Tristan Trillo
Dr. Zelaya
CAS 115
12/09/2024
The biggest theme that I noticed throughout the Novelita, From Australia With Love, written by Mario Bencastro. The people from Las Hamacas use identity to find themselves after a war throughout their country. It is a tool that they use to persevere through traumatic experiences like your whole town getting murdered and raped and you are one of the only survivors. And also being one of the people who helped murder and rape a town and living with that guilt. This is what happened in the case of Rosa and Ramon in the Novelita, From Australia With Love. There is also a pride that people get when expressing their identity and a sense of community that you can find when being proud about expressing your culture, that is typically how communities of cultures start in cities around the world.
In Ramon’s case, he has a terrible background that is hard to erase especially if you showed the remorse that he has. This does not take away from the fact that he has committed some egregious acts that he and his peers have been living with their whole lives and some may not feel or have felt any remorse for their actions so the fact that Ramon claims he has trouble falling asleep at night and feels remorse for these actions. Ramon lives arguably one of the most difficult lives if this remorse he feels is real. He knows what he's done, he made the wrong decision; and chose the wrong side. And watched his family members and loved ones get murdered and raped right in front of him. He must feel like this is his fault, like he could have done something to prevent all this but the truth is if he had done anything he would have ended up dead like his family, friends, and loved ones. There is a certain amount of sympathy you can feel until you remember how selfish these actions were. He battles this self-conflict his whole life, erasing his name and moving to a new city. Yet he still has nightmares, “His biggest problem was his conscience, which made him feel so guilty he was never at peace. Constant nightmares invaded his dreams.” he still can't sleep at night. This is a sign of character change, Ramon knows that something needs to be done to his self-identity for him to feel connected with himself and the world around him and he believes that that thing is love. But in reality, he needs to accept himself for who he is and what he has done, relying on others is no way to heal yourself.
Then there is Rosa! She has withgone a horrific and tragic past where she also watched her loved ones die but could not do anything about it. Experiencing this intensity at such a young age is something that would mentally break many people. Rosa struggles a lot with overcoming these experiences but can find peace within herself, Australia, and her new family. She is a strong, positive, and passionate person who loses that sense of herself when her town is attacked and her people are murdered. She loses a big piece of herself but I think at some point she realizes all of the concepts, thoughts, and beliefs that her loved ones have left with her after their passing. And she uses this to help find herself again while in Australia, she finds connections with her aunt and nephew and tries to live a peaceful life. When Rosa says, “When I woke up, I was surprised to be alive. There were lots of naked, bloody corpses around me.” The fact that she goes into this with such detail is quite surprising and shows some sort of acceptance and growth since the tragedy. Yet like Ramon, Rosa also wants to find this love in her life but there is not much. When she is talking with Ramon she seems to have no interest in going back to El Salvador this is most likely because of her past and how she does not want to relive any experiences or even have any flashbacks.
Individual identity plays a big part in both Ramon and Rosa's lives. The cultural identity is something that they both treasure in their lives. They are connected through a community group chat which shows us that they have been communicating with many other Salvadoran people, allowing them to feel comfortable sharing their cultural experiences and expressing their love for their home. The first two emails to the group chat from Rosa and Ramon express the pride and love that they both have for their country. We don't see Ramon having other intentions until Ramon reaches out to Rosa. We see this hunger for a romantic relationship on Ramons part when he initially reaches out. Although he comes off as polite and courteous, leaving Rosa feeling like she can turn him down. He has a very sinister background and is trying to move on from his actions.
