The first parts of this book is from the Spaniards view point and portrays them as the protagonists. The author, Clendinnen, says so in her introduction. Clendinnen's portrayal of the first meetings between the Spanish and Maya are taken in the form of detailed renditions using explorers accounts. In the scene where the Spanish are first attacked, there is a strong hollywood vibe that continues through the book. "Indian warriors, crested and painted, bodies swathed in quilted armour, and armed with stones, bows and arrows, and flint-studded lances, leapt from hiding and attacked."(Pg. 7) This vivd imagery draws readers in and makes them imagine the feelings of fear or shock the Spanish explorers might have had. Clendinnen overall lack of villains or heroes is due to her use of vivid imagery in every part of her book, and the later tellings of the book will be from the Indian perspective, and just as vivid.
Clendinnen does do a solid job portraying the good and the bad of the Spanish explorers. There truly was a lot of courage shown by the explorers and through this cinematic scope given by Clendinnen you see this."The first flight of arrows wounded thirteen Spaniards. It says much for the discipline of men who had never fought together before that they did not break under the first rush, but were able to regroup, protect their wounded, and after sharp fighting drive the Indians off."(Pg. 7) Some wanted to find glory, some wanted to spread Christianity, accompanied with a myriad of other reasons, but they all show the same courage in this scene.
Clendinnen, like the director she is, also gives us dramatic lines dealing with what the people in control consider victories. "The gold which obliterated the memory of suffering, and transformed disaster into triumph."(Pg. 13). This 'disaster to triumph' spoke of the amazing spanish defeat on the beach when "great armies of Indians" injured eighty Spaniards in the first volley. This lust for gold the Spanish leaders have is a nasty habit, and really undermines the ability for one to believe that all these explorers came her to be "heroes".
Clendinnen does not pick sides, she tells the facts and later on in this book, when the scope has shifted from Spanish to Indian, i feel the same flash and imagery will be used to describe the explorers.
I must agree with your post Andrew, at least for the Clendinnen section on the Spanish. seems like shes always trying to imply what they did was heroic. Going into an uncharted land with never before seen cultures, people, and warfare on a scale far superior than that of the islands they conquered before making expeditions to the mainland. but last weeks prompt got me thinking that even her writing is a little ambivalent. For example she praises Landa a man who even though is a man of the cloth and at that even a Franciscan does not display Franciscan qualities. Even though Landa acknowledges his debt to Juan Nochi Cocom "He had ordered the corpse of his old friend exhumed from holy ground and had watched it burn, along with the corpses of other apostates and the idols they had secretly cherished." How can a priest especially one indebted by his own words be so cruel as to deny his friend heaven in the afterlife? Although the Spanish are praised for their bravery in battle and in their persistence by Clendinnen he does, like you said Andrew, attack the greed of the Spaniards on a couple different social classes. The priest Landa is seen as greedy for power while most of the other Spaniards are greedy for precious stones such as gold, silver, and gems. On the other hand if we take a look at the Indian aspect of Clendinnen's writing I believe he considers and writes about them as if they were children. I believe this because when Landa is questioning them about the amount of idols they have in their possesion they "confessed to those activities freely"(Pg.170). Clendinnen is showing the innocence of children in this quote. I believe the Indians had no knowledge of the impact of the questions they were being asked . And yet they knew enough to hide the fact that they were practicing aspects of their old religion. In my onion their are no heroes or villains in this book just two cultures trying to protect and expand what they have, one the Spanish looking for monetary and spiritual value while the other culture( Indians) are trying to hang on and preserve their religion and ultimately their way of life.
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