Reflection Présis 2, Columbus and The First Thanksgiving (February 13-15,2018) 108788 Part I: In these two sessions, Dr. Jendian introduced the term heroification and gave the definition from the book Lies My Teacher Told Me. The author of the book mentioned, James W. Loewen (11) explains that, “Through this process, our educational media turn flesh-and-blood individuals into pious, perfect creatures without conflicts, pain, credibility, or human interest.” Dr. Jendian explained that heroification presents history characters as superhuman heroes. Therefore, students can infer that not all people can be “superhuman heroes.” For example, students of color might not believe that they can accomplish or be recognized for doing something incredible as a “white” student or an European person. …show more content…
Inclusively, the professor explained that stories such as the flat earth, and the challenges Columbus faced while discovering America, only help to empower the concept of heroification. Surprisingly, Loewen explains that these and other erroneous stories are learned through history textbooks. Dr. Jendian explained that these misconceptions, keep students unaware of the real nature of history. According to Loewen (32), “The authors of history textbooks have taken us on a trip of their own, away from the facts of history, into the realm of myth.” As mentioned previously, Columbus is presented to us as a symbol of heroification, demonstrating how history textbooks contain errors about his real life. According to Loewen, few textbooks explained how Columbus was involved in the slavery and the exploitation of Indians. Another error that we have learned in schools about Columbus is that he was the first person to “discover” America. However, this is an error because people from other continents had already reached America before 1492. In fact, we forget
In the article “Christopher Columbus: Here or Villain” written by B. Myint starts his article by correcting a common false facts about Christopher Columbus. Also Myint mansions the great success of a man with 41 years old that his journey changed the world. The author claims that in the 15 century was a widespread believe among the educated Europeans that the earth is rounded. The writer mansions the deal between the Spanish Royal family and Christopher, which he must agree on a necessary terms to fund his trip.
It was October 12, 1492 when Christopher Columbus arrived in the new world and it is also the day in which citizens of the United States celebrate this cultivated man. Many see Columbus as the hero that discovered America, but countless people only know that one perspective. Howard Zinn, the author of Columbus, the Indians, and Human Progress deepens the story of Columbus sailing the ocean blue and exhibits a whole different outlook on the events that took place. Zinn’s eloquent depiction spawned interest everywhere due to the graphic and unique portrayal of the so-called 1400’s hero. The author tries to prove (his thesis) the cruelty and immorality of the Italian explorer by giving a commoner’s perspective and clear evidence on how Columbus
The first chapter of both APeople’s History of the United States (Zinn, 1980) andA Patriot’s History of the United States(Schweikart and Allen, 2004) tells the story of the discovery of the New World. Beginning with the landing of Columbus in the Bahamas, these accounts are told from two separate perspectives. Zinn often refers to the telling of history as a tale between victims and executioners, saying that in the “inevitable taking of sides which comes from selection and emphasis in History” he prefers to stand on the side of the victim, whereas Schweikart and Allen tend to stand behind the executioner. Much of APatriot’s Historyis spent arguing the accuracy of the number of natives murdered by invading European entities, attempting to minimize the blame reflected on these executioners.
When I was younger I was under the impression that Christopher Columbus was a great man and that he discovered America. We celebrate Columbus day because we honor him for “discovering America”. From this new information that I have learned today, Christopher Columbus is not the man iv have been taught about.
1. Zinn had stated that many historians have so far heavily relied on biased views that are influenced by ideological choices on what to present and emphasize in portraying history. However Zinn is not to ‘accuse, judge, condemn Columbus’, but to question against the ‘easy acceptance of atrocities as a deplorable but necessary price to pay for progress.’ In other words, Zinn is challenging the prevalent, stereotypical story telling of the American history by demoting the exaggerated heroism, and telling it from the victims and the lessor’s perspective. 2.
And that is why I am grateful to have learned many details that shine the light on the way that Christopher Columbus actually was like, a villain. I have my reasons for considering Columbus a villain. For example Because of him there is much less diversity in animals. And if that wasn’t bad enough he is also the reason why there are very few native americans left.
