I would like to take a moment to reflect upon the stylistic elements that Theresa May incorporates into her play Salmon is Everything. She uses several different methods of interpreting her claims, and I feel that all are useful to convey a well-rounded story.

Dr. Theresa May

Personally, I thought the opening scene was well put together and did a fabulous job at conveying the message of the play. May wanted people to be aware of the population changes in Salmon and the importance that they play into Native American tribes, and she did this through poetic discourse. You have all these characters stating who they are and, at times, what tribes they are apart of. The list includes Karuk, Yurok, Nu-Tini-Xwe—Hupa, and many others. Some people chose to identify themselves by their profession such as farmers, basket weavers, dancers, biologists, etc..

This element metaphorically represented the relationship that people have with the salmon. They don’t simply use the fish for economic or fiscal gain, but have adopted the salmon as a part of their culture. It’s phenomenal to me that animals have such an influence on a single culture.

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In class on Tuesday, we observed and analyzed a commercial for sun-maid raisins. In said commercial we pointed out a few facts about the way it was made–how the landscape seemed beautiful and lush, and how the woman looked as though she’d never worked a moment in her life. This goes the same for many other ads out there–noticeably in my mind orange and grape themed products. However, one then realizes that oranges and grapes are mostly grown in California–a place that is the opposite of lush and thriving. Not only that, but again, the woman is very ideal–the perfect weight, a beautiful face, and flawless skin. These are all the exact opposite of how the field really work.  Continue reading →

During class Tuesday, we learned a new literary term, environmental racism, that plays in important role in the books that we have been reading this term. I especially noticed this in “Under the Feet of Jesus”. Environmental racism can be defined as the disproportionate effects of pollution, toxicity, and other environmental harms we see on racial minorities. There are many examples of this form of racism that we see in this novel, involving the main characters. The first example I thought of was the one we went over in class. This example was when Alejo and Gumecindo were stealing peaches in the orchard and the airplane went over the trees spraying pesticides. Continue reading →

I have found our recent class discussions about pesticides to be very intriguing and applicable to present environmental issues.  First, I was intrigued by the scientific, yet understandable writings of Rachael Carson in Silent Spring. I am also enjoying the fiction novel, Under the Feet of Jesus, by Viramontes.  I feel as thought the two complement each other well.  Silent Spring presents the factual results and consequences of careless pesticide use, while Under the Feet of Jesus portrays the emotional and more easily relatable aspects of such pesticide use.

I found the use of the familiar to evoke feelings of concern in both texts fascinating.  In the first chapter of Silent Spring, entitled “A Fable for Tomorrow”, Carson utilizes the familiar idea of fruitful life in spring and turns it into an apocalyptic vision of a miserable world.  She accomplishes this through vivid imagery such as seen in the use of, “browned and withered vegetation” (3) as well as, “The few birds seen anywhere were moribund; they trembled violently and could not fly.” (2).  She also employs a lack of auditory imagery, for example she states, “no bees droned” (2) and  “It was a spring without voices.” (2).  Both of these effects evoke feelings of sadness and revulsion when spring should be considered a time of happiness and renewal.  These results are then related to the actions of the people themselves (i.e. using pesticides carelessly).   She explains that all these incidences actually happened in real places and could potentially increase in commonality. This is supposed to have a shocking effect intended to awaken the reader to the seriousness of the problem.

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