Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in I, Rigoberta Menchú, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Tolerance vs. Resistance
Class, Race, and Inequality
Ancestors, Tradition, and Community
Gender and Sexuality
Language, Education, and Power
Spirituality, Nature, and the Sacredness of Life
Summary
Analysis
In November 1979, Rigoberta ran into her father by chance. He praised her in front of all the compañeros of the CUC, asked them to be a father to her if he died, and insisted that his role as a Christian was to fight against injustice. He told his daughter that he would take part in an action in the capital in January, to protest against the violent oppression and kidnappings in El Quiché. Although intent on going, Rigoberta found herself involved in an important self-defense course on the day of the event, and she preferred to honor her prior commitment to the cause.
As Rigoberta later details, her father plays an important role in giving her the freedom and confidence necessary to become a leader in the political struggle for Indigenous rights. Although her mother is more vocal on gender imbalances, her father makes a point of encouraging their daughter to speak up in all circumstances, even if that involves taking a leadership role in male-dominated groups.
Themes
The march on the capital that Rigoberta’s father took part in sought to bring attention to the events taking place in El Quiché. Seeking international visibility, the group decided to occupy the Spanish embassy in Guatemala City. However, a fire soon ravaged the building, killing both the demonstrators and the government officials in the building. Rigoberta’s father was among those who died during this event. This violent ending was entirely unexpected: the CUC had believed that the embassy would give the protestors the status of political refugees, allowing them to leave the country to tell the whole world about their plight. They never thought that everyone would die in a fire.
The unexpected turn of events during the CUC’s protests at the Spanish embassy shows how senselessly brutal the Guatemalan regime and its armed forces have become. They do not hesitate to repress peaceful protests with violence, even if this involves killing foreign nationals and giving international visibility to their brutal methods. Repression of poor Indians no longer takes place only in remote places in the countryside: it can also affect peaceful protests in the capital.
Themes
This tragic event profoundly impacted Rigoberta. However, although saddened by her father’s death, she was also relieved that he has not died at the hands of torturers. Mostly, she grieved the death of so many valuable compañeros, who were simply fighting to defend their needs and dignity. In addition, she initially believed that her mother and siblings were among the dead, because she knew they were planning on going to the march. Although she later discovered that the rest of her family was safe, she found, in that moment, that she couldn’t bear the thought of being the only member of her family left in the fight.
The fact that Rigoberta’s sadness is not limited to her own father’s death underlines her generosity and compassion, but it also suggests that she already expected her father to be murdered at some point, given his underground activities. At the same time, her anguish at the thought that she might be the only member of her family left shows that she does still depend on her family for emotional support, even if they do not see each other regularly. Although devoted to a lifelong struggle for Indian rights, Rigoberta, like any other human being, proves that she is not impervious to loneliness and despair.
Themes
This event raised political consciousness in Guatemala across social classes, as people realized that what happened in the Spanish Embassy was unacceptable. Rigoberta gives an overview of the different versions given of the event. Although the government argued that the peasants had firearms, Rigoberta says this is not possible, because the peasants only had weapons like machetes and stones. Journalists, by contrast, said that the police threw bombs, which caused the embassy to burn. Rigoberta notes that her father had five bullet holes in his body.
The description of the events at the Spanish embassy highlights the possibility for those in power to manipulate history in order to serve their own interests. As Rigoberta has argued concerning the official school system, authorities seek to justify their past and present brutality in a variety of ways. In this case, they try to frame brutal repression against unarmed protesters as an act of self-defense.
Themes
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One compañero who survived the event was later kidnapped from the hospital where he was recovering. The next day, he was found dead in the street, with signs of torture and bullet wounds in his body. As Rigoberta emphasizes, this highlighted the government’s unwillingness to let this compañero give his version of the facts. This tragic event, which marked Guatemalan public consciousness, led to a new phase in the struggle.
The government’s unwillingness to let alternative versions of the events come to light suggests that their own version is probably dishonest. This reveals that the government’s fight against the peasants extends beyond armed conflict: it includes a fight over which historical narrative is given weight, and which voices are silenced.
Themes
