My Favorite Text

This semester has not only offered me an insight into the Latin American culture, but an in depth perspective to a person’s character and nature. My favorite text that we talked about this semester was Ines of My Soul.  This book helped me gain a better understanding of the conquest of Latin America.  It described the conflicts between the Spaniards and the native Indians, the way the Spaniards treated women and slaves and the spiritual views of the Spaniards.  I found it very interesting how their motivation for exploration was based on obtaining gold, their past time was used to drink and have their way with women, and their tactics to get the Indians to build their towns.  This might sound harsh, but that is what I saw on the surface of the text regarding this culture.

It made for an interesting novel, but what fascinated me most about the novel was the main character of the novel, Ines.  I grew to appreciate her as a strong, independent woman.  At the beginning of the story, her free-spirit caused her to be condemned to a life at home without a husband, however, we find that her free-spirit and independence does not allow her to settle for this and she goes in search of finding her husband.  In actuality, we find that she used that as an excuse to find freedom and adventure for herself.  I appreciate her willingness to not give up when they were in the desert and about to die of thirst.  Her resourcefulness saved them.  I also appreciate her willingness to sacrifice herself for the sake of those around her when it comes to fighting for her people.

The main reason why I enjoyed this text is because I felt a connection to this woman and could relate to some of the same character traits that she possessed.  It was inspiring and educational.