Sunday, February 1, 2009
boooooooook 6
Latour is determined to have a Cathedral built in Santa Fe. Don Antonio Olivares strongly agrees with Latour in his decision making and agrees to give him the money to have it built during a New Years party. His second wife, Dona Isabella looks very young for her age. Derived from France, she makes good friends with many of the French priests because they are more easily able to relate to their home life away from home. She is also high spirited and attractive. Her husband Don Antonio is a rounded man in the weight category; he seems slow as well. Latour likes the man because of the way he presents himself. When Don Antonio gives gifts to Latour and Jacinto, it seems as if he knows the two very well. He issued a gift that was pleasing to the eye to Latour, and one that was tasteful to Valliant. Later in the new year, Don Olivares died. He also forgot to will the money for the new cathedral to Latour. Olivares’s brothers tried to get his money and failed in doing so although it seemed that they might have gotten it for a minute. Dona Isabella would not tell the truth about her age because she had a mindset that looks are more important than money. She finally agreed to admit to being 52 even though she originally said she was 42 and received the money from that point. Afterwards, she holds a party at her house and is greeted by the priests whom had given her the right to her husband’s will. Book six ends with the priests and Dona Isabella laughing because of a funny joke she made about why she lied about her age.
In book five, Latour and Jacinto take a trip to visit Padre Martinez. When the men near their destination, they are greeted by Martinez along with horsemen to lead them to el Ranchero de Taos. Upon their arrival at el Ranchero, Martinez is greeted very lavishly with women laying down shawls for him to step on as he walks. Padre Martinez is very well respected as a Priest, but Latour almost has a hard time believing that after seeing the overall atmosphere and spirit in the house. He mentions that cats, dust, and overall filth make up most of the house. When Latour walks upon a sleeping boy named Trinidad, he learns about the boy and almost believes him to be stupid. Trinidad tried to crucify himself during the holy month. When the crucifix fell over because of his body weight, he took back lashings and passed out before the 100th one. Latour and Martinez share a celibacy conversation and disagree on both sides of the story. Lucero, a close friend of Martinez, gets in a battle of words and wits with his pal. The quarreling between the two caused Latour to send Vaillant to read a letter to the two, taking their priesthoods. Martinez eventually died and left 1/3 of his money to his son and wanted to the rest to go to Mass. However, the money was not released until Lucero died which happened shortly after Martinez did. When Lucero was lying on his death bed, he explained specific instructions on how the money was to be released, where it was located, and to whom it was to be presented. Before he did that, he killed a robber trying to steal the money from his house.
Setting impact on character
Well, in the novel, Death Comes for the Archbishop, Cather describes each setting in great detail. She also describes characters in such a way. "His broad high shoulder were like a ull buffalo's his big head was set defiantly on a thick neck, and full cheeks, richly coloured, egg shaped spanish face... a high, narrow forehead, brillant yellow eyes set deep in strong arches, and full florid cheeks,-not blank areas of smooth flesh, as in anglo-saxon faces, but full of muscular activity, as quick to change with feeling as any of his features. His mouth was very assertion of violent, uncurbed passion and tyrannical self will, the full lips thrust out, and taut, like the flesh of animal distended by fear or desire." The way Cather describes Martinez in such incredible details it is like she paints a rose color picture on the inside of your eyelid. The description is so great it was like watching a picture perfect television. Cather describes basically everything including the setting in the same way. From the desert to the sky, Cather tells the reader a huge hint that the environment is important. Latour encounters a juniper tre in the shape of a cross and there Cather lets the readers know the landscape play a role in Latour life also in the number of times the solor red is mentions. It has somethint to do with the faith that they traveled over there for. When looking up the book for better details it mentioned that landscrape was the style of the book. Throughout the book Latour goesback to the French setting and oftend compares the two. The characters are emotional attach to the scenary that Latour now sees the two place as almost the same and starts to accept the new place, New Mexico as home. He also see the Natives America differently than many because he now understands how the setting has impacted their lives too.
setting
Cather uses setting in "Death Comes for the Archbishop" as a way to describe the emotions of the characters. In the first half of the book, the rough routes that Latour must take are described in great detail. Cather gives you the feeling when Latour first enters New Mexico that the lands are ragged and when he gets lost is when he starts somewhat admiring the scenary.
