared independence, it seemed like they just didn't know what to do with themselves, so they looked towards Europe to help them out. Okay, so I understand why they declared independence and all that but I have just one question: why would they try to model themselves off of the nations that they tried so hard to become independent of? I mean, I'm not saying it was a bad idea. They needed something as a foundation to become a thriving nation. It just confuses me how some countries could fight so hard and shed so much blood over independence and then just kinda go right on back to being like them. They should definitely have some kind of idea of how they need to become a nation and what they have to do, but isn't the whole purpose of being independent is to be your own country? To be individual and different?

Gabbie Redpath

Blog 1

Hi! I'm a Biomedical Science Major with an emphasis in Pre-Physical Therapy. I love helping people out and I know that Physical Therapy is a great way to help others and help them work through an injury. I decided to take Latin American Civilization because of my trip to Mexico. Last spring break, I went on a service trip to Mexico and experienced the culture there. I saw some historical parts of Mexico City and served the poor in Mexico, a few days at a dump where people lived, one day at a poor community north of Mexico City, and another day at an orphanage. However, since we were doing service and not really being tourists, I wanted to learn so much more about Mexico's history and culture, and the history and culture of other places in Latin America. I saw the option to take Latin American Civilization on the list of sequences for the Honors College and thought that would be perfect. I find history much more interesting when it has to do with places that we are not familiar with, like Latin America. You are viewing most of what you learn from a much more unbiased point of view and, because you have never learned it before, it’s completely new and fresh in your mind. I’m very happy with my decision to take Latin American Civilization.

 

~Gabbie Redpath