Week 10 - Rigoberta Menchu

 Hi everyone, this week I read Rigoberta Menchú and I quite enjoyed it. I found that it was easier to follow along with than any of the other books we have read so far. I believe this may have been a combination of the fact that it was autobiographical and also consisted of very short and straightforward sentences. These short and almost choppy sentences made reading feel fast paced and as though you were reading at the very speed of Rigoberta’s thoughts. Certain parts of the text seemed to use this format as a means of further sharing her tone and emotions, For example when discussing her early life on the finca, her sentences felt slow and as though she was still processing the great injustices of her surroundings. 

A major theme I noticed while reading was Rigoberta’s continuous desire to “be like an adult” or “feel like an adult” as a child. She often made reference to wanting to work and she was positively reinforced by the emotions of pride she gained when she was able to act like an adult and make money for her family, in the way her parents did for her. Her ever growing desire to grow up is a reflection of her strong willed character, as well as the realities of her childhood. Her discussions of her time on the finca, differed from those of other young characters in the books we have read so far. For example, it differed from Cartucho, in the sense that Rigoberta seemed to have some sense that her reality was in fact flawed, dangerous and unjust rather than simply a regurgitation of what she saw around her. 

Rigoberta demonstrates insight, strategies and reflection in her writings, with an added level of censoring. Though in this book we are allowed into her mind, we know that we are not getting the entire story. This notion of secrecy that Jon touches on, is one that I found also makes this novel stand out compared to ones we’ve read before. The last few pages of the novel follow what feels like the speech of a script, and I read it fast and passionately much like I would imagine she spoke them allowed. At the end of the book she states “Nevertheless, I’m still keeping my Indian Identity as a secret. I’m still keeping secret what I think no-one should know. Not even anthropologists or intellectuals, no matter how many books they have, can find out all our secrets”. I thought this was a powerful way of ending her writing, and was somewhat surprising to me after feeling as though I had just read her whole story. I think this was a moment of realization for me as it speaks to the fact that there are elements of her life that I may feel shocked and saddened by, but as someone who has never experienced that level of discrimination, I will never understand the extent of her experience. Her Indigeneity is incredibly important to her, and I think this is why although she values sharing her voice, there are elements of her life that she wishes remain secret. Elements that have been stolen from her in the past are the ones she keeps to herself. What do you guys think the significance of her choosing to tell us that she has chosen to keep this secret is?