¶ … Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver. Specifically it will discuss how Kingsolver portrays Native American and Hispanic people in the novel. Codi, the main character in "Animal Dreams," returns to her small hometown of Grace, Arizona, after a long absence. She learns to love her past and her family during her return, and she encounters her high school sweetheart, a Native American who wants to settle down with her. Throughout the novel, Kingsolver portrays Hispanic and Native Americans favorably, and even idealistically, but her writing style and devotion to her subjects make these idealistic portrayals succeed in the novel. Codi and her family are Hispanics, although Kingsolver never really states this in the novel. It becomes clear as the novel progresses and the culture of Grace becomes known. Their real names are Hispanic, many of the townspeople are Hispanic, and their celebrations are all based on Hispanic celebrations, such as the Day of the Dead at the opening of the book, and the "little fiesta" Emelina organizes for Labor Day weekend. Even the pinatas the children play with are part of the Hispanic culture. Kingsolver seamlessly blends all of these elements into the book, so the reader is aware of them but not too aware of them. They seem like the elements of any American culture, things that are traditional and commonplace in any community, which is one way she manages to portray Hispanics with dignity and sympathy. They do not seem different or alien; they simply appear as "normal" everyday human beings. This is one way Kingsolver portrays the Hispanic community favorably, by not making...
Animal Dreams: Real Life Reflections of the Effects of Pollution on the World's Fertility Continued inadequate attention to the world's rivers, lakes and streams will ultimately result to mankind's demise. To ensure the productivity and viability the earth in the future, mankind must start working together to protect the physical environment and ecological processes or face destruction. Government legislation and community action related to this issue up until this point in
consequences of the human condition is the abusive manner in which people can treat each other, sometimes without even consciously realizing it. Although even otherwise-loving and happy couples who appear to "have it all" may experience emotionally abusive behaviors from time to time, when these patterns of behaviors persist, they can work an enormous toll on their victims as well as their perpetrators. Unfortunately, studies have shown time and
Poisonwood Bible," by Barbara Kingsolver. Specifically, it will respond to this quote: "Misunderstanding is my cornerstone. It's everyone's come to think of it. Illusions mistaken for truth are the pavement under our feet. They are what we call civilization." MISUNDERSTANDING Everyone lives under illusions of some type of another, and some illusions are absolutely necessary for sanity and the success of civilization. If we truly believed everything in print, on the
African-Americans, as members of a group who were forcibly migrated to America are not immigrants, and Native Americans are the original inhabitants of this land. But Chinese-Americans such as Amy Tan, although she is a daughter of willing immigrants to America, also experience identity conflicts. In "Half and Half" Amy Tan explicitly identifies her protagonist Rose as feeling half American, half Chinese in a manner that often makes her feel
As Margaret Atwood points out, Americans have as much to be ashamed of as to be proud of. When Barbara Kingsolver claims "The values we fought for and won there are best understood, I think, by oil companies," she refers to the way the American flag has been distorted. The issues the flag symbolizes, such as freedom and liberty, are myths for many people. As Kingsolver points out, the American
Tender Mercies: Breakdown and Reconstruction of Characters' Faith in the Poisonwood Bible In The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver uses Biblical references in part to delineate the differences in her characters' relationship to religious faith as they deal with their father's participation in the Western assault on the Congolese. These differences in levels of faith that her characters experience are Kingsolver's primary method of characterization in the novel. Although all of the characters
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