Olivia Schienke

 This week in class I had a great time learning how to do different Spanish dances. It was a great way to relax and destress after the semester. I really enjoyed listening to the different kinds of music in Spanish. It was fun to be able to get a glimpse into the Latin American culture. I also enjoyed being able to be social with the whole class and have a good time with everyone. I think this was a great way to end the semester and to reflect on all of the hard work we have done to get here. 

 Hey Victoria! I also thought it was very intriguing how the idea of Voodoo and magic fit so well into the book. When I hear of Voodoo, I think of some crazy magic that is not real, however, in the book, it was weird to see how normal it was and how well it fit the story. I also found it interesting to think that if everyone believes in the magic, what is stopping it from being a real thing.

 This week we learned about Simon Bolivar and how he was remembered as somewhat of a villain although he was one of the most influential people when it came to the independence of Latin America. Bolivar did not give up on helping Venezuela gain their independence even though he failed multiple times. This made him one of the most important people in the history of Latin American independence. He fought for Venezuela until he was able to free it. However, he was not meant to be a dictator, he was meant to be a military leader. He did not manage the expenses of the country well and the economy was destroyed which led to Bolivar being exiled and hated by many. Although he caused great change, in the end he was seen as a traitor. Looking back on the great determination Bolivar had, we see the great influence that he left on the history of Latin America and that he was not so much a traitor, but a hero.

  Hey Ben! I also thought that the idea of petit marronage was very interesting. It was a way of these slaves to reiterate to their masters that they still had human rights. In doing this it gave them some power over their masters and the relationship became a two-sided thing instead of just the master controlling the slave and the slave completely submitting.

       This week what stood out to me was the book that we read, The Autobiography of a Slave. In the book, Manzano, a mulatto slave tells his story about his life. It shows the differences between how masters treated their slaves and how slaves thought and did things. With his first master, Manzano was treated as a son to her. He was raised with an education and was never punished. When she died, however, he was under the ownership of a much harsher mistress. This is where he realized that he was a slave and he was beat and treated like he was not human. He lived a very sorrowful life and through this book we are given insight to the thought and feelings of slaves at this time. Also, being a mulatto, at times he was treated like he did not belong anywhere. This would create conflict in his head and give him a sense of being lost.      This autobiography shows us how dehumanized slaves were and gives us information on how these slaves could try to gain...

  Hey Annika! I like how you brought up the term slave as still being somewhat present in todays society. Even though it is not literal slavery, there are people out there who have jobs that they are overworked in and abused in. I have never really thought about how that could relate to slavery and I like how you connected our world today with how things were back then. It really shows how we still need improvement in todays society.