The Popol Vuh reminds me of the stories from the Bible. Of course, there are some differences and similarities in context but I feel the moral of the thematic elements has a lot in common. For instance, the thematic elements of trickery and deceit and the relationship of women and men are still acted out in today's world. Throughout history, the issues of gender roles and battle of the sexes still remain a controversy. Even in stories such as those in the Bible and the Popol Vuh, the males has always been viewed as the dominant sex while the females are viewed as the weaker sex. It appears that despite the women's movement and women's rights, the men will always be the leader with the greater power. In Popul Vuh, the idea that women cannot exist without men was portrayed when the evil lord was defeated and his wife was not able to continue life because her husband has died. This idea of the strong yet invisible bond that exists between each and everyone is written proof that society allows history to repeat itself. Needless to say that the thematic element of trickery and deceit still happens throughout the world, but it is only known to everyone in a different form or terminology. What I am trying to hint at is the competitive side of society. It's true, this is a dog eat dog world and as Darwin's great mind had proposed, it's "survival of the fittest". Everyone is always competing with each other and is willing to make sacrifices in order to acheive "survivance". So you see, history will continue to repeat and renew itself throughout time because we are living in a round cycle. The Earth is round and so is the cycle of life, which means fate is unavoidable.
Again, love the photo! Also, I think you're on to something interesting with the whole role of competition in the book. I haven't thought very much about how competition is described and explained, but now that I think about it, there are a lot of details that pertain to that theme. For example, the ball game is central to the book, and this is a competitive sport. I think you might be on to a good paper topic!
ReplyDeleteYay! I'm glad you think so too. thanks for the feedback :)
ReplyDeleteI was pondering whether to relate back to this theme of "competition" with trickery and deceit in my argument for the paper, and now I'm sure. About the photo, it was a lot bigger when I first post it with my blog but I needed to minimize it so that you can see the whole image. However, when you look at it in the bigger view, you will see that not only are there books hanging from the tree, but the tree itself is composed of words. Also, the designs and patterns are really unique. Likewise, the Popol Vuh is significant in that the language and culture of the Natives were very distinct.
Oh, another thing that is interesting about the tree of books is how it appears as the "tree of knowledge." Since education and language are very critical in all cultures alike! =]
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