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Two weeks ago, my class was assigned the essay El Caribe Gris to read as a test of our ability to understand main ideas. El Caribe Gris is an essay originally written in Spanish that analyzes the writings of Christopher Columbus, Bartolome De las Casas, and Hernando Colon. From the very beginning of the essay’s English translation, it is made clear the essay was not meant to flatter Columbus, calling him “delusional” and small minded. The essay described how many of the records of the voyages were lost but a specific copy of the first voyage would be consequential in history, thanks to the annotations of De Las Casas, in which he contradicted many of Columbus’s writings and rewrote the colonial narrative.

The essay was particularly difficult to read for a few reasons. First, the essay was originally written in Spanish and my copy was a translation. Often in translations, certain concepts can be lost due to a difference in language. Another difficulty came from an unclear delineation between quotes and analysis. While some areas it can be clear from the difference in writing style, in other places it is more difficult.

With all this said, I originally thought the essay was about poor record-keeping and the suppression of the Caribbean, though after a discussion with my class I realize more emphasis was placed on Columbus and how he should have realized the world was bigger than he thought.

Refrences:

Lalo, Eduardo. “El Caribe Gris: Alegato Por Una Escritura Caribe.” 80 grados. 80 grados, 22 Apr. 2017.

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Comments

  1. Alexis ScottOctober 6, 2020 at 2:15 PM

    I know this was a hard blog post and I also had struggles with it myself but you didn't meet the criteria this week. You don't have any images and you didn't meet the word count. Your grammar is good and your content does respond to the instructions but you could've added more. I liked your thesis because it grabbed my attention and was worded nicely. I just recommend to add some images and more content.

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