What schools do not want students to learn about is Columbus did not land in America, but instead on a little island in the Caribbean Sea. He was never the first person to even walk onto the island like history teachers taught us. There were already people living there and they ended up being enslaved by Columbus and his men. The only reason people think he was the first one is because of what students are taught in history class. Columbus was not a moral man, he enslaved people of their land and took their spices, and their women.
When comparing the class readings to the way these topics are portrayed, it is so easy to see the difference in the arguments. When we look at Chapter one of lies my teacher told me, we see how deceitful and cruel Christopher Columbus really was. This analysis of present articles opposes the general awareness that Christopher Columbus, who was heroified and called the founder of the Newfoundland because a modified version of his history was described in history text books. Due to these differences in the perspectives of articles, it has been established that the understanding of the subject of history has resulted into high level of difficulties in establishing the actual events that took place at a particular time interval. When describing historical events such as the journey of Christopher Columbus, it is established that there is a sharp contrast regarding the actual processes through which his journey occurred across the Atlantic Ocean compared with the views that have been expressed in a number of history
Some say Christopher Columbus was a hero because he was the explorer that discovered America. In reality, Christopher Columbus had an incredibly negative impact on the world because he enslaved the Native Americans, didn’t help the kind Natives when they got infected by diseases that the Spaniards had brought to America, and killed off most of the Native American population. The tactics he chose to use were violent and destructive by the standards back then and now. First, Columbus treated the Native Americans like uncivilized people by enslaving them and forcing them to work for him although they greeted him and his crew peacefully. ” They could make fine servants,”(document 2) he wrote in his journal,”I took them by force.
In the first chapter Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your AMerican History Textbook Got Wrong, James Loewen explores the common process of heroification within America’s history. The flaws of many individuals, specifically Woodrow Wilson and Helen Keller in this chapter, are usually overlooked when recounting their achievements. Loewen points outs that when heroes are recognized for certain things it only covers a short person of the person’s life. The media and schools filter out the bad to leave room for inspiration and good.
Therefore, many are surprised to learn who Columbus was and the cruelties of his actions and his pursuits. Columbus Day is meant to be a day celebrating our country’s origin, however not only did Christopher Columbus not discover America, but he didn’t provide any new or useful information to European explorers of the time. The one thing he did do, though, was promoting terrorism and genocide, which even to this day has had an impact on Americans. In other words,
Argumentative Essay Outline I. Claim: Celebration of Columbus Day should be abolished due to Columbus’ harsh treatment toward the Native Americans and fallacies in his exploration. II. Sub-Claims: A) Reason: Columbus’ exploration was not meant to discover America but to conquer and exploit existed American civilizations.
Holidays around the world are celebrated to remember and commemorate certain times in history, and to keep those dates important. For quite some time, Columbus Day has been a questionable holiday. Some people say it should be a holiday because we are acknowledging the fact that he discovered the Americas. In contrast, others disagree because of the ways he treated the original inhabitants of the places he discovered. This paper will argue that Columbus Day should not be a holiday because he exploited, murdered, and enslaved many natives throughout his journeys.
“Columbus, the Indians, and Human Progress”, chapter one of “A People’s History of the United States”, written by professor and historian Howard Zinn, concentrates on a different perspective of major events in American history. It begins with the native Bahamian tribe of Arawaks welcoming the Spanish to their shores with gifts and kindness, only then for the reader to be disturbed by a log from Columbus himself – “They willingly traded everything they owned… They would make fine servants… With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want.” (Zinn pg.1) In the work, Zinn continues explaining the unnecessary evils Columbus and his men committed unto the unsuspecting natives.
Our society today sees Christopher Columbus as a hero and someone who we should look up to, as we have a holiday specifically named after Columbus, which is called “Columbus Day”. People often view Columbus as an important figure who discovered America and did nothing wrong but, Howard Zinn shows us a different perspective of how we should actually view Christopher Columbus. Howard Zinn shows us how Columbus was prejudice as he felt he was better than anyone who wasn’t his race/ethnicity. One example of this is when Columbus first arrives North America and writes in his log. Howard Zinn shows us how Columbus thought that because they were not familiar with swords and other weapons, he thought they were ignorant because the Arawak people were not exposed to this type of technology the Spaniards used.