I think that Latour's journey through Mexico was very fullfilling because he got to spread his religion everywhere he went. In book 5 he goes to see Martinez in Taos. Martinez is a bad priest. He is the one responsible for the rebellion on the white men. Even though he is not a good man, he is the wealthiest in the land and has all the fertile land. (Cather book 5). The Taos is described as beautiful land.
Towards the end of the book Latour buys a house that is just outside of Santa Fe. It has an apricot tree in the yard. I believe this is a symbol of Latour spreading his religion throughout. This is where Latour goes to live the rest of his life out. I feel like the tree's old roots is just like Latour, he has a lot of roots.
I think that Latour's journey through Mexico was very fullfilling because he got to spread his religion everywhere he went. In book 5 he goes to see Martinez in Taos. Martinez is a bad priest. He is the one responsible for the rebellion on the white men. Even though he is not a good man, he is the wealthiest in the land and has all the fertile land. (Cather book 5). The Taos is described as beautiful land.
Towards the end of the book Latour buys a house that is just outside of Santa Fe. It has an apricot tree in the yard. I believe this is a symbol of Latour spreading his religion throughout. This is where Latour goes to live the rest of his life out. I feel like the tree's old roots is just like Latour, he has a lot of roots.
The scenery and the characters!
As we know Cather talks about the setting a great deal in this book. And the reason is because she tells the characters feeling and emotions in the story as they happen. Which I think is very talented and smart. But in book five Father Latour and Jacinto are on their way to Taos. They are in the mountains and they are close to the city so the mountain range is disappearing slowly. I thought of this in the same as the characters are coming into a new city that they didn’t really know. All there securities disappeared as well. Once they get there they understand that this city is very different. The priest are very materialistic as shown through there vibrant gardens and the church was very loud and not tasteful. The crucifix was very bright. At dinner with Martínez, the head priest at Taos, he told him what the priesthood was like there. He asked him questions about celibacy and whether it was right. And Latour was very respectful in his answer that concluded in a no. Martíez got mad and told him, “you are a young man, my Bishop, and you know nothing about Indians or Mexicans.” He said that if you try to change their beliefs you will see a youthful death. So Latour went to bed feeling very in doubt of his surrounding like the air was not to his taste and there were many noises that kept him awake through the night. So he felt very uncertain of his environment. This was the complete opposite of his feelings in book nine. In book nine it tells us that he retires. He bought a house out near the Tesuque pueblo. He got a small number of acres across the red sand-hills. He planted an orchard the one he talked about earlier in the book when he had dinner with Father Vaillant. He had chosen this place because of the plant life around in the sand-hills. One of the plants was juniper. His friends told him to not be around that kind of plant but he did any ways because they grow fruit. And on page 264 it says, ”he surmised that the heat of the sun, reflected from the rocky hill-slope up into the tree, gave the fruit an even temperature, warmth from two sides, such as brings the wall peaches to perfection in France.” When I read this I felt that he was beyond very happy and kind of felt like he was backing home in France. But he was at peace in this place that was foreign to him and he made it his own place to relax and to teach young men to become priest.
As we know Cather talks about the setting a great deal in this book. And the reason is because she tells the characters feeling and emotions in the story as they happen. Which I think is very talented and smart. But in book five Father Latour and Jacinto are on their way to Taos. They are in the mountains and they are close to the city so the mountain range is disappearing slowly. I thought of this in the same as the characters are coming into a new city that they didn’t really know. All there securities disappeared as well. Once they get there they understand that this city is very different. The priest are very materialistic as shown through there vibrant gardens and the church was very loud and not tasteful. The crucifix was very bright. At dinner with Martínez, the head priest at Taos, he told him what the priesthood was like there. He asked him questions about celibacy and whether it was right. And Latour was very respectful in his answer that concluded in a no. Martíez got mad and told him, “you are a young man, my Bishop, and you know nothing about Indians or Mexicans.” He said that if you try to change their beliefs you will see a youthful death. So Latour went to bed feeling very in doubt of his surrounding like the air was not to his taste and there were many noises that kept him awake through the night. So he felt very uncertain of his environment. This was the complete opposite of his feelings in book nine. In book nine it tells us that he retires. He bought a house out near the Tesuque pueblo. He got a small number of acres across the red sand-hills. He planted an orchard the one he talked about earlier in the book when he had dinner with Father Vaillant. He had chosen this place because of the plant life around in the sand-hills. One of the plants was juniper. His friends told him to not be around that kind of plant but he did any ways because they grow fruit. And on page 264 it says, ”he surmised that the heat of the sun, reflected from the rocky hill-slope up into the tree, gave the fruit an even temperature, warmth from two sides, such as brings the wall peaches to perfection in France.” When I read this I felt that he was beyond very happy and kind of felt like he was backing home in France. But he was at peace in this place that was foreign to him and he made it his own place to relax and to teach young men to become priest.