While they initially started to email back and forth the first thing that I noticed was the length that Rosa's letter had and the mass amounts of information that she would share about herself. Going in depth with her struggles and feelings about moving to Australia and later on about her past. Then Ramon would answer with maybe 3 sentences, no more than a paragraph. I guess you could take several different perspectives on this. You could think that Ramon is trying to seem cool and nonchalant, Ramon could just not like typing multiple paragraphs when communicating and would like to call instead. Or Ramon is just not very interested in their relationship right now because he knows about his past and knows what comes with sharing a life with someone. So he doesn't get too attached to Rosa before they completely learn about each other's pasts. I think the quote that gives this idea away most is, “He wasn't sure how to react to that emotional message. He thought perhaps he had abused the trust that woman had shown him.” But we never do get an explanation for short paragraphs or why exactly stopped replying to her at the end of the novel. We can only assume that it was because of his
The next thing that I noticed while reading the Novelita was how Ramon signed his messages, “El Malquerido” and Rosita signed her messages, “La Nostalgica”. I thought that this also played into these characters' theme of identity in the novel because we understand a little bit about how these characters see themselves, another name that they like to call themselves. In English “El Malquerido” means “The Beloved”. This could be a metaphor for how Ramon was once dearly loved until his actions put him in a terrible position. Rosa calls herself “La Nostalgica” which in english means, “the nostalgic”. Rosa most likely calls herself this because one of her biggest struggles that she faced was moving on from the past. So the name may bring a sense of sadness because nostalgia is when you are remembering a good and she calls herself this because she always remembers when things were good when she was living happily in her town, before everything went wrong.
After that, I noticed how Ramon reacted when Rosa sent her picture to him. While reading chapter 7 of the novel Ramon expresses his male identity. While carefully analyzing Rosa’s picture he starts to objectify Rosa and goes as far as describing and talking about her body parts. We see Ramon build comfort in doing so and it is simply just gross. This part of the novel is meant to express Ramons male gaze, which is part of his identity. What makes this extremely gross is that in Ramons past he sat aside and watched his whole village get murdered and raped or just murdered, he even aided in this war. So the fact that we find out how wrong Ramon feels about his actions, and then he shows this part of his individual identity when looking at Rosa’s picture. It is not only gross but it just doesn't make sense. How could you commit an action like that or go through that kind of experience, feel bad, and then become part of the problem? In the quote, “The truth was, the photo didn't reveal anything about the parts he would have liked to see…” At least he does not say anything to Rosa and keeps these thoughts to himself. I just wonder why he is even having these kinds of thoughts in the first place. This shows how although Ramon goes through these challenges he is still a gross person.
Another part of Rosa and Ramons identity is their hunger for love; we can see from the beginning of the novel that Ramon is very interested in the idea of having a wife. He reaches out to Rosa hoping that he can pursue this idea of them being together and as they continue to talk he shows Rosa that he can be a loving and caring person as well as a romantic. Through the perspective of Rosa, we see that she likes this attention and to be cared about. This idea is well conveyed in the quote, “Well, now that we've developed a good deal of trust-and love- Id like to tell you a memory…” This brings a question of if they would be able to get over each other's pasts and start a new life together. Sadly Ramon does not continue to talk to Rosa because he finds out that she was part of the village that he attacked and Rosa is left with this uncertainty of why Ramon left. They are both left with this sort of unrequited love. Ramon will never find out if Rosa would have loved him for who he is and Rosa doesnt know if Ramon stopped loving her. Although positivity and perseverance is a trait of Salvadorans, losing someone that you had been connecting with for over a year must have been emotionally draining and damaging.
Lastly, I would like to look at the Culture of Peace Program Methodology, created by La Coordinadora. I will not go through all 17 steps in this method but I will summarize its ideas and put it in my work cited page. This method is essentially created to build a connection between Salvadoran communities that share, and tend to each other’s needs. It would not only bring peace but it would bring relief. Knowing that other people have your back. This is what Ramon and Rosa were trying to accomplish by being in that online community but unfortunately, it was not as well organized as the method created by La Coordinadora. Something that I find very important about CPP is that it is optional. Many Salvadorans would love to share their experiences and trauma to possibly relieve it in some way. There were most likely many who wouldn't share these experiences with others. So giving these people an option to face their trauma head-on or not is very important, I think. Although there may be some cases where people are in denial or they may be scared to face their emotions. They know that there is a kind and loving community that has many people who have gone through similar experiences and would love to talk to them about their struggles.
