Tuesday, April 1, 2014
Created By:
#Progress Test 2,
Nur Auliya Rahmawati
Literacy
hid a Huge Writer’s Ideology
Introduction
The goal of this essay is to criticize Howard Zinn’s article
entitled “Speaking Truth to Power with Books” which provide a different
history about Cristopher Columbus, who certain as a discoverer of the America continent. Zinn
told that Columbus was the bad person who did some violence and killed a
thousand local residents. Columbus brought European diseases such as cholera
and smallpox to the New World (America). Columbus spread this diseases to local
resident for some reason especially to unfold his crime. Many local residents
was dead because of this diseas. He also brought syphilis to Europe from the
New World (America) because he with his army raped thousand local resident.
Summary
There are several basic points that Zinn wrote “A People's History of the United
States” on Columbus. First, Zinn told
that Columbus as a murderer and a rapist who killed and
raped a thousand Arawaks people.
Second,
Zinn told that in return for bringing
back gold and spices, Spain promised that Columbus
got
10 percent of the profits, be
a governorship over new-found lands, and the fame that
would go with a new title, Admiral of the Ocean Sea.
Third, Zinn told that
Columbus did slavery of Arawak people and sold them in Spain. Fourth, in two years, through murder,
mutilation, or suicide, half of the 250,000 Indians on Haiti were dead.
Critique
There
are several points on Columbus that are neglected in Zinn’s article. First, Zinn did not explain who
the first discover of America. Actually, the first discoverer America is a
christian name’s Leif Erikson. Zinn is Jewish with his ideology did not want to
explain about him because of his ideology itself which different with Erikson. From
wikipedia, Leif Erikson was a Norse
explorer
regarded as the first European to land in North America
(excluding Greenland),
nearly 500 years before Christopher Columbus. According
to the Sagas of Icelanders, he established a Norse
settlement at Vinland,
tentatively identified with the Norse L'Anse aux Meadows on the northern tip of Newfoundland in modern-day Canada. Leif
and his crew travelled from Greenland to Norway in 999. Blown off course to the
Hebrides
and staying for much of the summer, he arrived in Norway and became a hirdman of King Olaf
Tryggvason. He also converted to Christianity
and was given the mission of introducing the religion to Greenland. The
Saga of Erik the Red and the Saga of the Greenlanders, both thought
to have been written around 1200, contain different accounts of the voyages to Vinland.
The two only known strictly historical mentions of Vinland are found in
the work of Adam of Bremen c. 1075 and in the Book of Icelanders compiled c. 1122 by Ari the Wise.
According to the Saga of Erik the Red, Leif apparently saw Vinland
for the first time after being blown off course on his way to introduce
Christianity to Greenland.
Leif
was described as a wise, considerate, and strong man of striking appearance.
During his stay in the Hebrides, he fell in love with noblewoman
Thorgunna who gave birth to their son Thorgils. Thorgils was later
sent to Leif in Greenland, but he did not become popular. After his
first trip to Vinland, he returned to the family estate of Brattahlio
in Greenland, and started preaching Christianity to the Greenlanders. His
father Erik reacted coldly to the suggestion that he should abandon his
religion, while his mother Thohildr quickly became a Christian and built a
church called Thjóðhild's Church. Leif is last mentioned alive in
1019, and by 1025 he had passed on his chieftaincy of Erikson to another son, Thorkell. Nothing is mentioned about his death in
the sagas. He probably died in Greenland some time between these dates. Nothing
further is known about his family beyond the succession of Thorkell as
chieftain.
Second, I wonder that why Columbus was commended to go to
India and the answer is technology. From Apakabar Dunia
entitled “ Terungkap Misteri Teknlogi India Kuno” told that in Ramayana period
there is some modern technology name’s Vimana (Astra) which is like UFO. It
could fly to another planet or outer space such as Moon. It used for war and
had a big powerful weapon to destroy the enemy even the world. On the other hand, Columbus was not mandate with
Isabella’s instruction. He should go to India but he did not do it, instead he
considered the continent that he found is the continent of India. In fact, that
was not India.
Third, I know that Zinn just explained about the evilness
of Columbus, in contrary Columbus has much goodness. Zinn’s basic criticism was
that Morison told the truth about Columbus quickly and buried deep in the
center of his book, and then moved on to things more important to him. In
Zinn’s opinion, that is much like lying, or hiding the truth. Both of Zinn and
Morison is the great historian for the history of Christopher Columbus, both of
them did not tell in the equal writing, Zinn always stated the negative side of
Columbus, and Morison always stated the positive side of Columbus. If I look at
many arguments from the people that have read about the critique of Howard
Zinn, do they disagree or agree with him? And they compare the illustration of
Zinn and Morison as the historian who told much about Christopher Columbus. The
most of them agree with Howard Zinn and on average they dislike Samuel Eliot
Morison because of his lying and hiding the history of the heroic is Columbus,
who is always glorified by Morison.
Conclusion
Finally, there are several basic points
that can be concluded from Zinn’s article. First,
there is a relation between lieracy, ideology and history. When we look deeper
into the history, we will know what we
have not known before. Moreover we observe
more deeply to the core and completely real.
according to Fowler (1996:12), “Ideology is of course both a medium and an
instrument of historical processes. Ideology is omnipresent in every single
text (spoken, written, audio, visual or the combinations of all of them)”. So
that, ideology was hidden in the liteacy practice. which is related with the
interests of social, economic and political at that time.
Second,
Zinn did not assert who the discoverer of the American continent because of the
discoverer is Christian, different with his religion (Jewish). His ideology control
him that he did not explain about this fact. It means that ideology has a
powerful effect for his written or literacy practice.
Third, According to Lehtonen “ Literasi is dynamic
Artifacts “ so that Zinn and Columbus begin the History with this
artifacts.
References
Howard Zinn. Anthropology
off the Shelf: Anthropologists on Writing. 2009. USA: Blackwell Publishing.
(ebooksclub.org)
Mikko-Lehtonen_The_Cultural_Analysis_of_Texts(BookFi.org)
http://latinamericanhistory.about.com/od/thevoyagesofcolumbus/tp/Ten-Facts-About-Christopher-Columbus.htm
accessed in March,
24 at 5.30 p.m
http://www.apakabardunia.com/2012/11/terungkap-misteri-teknologi-india-kuno.html
accessed in March,
24 at 5.38 p.m
Created by Nur Auliya Rahmawati / 14121320253
0 Comments
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)