SPAN312C Blog

We have finally made it to the end of our hopscotch game. Or maybe we are just beginning our own hopscotch journey. We started at Mama Blanca with the themes of memories and childhood. Childhood perspectives are a theme that was one of my favourites in our journey. Cartucho and Papi also used childlike perspectives to frame things in a lighter sense, more like a game. This perspective is super eye-opening and interesting to me. Adults take things seriously and literally, but children see the world for how it is. This view is one that I adopted, and it helped me understand the books that were more linguistically confusing. It helped me avoid getting too wrapped up in confusing words or unrealistic scenes. This allowed me to not over-analyze and get overwhelmed when reading; I also was able to understand the bigger picture and understand that even though some things don't feel realistic, it's an exaggeration and curiosity; wondering what could happen; wondering if we can have a l...

 This week we read Papi by Rita Indiana. This book is one of my favourites so far. I was always interested throughout the book and was intrigued by this complex father-daughter relationship. Some themes I want to discuss from the book are childlike perspectives and imaginary vs. reality. I also want to discuss the relationship between the daughter, Papi, and Mami.  First, this book is from a child's perspective; the daughter is eight years old. The language and style of this perspective reminded me of other stories we have read this term, like Mama Blanca and Cartucho. The child's perspective plays a significant role in this book. A child's imagination differs significantly from an adult's; adults are more in tune with reality. The young girl adores her father from a young age and is "blind" to his discrete, violent ways of being a drug dealer. She knows he is one, but that does not detract from her image of him and his love for her. An adult would understand ...