(no subject)
Anthony Sichinga (as8356@silver.sdsmt.edu)
Fri, 31 Oct 1997 13:46:28 -0700 (MST)
The mixed-blooded spotted cattle directly relate to Tayos mixed
ancestry. Josiah thought that the cattle were special They would breed
these cattle, special cattle, not the weak, soft Herefords that grew thin
and died from eating thistle and burned-off cactus during the drought.
These cattle were descendants of generations of desert, cattle, born in
dry sand and scrubby mesquite, where they hunted water the way desert
antelope did.(page 74)
Tayos ancestry also made him special as he could relate to both
sides of his patronage. Although he thought of himself as being
half-breed and impartial, I get the feeling that Tayo had not come to
terms with it. His reaction to Emos taunting confirms this.
The ability of the cattle to survive the harsh environment
symbolize, Tayos hardships and the fact that he had come out of the war
alive. The cattle also bring out the struggle of the characters beliefs,
traditional or scientific. When Tayo saw Ulibarris cattle, he thought of
the diagram of the ideal beef cow which had been in the back of one of the
books, these cattle were everything that the ideal cow was not. (page 75)
Rocky was clearly on the scientific side, while Tayo, Auntie and
Josiah are borderline, Grandma is on the traditional side. If this
contrast in beliefs and values breaks the family apart remains to be seen.
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