Analysis of the Setting of Willa Cather's Death Comes for the Archbishop
Death Comes for the Archbishop entails many descriptions of the story’s settings. Not only that, the main setting contains “mini” settings of different events that take place throughout the story. Willa Cather expertly depicts the settings in Death Comes for the Archbishop by utilizing details with numerous descriptions of the background to engage the reader.
Book One contains many memorable settings that capture the reader’s attention. Notably, the experience Juan Diego has with the Virgin Mary and the experience Bishop Jean Marie Latour has with the juniper tree. Book One Chapter One begins with the time frame and place in which Bishop Latour is on his journey. “One afternoon in the autumn of 1851 a solitary horseman, followed by a pack-mule, was pushing through an arid stretch of country somewhere in central New Mexico (pg 14).” Assumingly, after the reader reads this opening line, he or she begins to get into the setting. One can almost creates his or her own image of New Mexico and can imagine how hot it may have been on that day. The year 1851 also presents a historical feel to the story as well. A number of events took place in the year 1851 such as the city of Winona, Minnesota being founded on October fifteenth. The author also states that the horseman has been traveling through an “arid stretch of country somewhere in central New Mexico” which gives the reader a clue that the horseman is lost in a dry place somewhere out in New Mexico. The author then tells how many miles the traveler must have traveled. “He must have travelled through thirty miles of these conical red hills, winding his way in the narrow cracks between them, and he begun to think that he would never see anything else (pg 15).” The setting begins to take a toll on the character. After seeing the same things over and over the reader begins to get confused. The reader may then feel a sense of sympathy for the character. This particular setting reveals Father Latour’s patience and need to do God’s will regardless of the circumstances.
Additionally, Book Nine also reveals some settings that may draw the reader’s attention. “Long before his retirement…Father Latour bought those few acres in the red sand-hills near the Tesuque pueblo, and set out an orchard which would be bearing…the red hills spotted with juniper…admirably suited for the growing of fruit (pg 265-266).” The author describes this place as a must-have for the bishop. The bishop had to have his fruit and obviously enjoyed watching them grow and blossom. The author also describes how Father Latour came to own this estate against his friends advice. An old Mexican who lived on the estate told Father Latour that the apricot tree must have been 200 years old. He did not mind selling it because he wanted to live in Santa Fe, so Father Latour bought it from him a few weeks later. The tree was described as having had “two trunks, each of them thicker than a man’s body, and though evidently very old, it was full of fruit. The apricots were large, beautifully coloured, and of superb flavor (pg 266).” The description here is absolutely amazing. It makes one envision a large, entwined apricot tree with beautiful fruit. If one has never seen an apricot tree in person, then he or she will be able to envision one here. Father Latour chose this place as his resting grounds. He built an adobe house and chapel “high up on the hill-side overlooking the orchard (pg 267).” This place helped Father Latour to unwind after he completed his daily tasks.
Willa Cather skillfully utilizes the setting to tie into her character's lives. The settings help shape the tone and mood of, not only the novel itself, but the characters. Some settings hint at what is to come in the story. For example, Father Latour was lost in his travels and obviously tired. Wandering around in the desert may have showed the hardships he would have to face when he reached his destination. It is noted that he was not well recieved. The part where he bought an country estate may reveal that he is now reaping the fruits of his labor. He was almost at the point where he could finally rest after years of hard work. Willa Cather somehow connected the setting with the character lives which made for a lasting impression.
Book One contains many memorable settings that capture the reader’s attention. Notably, the experience Juan Diego has with the Virgin Mary and the experience Bishop Jean Marie Latour has with the juniper tree. Book One Chapter One begins with the time frame and place in which Bishop Latour is on his journey. “One afternoon in the autumn of 1851 a solitary horseman, followed by a pack-mule, was pushing through an arid stretch of country somewhere in central New Mexico (pg 14).” Assumingly, after the reader reads this opening line, he or she begins to get into the setting. One can almost creates his or her own image of New Mexico and can imagine how hot it may have been on that day. The year 1851 also presents a historical feel to the story as well. A number of events took place in the year 1851 such as the city of Winona, Minnesota being founded on October fifteenth. The author also states that the horseman has been traveling through an “arid stretch of country somewhere in central New Mexico” which gives the reader a clue that the horseman is lost in a dry place somewhere out in New Mexico. The author then tells how many miles the traveler must have traveled. “He must have travelled through thirty miles of these conical red hills, winding his way in the narrow cracks between them, and he begun to think that he would never see anything else (pg 15).” The setting begins to take a toll on the character. After seeing the same things over and over the reader begins to get confused. The reader may then feel a sense of sympathy for the character. This particular setting reveals Father Latour’s patience and need to do God’s will regardless of the circumstances.
