Cabeza De Vaca Lit. response

Chelsey Wilkins 8/30/09




This article was about a man around during the times that Christopher Columbus was exploring. The article was about Alvar Nunez Cabeza De Vaca. First the article started as maybe a narrator telling the background of Cabeza De Vaca, which was appealing to ethos by saying like hey listen to this guys story he knows his stuff he was located in the very next town. The article also noted that he was a descendent of a war hero who used the cow’s skull to mark a route through an unguarded mountain pass so he was maybe well known in the community. Cabeza De Vaca told us all about the cruelty of the towns, like how they didn’t eat for days and those who couldn’t keep up were left to die. However as the story went on instead of it sounding like a narrator telling the story it began to written in first person which I thought was to draw his audience in by appealing to pathos. No longer was it h experienced this or he felt this it was more of I didn’t eat for days or I felt this way which made the article become more realistic and understandable. Then the article went on and told us about his experiences with the natives and how they ate very little. Among his whole journey Cabeza De Vaca’s main goal was to remember what he had encountered while on his journey. Not only the hard times he faced but the people he met, their barbaric ways, and the cultural ways. This type of determination made me kind of respect him more because no matter how rough things became he didn’t forget his goal. It also made me visualize some of the characteristics he might obtain such as a strong devoted man who keeps his word. Maybe a man who carries himself well and doesn’t disrespect others. I also noticed how he managed to remember what happen down to the very last detail. For instance, when he talked about the Indians he settled with he mentioned not only their behavior but from month to month how they survived. Also how most of them were naked all times of the day and slept under deer skin. The story was very factual and used good diction to appeal to imagery.