The incorporation of culture in novels serves as a powerful tool for authors to craft compelling narratives that resonate with readers on a profound level. Phillip Carol Morgan’s Anompolichi: The Wordmaster and John Phillip Santos’s Places Left Unfinished at the Time of Creation utilize different aspects of Native American and Mexican American culture, respectively, as integral drivers of their stories. Morgan and Santos actively feature their culture via description of the setting, language translation, cultural traditions, and family to enhance the reading experience. A critical element of a good story is a clear and descriptive setting, making clear the time and place as a backdrop for the characters. Morgan and Santos use setting not only
…show more content…
Despite neither of the two understanding the words each other spoke, they could both communicate thanks/welcome with connotation and body language. This gives the reader a more vivid picture of the interaction between the two characters. Through this linguistic dance, Morgan and Santos can more accurately depict the intricacies of their stories. Morgan and Santos also use descriptions of Native or Mexican American cultural traditions, respectively, to emphasize certain actions or emotions reflected by their characters. In Anompolichi: The Wordmaster, when Chilantak, a leader of a tribe, offers Robert a pipe to smoke and Robert declines, “Chilantak bristled, glowering wild-eyed, and began to rise slowly, clearly angered” which shows how important Chilantak’s gesture was (Morgan 107). Robert is understandably taken aback due to his lack of understanding of the significance of the pipe offering. According to Carol Gorman, “Cultural meanings render some behaviors normal and right and others strange or …show more content…
Worse, they had lost respect for their elders, and for the dead”. The observation made by Uncle Frank reflects a concern about the erosion of long-held Mexican traditions, including courtesy, love for others, respect for elders, and reverence for the deceased. By discussing the potential loss of Mexican American tradition, Santos demonstrates to the reader the tension between preserving cultural practices and adapting to a new environment. Morgan and Santos both emphasize family and familial history throughout their novels as a means to forge a deeper connection between characters and readers. In Morgan’s Anompolichi: The Wordmaster, when Iskifa finally returns home to his wife, we see that just “the sight of her, nevertheless, caused him to relax, exhaling a sigh of relief” (Morgan 177). Throughout the story before his reunion with Nanitana, his wife, Iskifa is constantly thinking of her and is counting down the days he can reunite with
Despite neither of the two understanding the words each other spoke, they could both communicate thanks/welcome with connotation and body language. This gives the reader a more vivid picture of the interaction between the two characters. Through this linguistic dance, Morgan and Santos can more accurately depict the intricacies of their stories. Morgan and Santos also use descriptions of Native or Mexican American cultural traditions, respectively, to emphasize certain actions or emotions reflected by their characters. In Anompolichi: The Wordmaster, when Chilantak, a leader of a tribe, offers Robert a pipe to smoke and Robert declines, “Chilantak bristled, glowering wild-eyed, and began to rise slowly, clearly angered” which shows how important Chilantak’s gesture was (Morgan 107). Robert is understandably taken aback due to his lack of understanding of the significance of the pipe offering. According to Carol Gorman, “Cultural meanings render some behaviors normal and right and others strange or …show more content…
Worse, they had lost respect for their elders, and for the dead”. The observation made by Uncle Frank reflects a concern about the erosion of long-held Mexican traditions, including courtesy, love for others, respect for elders, and reverence for the deceased. By discussing the potential loss of Mexican American tradition, Santos demonstrates to the reader the tension between preserving cultural practices and adapting to a new environment. Morgan and Santos both emphasize family and familial history throughout their novels as a means to forge a deeper connection between characters and readers. In Morgan’s Anompolichi: The Wordmaster, when Iskifa finally returns home to his wife, we see that just “the sight of her, nevertheless, caused him to relax, exhaling a sigh of relief” (Morgan 177). Throughout the story before his reunion with Nanitana, his wife, Iskifa is constantly thinking of her and is counting down the days he can reunite with