Book Portfoio #4 The Earth shall Weep

The earth shall weep


Is there a certain culture for you? Is it a certain belief that has been passed down in your family? Or is there a tradition that not many people perform? Have you ever thought that maybe your way of life or culture has changed drastically over many years? Does the death of a community justify the means for that culture to change? In the Earth Shall Weep by James Wilson, one of the many themes is "Things change."

In the chapters I read for this book, it discussed of the very first encounters between the Spaniards and the Native Americans, which were reported to be very harsh and especially not a warm welcome. The Natives believed that guests should be welcomed, because they were a sign from their eternal resting place. Their culture, of being respectful would ultimately end badly. The Spaniards took advantage of the Natives and killed a mass majority of them. Thus changing the way Natives reacted towards these strangers.

The next chapter describes the mass 'suicide' of the Natives, their reasoning for this action was that they would rather be dead then to be killed or captured by the Spaniards. In the commandments of the Native peoples it states "look after the well being of mind and body." If the Spaniards hadn't had killed that mass population, do you think that would have happened? That encounter ultimately changed the outlook on the relationship between the Natives and Americans for many years after that. That what if we never had contact, would there be more Native Americans around and rights and amendments would be different or changed. What if we came and welcomed them and became friends with them, how that would have done to change everything.

Look back to about the 1800’s. Do women still wear dresses wherever they go? No they don’t. You walk into a local store and you'll find most of them wearing jeans and a regular shirt, or even dressed like men. How about men? Do they still wear top hats and walk with a cane. Nope, men now were jeans or and a normal T-Shirt, and some even dress like girls. Some things are the same though. Religion is still here. There is still an Independence Day, and holidays that have been celebrated every year. Family’s have their traditions and parties. Americans and Native American cultures have made tweaks and adjustments to the modern world. Every culture makes adjustment to knew and different time periods and also to other culture merging with theirs. This is how the earth revolves and survives, by making the necessary adjustments to live and prosper.

Things are changing everyday like technology, people, and customs. There is Death and Births, tragedies and miracles and the constant shifting of many cultures around the world. How do you think that women got women’s rights, or the homosexual peoples are now able to be legally married here in Maine? Every time an age dawns upon us things are changing for us. Habitats change, the life we live change. You change and your friends change. We all change.