Work Cited
Tristan Trillo
AIS 101
11/20/24
Dr. Teresa Williams Leon
Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee
In the Movie, “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee” directed by Yves Simoneau there are various concepts that are displayed throughout the movie that can be connected to learning in class but the underlying problem is the lack of respect to strangers as well as the separation of identity. These initial problems and disagreements lead to much more sinister actions in order for each of these sides to get what they want. People being murdered and taken from their homes, separated from their families. All so that the other side could have their way, Colonizers had no belief that the land could be shared at the time and many unforgettable things happened in the process of this removal.
There was even a point in time where Colonizers believed that they should “kill the indian and save the man” in these native peoples. Highlighting the fact that these colonizers had no remorse for someone of a different background. The narcissistic belief that your kind is better than another is complete blasphemy. It is absurd to think that there are people who think that they are superior to others because of their ethnic background or upbringing. Your actions are what reflects you as an individual or as a group. And the way that the colonizers had dealt with the natives displayed them as evil sadistic people. The irony of all of this is that this was one of the most religious times in U.S history. So the fact that there would be people out there who would go murder, rape and steal from native people and then go home to their families with a smile and before they go to bed they pray to god about how thankful they are for this wonderful life that they have and all the blessings around them, It is sickening. To live in a complete lie and be the most cruel human being and then to see yourself as a caring, delicate and communicative person.
The next topic from the movie that I was able to connect to a class discussion was assimilation and how it impacted the lives of Native Americans. In the movie we see an example of assimilation when the colonizers are fighting sitting bull. There is a town created for captured Natives who do not want any harm. They are placed in this small town with very bad living conditions. As the days grow cold and winter strikes we see the whole town get very sick and many people dying because they are uncared for. Charles Eastman, the doctor of the town is given a limited amount of medicine so he is not able to properly care for these people. This is an early example of assimilation and one of the least severe examples as well. As time goes on and stereotypes about native peoples start to grow. The patience of colonizers grows more and more thin. Leading them to fully dive into the “Killing the Indian and saving the man” concept.
This means going as far as breaking up Native families. Going up to a family and taking their children away from their parents. And doing the same to every family in said village. All so that these children could have an opportunity of growing up and learning the right way of living life. Except there was never a problem with said child's way of life prior to this kidnapping. It is just absurd to think that causing such a traumatic experience to a child at a young age to try and force them into a different way of living. But when there is some kind of revolting from the child they are physically and mentally punished.
Many Native children that were taken into assimilation camps or schools try to escape. In fact conditions at these schools were so harsh that some children who were not showing any signs of changing their ways were beaten to death. It seemed like beating,torturing and harassing these young children was a way for colonizers to release their anger. It is just sickening to think that these little children. These children were deprived of their traditions, culture and language in order for colonizers to “kill the Indian”. Over 500 boarding schools were created for Native children. They were even told that they could leave whenever they would like to. But when many parents reached out to schools to try to get their kids back. Schools would often lie to parents about acts that their children have committed or hold something that they had done over their head. Making that a reason for the kid to not be able to visit. For example, if you were caught trying to escape the boarding school there is no way you would be able to visit your family. But there have been some instances where kids who have done nothing wrong have still not been permitted to leave.
Sitting Bull is a prime example of someone who stands up to Assimilation in the movie Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee. He is portrayed as a strong and courageous leader that will stand up to anything in order to protect his culture, beliefs and people. His fighting is not only to protect the things I mentioned earlier but he also believes in protecting his identity. To keep his people and tribe, Sioux. Remembered and talked by people for decades to come. His dream was that his people wouldn't be forgotten and this shows how sitting bull would not let anyone kill his Indian.
After this I started to think about how Sitting Bull is also a great example of a Native Veteran. He is often viewed as a wise and experienced Native who has led his tribe-mates through various past victories. Many young natives in the movie would look up to Sitting Bull as a figure of power and pride in being native. One of the victories that Sitting Bull led was the battle of Little Bighorn, this battle was fought between the Natives and Colonizers. Overall, Sitting Bull is seen as a hero amongst the Sioux Tribe and has experienced a lot of praise in his life. On the other hand Sitting Bull has experienced a great deal of loss and grief. His character in the movie is a symbol of both of these things.
