Translated from Spanish to English - www.onlinedoctranslator.com Summary: Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca's account is the account of experiences with the Narváez expedition and after being shipwrecked on Galveston Island in November 1528. Cabeza de Vaca and his last three men fought to survive. They wandered the Texas coast as prisoners of the Han and Capoque American Indians for two years, while Cabeza de Vaca observed the people, picking up their ways of life and customs. They traveled through the southwestern United States, finally arriving in Mexico City, nearly eight years after being shipwrecked on the island. Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca's account is one of the earliest descriptions of Native American cultures and the geography of the region in which they lived. Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca was the son of a Spanish nobleman and a woman of African origin. He served on Pánfilo de Narváez's expedition to the West Indies in 1527. The expedition was looking for a route through the island of Florida to reach the gold mines of Mexico. The expedition split into two groups in November 1528. Cabeza de Vaca and his three companions were captured by Han and Capoque American Indians and taken to the Texas coast. For two years, Cabeza de Vaca observed the life of the Indians and learned their language. They traveled through the western United States until they reached Mexico City, eight years after being shipwrecked. Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca's account is one of the earliest descriptions of Native American cultures and the geography of the region in which they lived. Cabeza de Vaca was a keen observer and wrote a detailed account of his experience. His account is a valuable source of information about life in the 16th century in the southern United States and northern Mexico. Opinion. Shipwrecks by Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca is a central text in colonial studies. The events narrated in this unsuccessful expedition allow us to appreciate not only a change in the vision and representation of the New World and its inhabitants, but also the power that writing has. It is important to note that its author needed to justify the failure of that undertaking, that is, to show that, although the tasks entrusted to them could not be carried out, other types of works were carried out that favored the kingdom. In this way, Alvar Núñez was able to present himself, in the eyes of the king, as a good servant, since, in addition, his ultimate goal was to obtain royal favor for a new expedition to the New World. The Shipwrecks are not the exalted relationship of a victorious deed; are, instead, the story of a failure whose negative sign he seeks to erase with writing. The unfulfilled purpose of the expedition - to conquer and rule - is positively replaced by another, which is a rhetorical feat: to inform and convince. Literature devices. Similar: At the beginning of the story, the subject finds himself immersed in a group of Christians. From the position, he is being built in opposition to another group, that of the indigenous. To analyze this first representation of the subject, as a member of a group. In the work, this distinction is raised between the two societies that, from the point of view of the subject, do not have any common trait. It is important to point out that, when Alvar Núñez posits the impossibility of communication, due to mutual ignorance of the respective languages, he is admitting the total differentiation between the two groups. This initial disagreement is decisive, since the incapacity of language or communication translates into the elimination of any possibility of knowledge. This is clear in the text; Spaniards not only cannot understand the indigenous language, but they cannot do so in relation to other cultural practices, such as, for example, the funeral rite. Archtype: It is clear that, in the first moment, the subject is not constructed in his individuality, but from his belonging to a society. From the successive difficulties that the expedition must face, a gradual individualization of the subject is produced. Although he continues to act within the group of the conquerors in opposition to the indigenous, his individuality against the group is accentuated. The first step in this process occurs through your refusal to follow the advice of the expedition governor. When asked about the measures to be taken, Alvar Núñez expresses his opinion, which is opposite to that of the others Thus, the subject opposes the authority, emphasizing, then, that, had he followed his point of view, the results of the expedition could have been different. This difference of opinion causes the governor to try to separate Alvar Núñez from the. However, he refuses. The reasons he alludes to point to the values of the group to which he belongs, such as honor, that is, despite beginning a process of differentiation, the subject is still included within the original group. atmosphere: As problems occur, shipwrecks, hunger, diseases, etc. the subject is going to move further and further away from his group and get closer to the one he considered the opposite of him, since he sees that he needs him to survive. Because of this, a new appreciation of indigenous qualities begins to appear. It is important to highlight the fact that, when speaking of the indigenous people, Alvar Núñez refers to them as “people”. This guides a new look, since the indigenous ceases to be "the savage" to assume the category of person, thus sharing certain traits with the subject. This first step is what will make it possible, later, to reach a certain degree of identification. antagonist: After the last shipwreck of the expedition we are going to find a new representation of the subject. Here, Alvar Núñez definitively breaks the ties that bound him to the initial group and approaches indigenous life, knowing his customs and beliefs and adopting many of them. The rupture is presented from two fundamental facts: his rise as the person in charge of the “expedition” or as the person in charge of the survival of the few survivors of the successive shipwrecks; and the fact of having lost everything and been completely naked. From this new position, Alvar Núñez begins to know and accept many of the indigenous customs, and even to adopt them. It is important to note that, although all the survivors act in a similar way, it is the author who will lead them to do so. Many of his companions will be wary of accepting the help of the indigenous under the pretext that they are going to eat them. Here an element of the imaginary of the conqueror is present, which is that of cannibalism. Regarding this, we will see a new reversal of roles, since the cases of cannibalism narrated in the text were carried out by Spaniards. This fact is very significant, since, during the process of conquest and colonization, the indigenous people were forced to learn and adopt the language of the conqueror. Instead, in this text, the reverse process occurs, Reading skills: Cause and effects: We can link this component with a totally different image of the indigenous in relation to that of the conquerors. Both the charitable traits, as well as those detailed below, endow the natives with a human character. Let us remember that, in the view of the conquerors, the Americans did not become human, they were savages, beasts or producers of materials. In this text, the gaze changes and becomes more equalizing, although not completely, a fact to which we will return later. Answer: The elements are important because they rescue many qualities of the indigenous people, such as ingenuity, science, courage, etc. For example, we see how a properly Christian practice, such as blessing food before eating it, is transformed by the incorporation of an indigenous practice: blowing. Summarize: Synthesize elements of the two cultures is also differentiating. In Christian discourse, the dialectic between good and evil is absent, that is, the ability of the shaman to both heal and harm. Alvar Núñez takes advantage of this aspect of shamanism, forgetting the message of Christianity itself. This is significant insofar as it implies a differentiation, but in the opposite direction to that stated in the discourse of the conqueror. Alvar Núñez does not impose the Christian discourse on him, but rather takes the shamanic one and makes use of it. Identify assumptions: The author is assumed to be part of an indigenous group. Although the representation of the other is, once again, that of a group that opposes another outside group, the group to which they belong is not the same. The use of "we" no longer refers to the conquerors and the feeling of belonging, that is, when speaking of "what is ours", no longer reaches the original group. The opposition is now: us / the Christians. This new representation of the subject is accompanied by a new look at what was previously the other. In the example that follows, the moment of recognition and mutual acceptance between the subject and the indigenous person is captured in writing.
