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Chapter 17
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in I, Rigoberta Menchú, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Tolerance vs. Resistance
Class, Race, and Inequality
Ancestors, Tradition, and Community
Gender and Sexuality
Language, Education, and Power
Spirituality, Nature, and the Sacredness of Life
Summary
Analysis
As the villagers studied the Bible, they began to understand that some of the stories it contains could supported their struggle. Rigoberta mentions the role that Moses played in Exodus, freeing his people from oppression, as well as Judith, who murdered the king in order to defend her people. These examples served for both women and men. For children, they used the story of David, who defeated the great King Goliath. Knowing that their ancestors suffered from such oppression motivated the village to fight against the powerful in the present. The biblical insistence on empathy and solidarity, as well as the right to fulfill one’s needs, mirrored the Indians’ striving not for wealth, but for dignity and self-sufficiency.
The villagers’ discussions of the Bible are centered on practical applications: they believe that religion is an integral part of everyday life, and that Christian values should be put into practice in the present, not in an abstract afterlife. They understand biblical stories as useful historical lessons. In this sense, biblical forefathers mirror the villagers’ own ancestors as they struggled fought against colonization, as well as the villagers’ current struggle under ladino oppression.
Themes
Rigoberta concludes that God did not want the community to suffer, since the oppression from which they suffer was not divine but imposed by powerful mortals. In the same way that Christ, humble and persecuted, survives through the generations that keep his memory and deeds alive, Rigoberta suggests that the Indian community had to keep their ancestors’ struggles alive.
Although Rigoberta recognizes the structural nature of the exploitation and oppression that her community faces, she also understands that these systems are fueled by human actions. Her Christian beliefs lead her to trust in the validity of self-defense.
Themes
In contrast with her adherence to biblical teachings, Rigoberta argues that religions can become coopted by an exploitative system. It is in this sense that she understands Catholic Action’s emphasis on a paradise in Heaven for the poor, which forces peasants to resign themselves to their fate and keeps them from rebelling against their oppression. As these thoughts took root in the community, the villagers learned to question the beliefs they had been taught. Once they realized that they could take control of their lives, they decided, as committed Christians, to create “the kingdom of God” on Earth.
Rigoberta separates Catholic teachings in the Bible, such as the stories concerning Christian love and the fight against justice, from the institution of the Catholic Church in Guatemalan society. She argues that Catholic Action’s teachings are not politically neutral: rather, they have encouraged passivity in the face of injustice. Directly or indirectly, such doctrine aligns with the interests of the oppressive ladino government: to keep poor Indians from rebelling.
Themes
Rigoberta does mention that some priests understood that the poor were not communists but, simply, hungry and desperate people who should be treated in a dignified way. These priests sometimes joined the people’s struggle, whereas others were more interested in exerting power and safeguarding their personal interests.
Rigoberta’s discussion of the priests’ actions suggests that, in many ways, members of the clergy behave just like other members of society—they’re interested in safeguarding their own political and economic interests. The association of the poor with “communists” refers to the Cold War context of this conflict: the opposition between the U.S.-led Capitalist Bloc and Latin American communist groups. This association is misleading, however, given that the Guatemalan peasants’ goal is simply to fight for basic rights, not to join an international struggle.
Themes
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Rigoberta notes that, although the villagers’ weapons were quite simple, they became dangerous when used by an entire community. One day, the lookout warned the village that soldiers were on their way. Rigoberta, her brothers, and other members of the community volunteered to take part in an ambush. A young, pretty girl from the community was chosen to divert the last soldier’s attention in the line by flirting with him. The girl knew that she risked being raped by taking part in this action, but she was willing to take this risk in the name of the community. The plan proved successful: the girl chatted with the last soldier on the path.
On multiple occasions, Rigoberta notes that solidarity and unity can prove just as powerful as the most modern weapons: bonding together is the main way in which the poor (a majority in Guatemala) can resist the wealthy, well-equipped rich. The girl’s knowledge that she risks getting raped by the soldier implies that such assaults are common in poor Indian villages. This is one example of the gender-specific dangers that affect women in this brutal conflict.
Themes
Meanwhile, the villagers, previously hidden, suddenly jumped on the soldier, keeping him from moving. They disarmed him but, as Rigoberta notes with good humor, no one among them knew how to use mechanical weapons such as a rifle, pistol, or grenade. The soldier could easily have outmaneuvered them.
Rigoberta’s comment about her community’s ignorance of modern weapons reveals the extent to which her village has maintained its vow of non-violence. Now, extraordinary circumstances force the community to come to terms with a violent reality.
Themes
After blindfolding the soldier, the villagers took him to Rigoberta’s house, where the entire community was waiting. For the next several hours, all the mothers and men in the village went to talk to the man, ordering him to recount his experiences as a soldier. The soldier was an Indian from another ethnic group, and the villagers insisted that, by being part of the army, he was supporting the rich who oppressed them. They also told him that they were organized and would defend themselves to the end. The soldier seemed moved by the new ideas the villagers shared with him, and the villagers were hopeful that he might change his behavior. However, after the villagers released him, he was killed by his own army, as they believed him to be an informer. Officials said that the soldier could not have escaped unscathed otherwise.
The villagers’ treatment of this soldier reveals their deep trust in education and dialogue, as well as their underlying aversion to the use of force. According to Rigoberta’s community, many of their current problems derive from a lack of education. Specifically, there’s a lack of understanding, among all members of society—ladinos and Indians, the rich and the poor—of how exploitation and oppression work. Sharing such knowledge with the soldier, they hope, could help bring some positive change. The army’s brutal response to the soldier’s return, however, highlights how difficult it is for soldiers to leave the army, which does not hesitate to kill its own soldiers to prevent any internal uprising.
Themes
The village was elated after this successful ambush. However, when they opened the soldier’s rifle, they felt a wave of sadness, knowing that this weapon was meant to inflict death on others. After this event, the army grew terrified of the mountain villages, which made the villagers feel proud and united. At the same time, they all decided to stay up in the mountains, knowing very well that going down to the finca or the market could lead them to be kidnapped. By the same token, the landowners also believed that they would be kidnapped if they approached the village. In light of this elation, and seeing how organized her community was, Rigoberta decided that it no longer needed a leader. She decided to travel to other communities, in order to teach them the same self-defense techniques that her village developed.
The villagers’ sadness when examining the rifle shows that, despite their conviction to defend themselves from violence, they do not see violence as a virtue. Rather, they see it as a last resort that they’re forced to engage in, given the extremity of their current circumstances. Despite their outward show of aggression, they remain grounded in their foundational belief in the importance of respecting all living things. Rigoberta’s decision to leave her community highlights her devotion not to a personal cause, but to the defense of the Maya-Quiché people as a whole, which extends beyond the limits of her own village.
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