Additionally, Book Nine also reveals some settings that may draw the reader’s attention. “Long before his retirement…Father Latour bought those few acres in the red sand-hills near the Tesuque pueblo, and set out an orchard which would be bearing…the red hills spotted with juniper…admirably suited for the growing of fruit (pg 265-266).” The author describes this place as a must-have for the bishop. The bishop had to have his fruit and obviously enjoyed watching them grow and blossom. The author also describes how Father Latour came to own this estate against his friends advice. An old Mexican who lived on the estate told Father Latour that the apricot tree must have been 200 years old. He did not mind selling it because he wanted to live in Santa Fe, so Father Latour bought it from him a few weeks later. The tree was described as having had “two trunks, each of them thicker than a man’s body, and though evidently very old, it was full of fruit. The apricots were large, beautifully coloured, and of superb flavor (pg 266).” The description here is absolutely amazing. It makes one envision a large, entwined apricot tree with beautiful fruit. If one has never seen an apricot tree in person, then he or she will be able to envision one here. Father Latour chose this place as his resting grounds. He built an adobe house and chapel “high up on the hill-side overlooking the orchard (pg 267).” This place helped Father Latour to unwind after he completed his daily tasks.
Willa Cather skillfully utilizes the setting to tie into her character's lives. The settings help shape the tone and mood of, not only the novel itself, but the characters. Some settings hint at what is to come in the story. For example, Father Latour was lost in his travels and obviously tired. Wandering around in the desert may have showed the hardships he would have to face when he reached his destination. It is noted that he was not well recieved. The part where he bought an country estate may reveal that he is now reaping the fruits of his labor. He was almost at the point where he could finally rest after years of hard work. Willa Cather somehow connected the setting with the character lives which made for a lasting impression.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Father Latour
In Willa Cather’s Death Comes For The Archbishop, the bishop, Jean Latour, goes through many experiences that develop his character throughout the beginning to the end of book four. Latour is actually a very cool character. He is witty yet remains calm throughout situations. He is also intelligent and appears to be a very polite individual. It is also obvious that he is very strong which is evident in the beginning of the story. On his journey to New Mexico, the boat he is on sinks which causes him to lose all of his belongings with the exception of his books. He also injures his leg while attempting to jump off a carriage. The accident with his leg delays his mission for about three months. Still determined, he continues by horse and gets lost and travels through the desert for a long time without any food or water. However, despite these setbacks and what seems to be hallucinations, he is determined to reach New Mexico. Then Latour finally catches a break when he hops on a wagon headed for Sante Fe, New Mexico. Latour is thrilled that he has finally reached his destination when he runs into another problem. After he reaches the church in New Mexico, he is informed that the church never received notice that he was coming to the church. He is then told that in order to get the paper work he must travel a journey of about 3,000 miles to the Bishop of Durango. Although he gets lost again he does reach the Bishop in a much easier fashion then his first journey. When he returns to Sante Fe he discovers that Father Vaillant has made many changes to the church that make it better. In the second book, he meets a Mexican woman by the name of Magdalena. While trying to make a deal with her husband, Buck, Magdalena tells Latour that her husband will kill them and is an evil man. She leaves with them and further explains to them that he was a murderer and a very mean and dangerous man. We then read on to meet their tour guide. We then discover that the Father Gallegos has been everything except for his duties at the church. He has been dancing and partying and meeting girls. Throughout their journey, the tour guide, Jacinto and Father Vaillant exchange information and we learn a lot about both characters. In the fourth book, Father Vaillant takes over the church since Father Gallegos is not doing his job. Father Valliant is assigned to be stationed in Las Vegas and catches black measles. On his way to help Father Valliant, Father Latour has to stop due to the weather and discovers a tribe that kills babies. The next night they have to set up camp again. Fortunately, by the time they reach Father Valliant his fever has broken. All of his journeys prove that Father Latour is an extremely strong and caring individual.
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