Welcome to the blog for Prof. John Talbird's English 220 class. The purpose of this site is two-fold: 1) to continue the conversations we start in class (or to start conversations before we get to class) and 2) to practice our writing/reading on a weekly basis in an informal forum.
Tuesday, March 28, 2017
Pastor Dowe @ Tacate
In "Pastor Dowe at Tacate," we see the Pastor giving a sermon to the Indian villagers three times. What does the progression of these sermons do over the course of the story? How does this performance change and help us to see Pastor Dowe as the protagonist, both as a man and in relation to the villagers he is supposed to "save"?
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I think what may not be apparent at first is how absurdly funny this story is. Pastor Dowe has come to this village w/ the superior attitude that his view is right and their view is not. He is increasingly meant to look absurd. He has to play a prohibition era dance tune to accompany his sermons, he ends up cradling a baby alligator, he ends up w/a child bride, he even reluctantly accepts their religion in some way praying to Metzabok who sounds like a trickster figure, a god who creates everything that doesn't belong there.
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