A Critique on the Brujas and Curanderas - A Lived Spirituality - Essay Example

The manner in which the speaker presents the issues that she wants to discuss, as well as the perspective that she presents upon these issues, give the reader a significant amount of information about her identity. The general theme of the essay is represented by the condition of the Hispanic women of a middle class condition in today’s American society. Throughout the essay, the speaker constantly uses the pronoun “we”. Therefore, we can deduce that the speaker is a Hispanic woman, with a low to middle level income, living on the territory of the united States of America. She belongs to the upper low class. As far as the education level is concerned, the speaker seems to have completed her highschool years. It is also worth underlining that the speaker assumes her identity and uses it as an argument in order to support her thesis. The intended audience of the essay is represented by all the women who have the same characteristics as the speaker. In other words, she addresses other women of Hispanic race who live in the United States and who are marginalized because of their low incomes, low level of education and last but not least, because of certain “spiritual” practices. These women may be seeking for a solution to their daily problems and the speaker provides it. However, for the solution to be accepted, it is important to have an audience which has a cultural background which allows it to. The targeted group that has been described in the lines above fits this criterion. The subject of the essay is represented by the so called witches and healers, brujas and curanderas. These are Hispanic women who, through their beliefs in magic and in various gods, as well as through ancient practices manage to cure health problems and succeed in having happier lives than the other women who are part of the same social group as them. The speaker starts by presenting the status of the Hispanic poor woman living in the United States. The presented figure is that of a victim, of a person whose gender and race contribute to her being oppressed by the others. The speaker sets a goal for this woman, a goal represented by happiness. And she presents the way to reach this goal: through the belief in the practices of the brujas and curanderas. Brown women are presented as repressed. Being a brown woman, the speaker speaks with the tone of a revolted person in that condition. There is a clear opposition made between white and brown women. Despite the fact that women are generally presented as having been and being oppressed, the brown women are considered to be even more severely unappreciated. There are various binary oppositions that the speaker emphasizes throughout the essay. The main opposition that the speaker addresses is represented by the one between male and female. Right from the beginning of the essay, the role of men in history is presented as having been essential and it serves as a comparison term for the one of women. Already from this logical construction we understand the speaker’s perspective upon the relationship between male and female as not being one of equality. The roles of the woman are enumerated as wife, matron and daughter, all of them positions inferior to the status of the male. On the contrary, men are represented as having always been in a position of power and dominance to the point of deciding for women as well. The speaker though, considers that the importance of men is by no means as big as they have gotten used to. It is from this perspective that one must interpret the essay when it presents arguments supporting artificial insemination and relations between persons of the same sex, explicitly referring to women. Another important opposition that the speaker discusses is represented by the one between tradition and modernity. The latter one is presented as being more destructive for the brown woman of poor condition living in the United States. Tradition however is presented as the key to reaching happiness. Associated with the past, tradition is a reminiscence of the times when people were living in a better world. It is through beliefs and practices inherited from the ancestors that the brown women can (and must) lead their lives in order to be happy. The modern society is a patriarchal one. Therefore, it is a place where women can not be truly appreciated, nor allowed to express themselves. The solution that the speaker presents is the return to the past, to the ancient beliefs in a supreme goddess and all their implications. While the past I associated with creation, the modern times and its resources (such as nuclear power) are underlined in their destructive potential. A third opposition that the speaker examine sis represented by the one between white women and brown women. White women are not dealt with generally speaking, just the educated ones who are part of the middle class. However, since the opposition is made between white women and brown ones, the classification of the former ones turns into a generalization. What both categories have in common is their feminist position. Nevertheless, as the white women are fighting for their rights only, they are perceived and presented by the speaker more as whites than as women (the race being the fundamental criteria once the white women break the bond which ties them through their gender). The language that the speaker uses is extremely important and interesting to be analyzed. What draws attention right from the very beginning of the essay is the use of the collective pronoun “we” which gives the impression that she is speaking on behalf of the entire group that she describes. The fact that she includes herself in the group the position of which she defends, contributes to her credibility and enhances the power of her arguments. These are presented in a logical order. Supportive evidence is brought in the form of quotations. These are used in order to underline the speaker’s beliefs and to deconstruct other people’s ideas. There is a strong emotional charge in the text. The speaker uses the pronoun “we” written in capital letters in order to create a stronger reaction of adhesion and emotion in the reader. The constant links to widely accepted explanations which are provided for various terms give the reader the impression that there is scientific support for the ideas. The speaker often uses concrete examples in order to illustrate and support her concepts. The text is divided into three parts, and an additional posts scriptum, each of them treating a different matter. All of the sections are well divided. Ideas are defended in a logical manner. The speaker presents an idea that she considers to be wrong and then brings all the arguments needed to destroy its validity. The speaker also makes clever use of language. First she identifies the needs of her audience “we must address” and immediately afterwards she provides the solutions with the help of the verb “ask”. One means of obtaining the support of the audience is through praise “we do well”. The repetition of the construction creates a crescendo which comes to the climax with the construction “we know well we do well” (action supported by knowledge). One of the matters that the essay brings into discussion is represented by the beliefs of the Catholic and the Christian churches. These are compared to the beliefs of the Mexican religion. The religious beliefs are an important component of the people’s way of thinking and behaving. They are in many ways defining of them. In this case, the religious beliefs serve as a differentiating element between Whites and Hispanics. Since the solution that the speaker provides has a spiritual dimension, it was only logical to bring religion into the argument. The problem is represented by the inferior status of the woman. This status was created by the man, who, in order to install his supremacy, conceived a superior male figure to whom everyone must submit. This is the religion of the Whites and thus, the source of the problem. In opposition, the ancient Mexican beliefs have to do with a supreme female figure which gives women their deserved importance. The essay as a whole is a supportive argument for the Hispanic feminist movement (xicanisma). Despite the fact that the rhetoric instruments used by the speaker can be persuasive for the targeted audience, there are various problems with the ideology itself. Just like any feminist movement, it supports the recognition of the female rights. But, by constructing itself in opposition with the white feminist moves, it contributes to racial discrimination. This conflict based on race undermines then bond that should be supported by gender and diminishes its chances of success. In addition, the movement is supported and supports magic, which is not a very rational, nor a very pragmatic thing to do in this century and in this cultural environment. Furthermore, the solutions which it provides have nothing to do with concrete measures that might improve the condition of Brown women in the US, measures referring to education and wages, healthcare and social support for example. Last, but not least the movement attacks Christian and Catholic religion which has a lot of undesired implications and might give birth to a lot of controversy due to the fact that the attack is not based on solid philosophical conceptions. The feminist ideology comes along with numerous problems itself. It is true that women have been undermined for a long period, but it is also true that shouting out loud that women should be given power upon the world will surely not solve anything. The problem is that women are fighting for supremacy when hey should instead be fighting for the defense of their rights as persons. The main logical issue of the essay consists in the analogy between man and god. The core of the problem is thus transferred into the religious area. Opposing Christian and Catholic religions to the Mexican one means putting two cultures in opposition. This has profound implications that the speaker fails to take into consideration. Under these circumstances, the solution that she provides (the ritual sauna) is nothing but ridiculous and could just serve as an argument for the ones against the rights of women. It is extremely difficult to impose itself even in a slightly big environment. When human rights are involved there are however various entities around the world who have the necessary authority to do things in the correct manner. Any cause must be rightfully supported. The main argument that that speaker presents (saunas, witchcraft) not only are improper to support the case, but they position her as wishing to start a conflict. This is the reason for which the essay does not stand as a valid argument in the defense of the rights of the Hispanic women. Read More