Throughout not only Native Veteran history but also just Veteran history in general there is normally a great deal of PTSD(Post traumatic Stress Disorder) that these people have to go through after fighting in battles and experiencing extremely traumatic events like this. Sitting Bull also portrays these intense and hard to deal with feelings and thoughts through his character in the movie. Having gone through such traumatic experiences losing so many of his tribe members who to him he saw as relatives. The connection that they held was so close and having to go through that grief as well as put on this mask because you know how many people are looking at you as a role model is just so impressive to hear about.
The way Sitting Bull struggles to find peace in his life after these events is what I think is the most devastating thing to see. We see that his victories in battles with his fellow Sioux bring him little contempt and he relies on his instincts when he is placed in reservations. Feeling like he is still in a combat zone at times he uses a display of physical intimidation many times throughout the movie to assert dominance, or in other words to say; “Leave me alone!” He is just a great example of finding Identity, control and comfort in life having everything taken from you. Even when it feels like there is nothing left for you in this life you keep your head up and keep going, it is a really admirable trait about him.
Then I decided to analyze Charles Eastman, who plays as the doctor in the movie. I connected him to Urban Natives, something we had learned about in class. An urban Native is described as someone who is not directly living on a reservation or may not even be directly connected to a tribe, but affiliates with the native community that exists in their Urban area. Many of these Urban Natives have experienced some sort of discrimination but not to the extent of Natives that live on reservations or. These Urban Natives are living in two separate cultures simultainously.
Charles Eastman is seen as a Native in the movie for several different reasons. The first example of his Urban Native traits in the movie is his tendency to lean towards Western beliefs as well as education. Although he was raised in a Sioux tribe by his father in a traditional setting. When he grew up he attended Boston University and then even decided to study and become a doctor. These decisions in life would make other Natives look down on Charles for switching sides although this is not the case. Throughout the movie Charles is seen as someone who is able to navigate through these two cultures. Talking and aiding other Natives that are in his village. And at the same time maintaining a healthy relationship with the people who are trying to colonize his land. The only moment in the film where he seems to have these two cultures converge is when he sees the aftermath of the tragedies that occured at Wounded Knee. At this point in the film it appears that Charles loses his faith in Western beliefs and realizes the horrible actions and decisions that these people have made.
The next thing I would like to do is emphasize Charles Eastmants struggles and downsides of being an Urban Native. More specifically, how this dual-identity impacts how he feels about his confidence in his own culture and identity.We see throughout the movie Charles feeling alienated from his people. There is a point in the film where Charles has a moment of self-actualization where he sees how he contributes to society and becomes aware of all of his good traits and qualities. But is still left feeling a bit empty because of his lack of connection between his people. Although it is very sad to see this happen to Charles, this is a representation of how many Urban Natives feel. As well as many other mixed ethnicity people. The feeling that you do not belong to any group, which is true; you are yourself!
After this I wanted to address decolonization. I had chosen decolonization to write about because it contains many of the different examples that I used previously. You can use all of these traumatic acts and experiences as good examples of how the culture and life of these Natives were stolen. The definition of decolonization is “the action or process of a state withdrawing from a former colony, leaving it independent. I would say that throughout the film powerful Native characters like Sitting Bull are prominent examples of decolonization because they are constantly trying to do anything that they can to return to how things were. To tell these colonizers to bug off and let them continue to live a peaceful life that they had been living their whole lives.
This constant struggle for sovereignty is something that is commonly known by people who are familiar with Native background. This abuse of people, technology and power is just sad to see how this is abused and used and even worse, how it is justified. Some people see Sovereignty as some kind of supreme power. But in reality it is just having a group that is self-responsible and efficient.
Overall I thought that this movie brought up so many concepts that we learned about. I feel like in watching this movie and making all of these different connections I was able to use critical thinking to make these connections. Not only this but it was a good practice to memorize or feel more comfortable in discussing these topics. Because I was constantly making these connections and coming up with explanations that I had previously learned.
Work Cited
https://boardingschoolhealing.org/education/us-indian-boarding-school-history/
https://www2.census.gov/cac/nac/meetings/2015-10-13/invisible-tribes.pdf
https://www.benefits.va.gov/persona/veteran-tribal.asp
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