To this day, the battle and the histories associated with the Alamo continue to generate feelings of courage, endurance, heroism, and patriotism in those who learn about the battle. Via analysis of the following sources gathered, I will investigate the ways in which modern historians explain how myths, legends, and stories of the Alamo influence American memory and culture. Cultural historians have approached this topic by analyzing the portrayals of the Alamo in popular culture such as TV shows, books, movies, and the act of persons visiting the monument of the Alamo. Ethnic historians have researched how this battle and the memories associated with it have and continue to influence relations between the people of Texas and of Mexico. Other
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This source comes in book format and serves as a compilation of Flores’ works including both chapters original to this book and pieces that Flores wrote from other works such as Reflexiones 98 (1999), American Literary History 10, no. 3 (1998), and Cultural Anthropology 10, no. 1 (1995). Throughout this book, Flores investigates how the Alamo’s transformation from historical battle to mythological occurrence has become a pivotal narrative for Texans and many Americans as a whole. In the first section of this book, “The Alamo as Place,” Flores examines how the Alamo’s narrative seems to shape human relations in all aspects of Texas life. He mainly examines the relations between White Texans and Mexican Texans in the time period of the late 19th century to the mid-20th century. In the second section of his book, “The Alamo as Project,” Flores focuses on the “popular culture” recreations of the Alamo from cinematography to characterization of persons within the actual Alamo battle. Via analysis of this popular culture of the Alamo, Flores asserts that figurative human constructs of the Alamo have led to real-world issues for Texas-Mexican relations today. The scope of Flores’ book covers much of …show more content…
In this book, Crisp aims to bring understanding to these myths and insight to how these myths affect social understanding of the Alamo today. Crisp formatted this book in simple chapter form - allowing the average reader to gain insight into historiography of the Alamo while still providing deep historical analyses for the more academic reader. In this book, Crisp uses a wide array of primary and secondary sources to research, evaluate, and formulate arguments that bring light to a particular set of historical events associated with the Alamo that seem to be clouded in legend. These events include Sam Houston’s speech to Soldiers prior to the battle, the diary of Jose de la Pena – a Mexican soldier in Santa Anna’s army, David Crockett’s death, and analyses of these historical events as cultural icons. In this book, Crisp draws from primary sources such as multiple written accounts of Sam Houston’s speech, Crisp draws directly from the papers written by de la Pena, archeological records, and letters written from the period of the Alamo. This source covers my topic in the ability to analyze a wide array of understandings from the Alamo and how they influence culture today. Crisp uses these sources to challenge the current myths surrounding the Alamo and bring deeper understanding to how these myths evolved from what truly happened – leading to their cultural impacts today.
This source comes in book format and serves as a compilation of Flores’ works including both chapters original to this book and pieces that Flores wrote from other works such as Reflexiones 98 (1999), American Literary History 10, no. 3 (1998), and Cultural Anthropology 10, no. 1 (1995). Throughout this book, Flores investigates how the Alamo’s transformation from historical battle to mythological occurrence has become a pivotal narrative for Texans and many Americans as a whole. In the first section of this book, “The Alamo as Place,” Flores examines how the Alamo’s narrative seems to shape human relations in all aspects of Texas life. He mainly examines the relations between White Texans and Mexican Texans in the time period of the late 19th century to the mid-20th century. In the second section of his book, “The Alamo as Project,” Flores focuses on the “popular culture” recreations of the Alamo from cinematography to characterization of persons within the actual Alamo battle. Via analysis of this popular culture of the Alamo, Flores asserts that figurative human constructs of the Alamo have led to real-world issues for Texas-Mexican relations today. The scope of Flores’ book covers much of …show more content…
In this book, Crisp aims to bring understanding to these myths and insight to how these myths affect social understanding of the Alamo today. Crisp formatted this book in simple chapter form - allowing the average reader to gain insight into historiography of the Alamo while still providing deep historical analyses for the more academic reader. In this book, Crisp uses a wide array of primary and secondary sources to research, evaluate, and formulate arguments that bring light to a particular set of historical events associated with the Alamo that seem to be clouded in legend. These events include Sam Houston’s speech to Soldiers prior to the battle, the diary of Jose de la Pena – a Mexican soldier in Santa Anna’s army, David Crockett’s death, and analyses of these historical events as cultural icons. In this book, Crisp draws from primary sources such as multiple written accounts of Sam Houston’s speech, Crisp draws directly from the papers written by de la Pena, archeological records, and letters written from the period of the Alamo. This source covers my topic in the ability to analyze a wide array of understandings from the Alamo and how they influence culture today. Crisp uses these sources to challenge the current myths surrounding the Alamo and bring deeper understanding to how these myths evolved from what truly happened – leading to their cultural impacts today.