"I, Rigoberta Menchu: an Indian Woman in Guatemala"

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that Rigoberta Menchu, who was born a member of a poverty-stricken and oppressed community in Guatemala, writes a testimony portraying her life story and those of all the indigenous people of the Americas. The author shows that, in her book, Menchu reveals discrimination, violence and death brought against Guatemalan Indian and poor ladrino communities, who are victims of poverty and indecent injustice. The paper describes the way Menchu, her community and other suffering villages united to resist injustice and devised methods to battle the wrong waged against them.

From the Paper:

"Traveling to seek this assistance cost money and the earnings from their cultivation alone could not compensate for these expenses, let alone produce enough food for all the village members to eat, so the families went to work in the fincas to pay for these needs. In the fincas, owned by the very same landowners who attempted to take over their land, laborers were treated indecently and were poorly payed for the hard work they did. Labor contractors, used as the middlemen between landowners and workers, shouted at and insulted workers and treated them with no respect. Slow workers were punished and they were not given ample time to rest."

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• Book Review # 124781 : "I, Rigoberta Menchu"
• Analytical Essay # 8706 : "I, Rigoberta Menchu"

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