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 the Altiplano, Rigoberta worked with her father, chopping wood like a boy. With the bare minimum that they were able to cultivate and earn in the Altiplano, the family managed to live there for a while without having to go down to the fincas. They ate chile, plants, and tortillas. They grew beans so that Rigoberta’s mother could sell them to buy soap at the market.
The community’s objective is to stay away from the fincas as long as possible. In light of the special connection that they share with nature and the maize plant, this suggests that the community would be happy with a simple life of work in the fields. Such modest goals highlight the injustice of a system that seeks to rob them of the bare minimum, such as ownership of their own land.
Themes
Rigoberta describes their daily activities: at three in the morning, they woke up and ground the nixtamal dough: a mixture of maize and lime, used to make tortillas. They divided up the tasks among the family: the first person to wake up lit the fire. Others washed the nixtamal and grinding stone, made the food for dogs, ground the maize, and made the tortillas. Around five, after eating, the men headed off to work, accompanied by their dogs. They called out to their neighbors so that all of them could go work in the fields together, as one large family. At six in the evening, everyone returned home from work, ate, and took care of the remaining chores. At nightfall, they gathered and sang until it was time for bed.
Workdays in Rigoberta’s community are organized around communal work and socialization. The distribution of tasks is partially based on gender divisions, but mostly on the most efficient division of time, so that everyone’s chore plays a useful role. The participation of the dogs in men’s activities in the fields also highlights the cooperation that takes place between humans and animals, as both depend on each other for safety and survival. The villagers’ communal singing also shows the joy and peace that they find amid their hard work, as everyone enjoys the cheerful presence of their family and fellow community members.
Themes
Rigoberta describes the layout and making of the houses in the community, noting that everyone sleeps in the same room. She remarks that, due to the lack of private space, couples sometimes have sex in the same room as their children, which leads children to become aware of matrimonial dynamics.
As Rigoberta later emphasizes, children’s possible proximity to adults having sex does not necessarily translate into a transparent understanding of puberty and sex. This lack of privacy is one of the more negative consequences of communal living, in this case driven by insufficient funds to expand the house.
Themes
Rigoberta also comments on the deep rejection that society directs toward Indians, whom they call dirty. Rigoberta explains that, due to lack of time, Indians are forced to sleep in their work clothes, which they can only wash once a week. The societal rejection that Indians face because of this has left a deep emotional imprint on Rigoberta.
Rigoberta’s comment shows that racial discrimination in Guatemalan society is interconnected with the rejection of poverty. Calling Indians “dirty” is deeply offensive, as it conflates external circumstances (hard work and lack of time to wash clothes) with inherent characteristics. In reality, being “dirty” is a matter of difficult living circumstances, not choice.
Themes
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On Rigoberta’s 10th birthday, her mother and father explained adult life to her, although she had spent so much time working with them that she felt she had already seen it all. Her parents told her that, despite the dreams and goals she was likely to have, poverty and suffering would keep her from realizing them. However, they thanked her for her contributions to the family. They also explained that she would soon get her period, which would allow her to have children.
Rigoberta’s parents accept that personal suffering is an inevitable aspect of life. Although this allows them to focus on positive attributes, such as commitment to one’s community, it also condemns people to self-sacrifice, as they are forced to abandon their dreams.
Themes
Rigoberta’s father told her not to give in to bitterness or to escape the rules set by her parents, because respect for the rules is central to being respected by the community. The entire community observes one’s behavior, which enjoins everyone to behave in obedient ways. Rigoberta’s family told her that she now had the responsibility to contribute to the good of the community. In a formal ceremony with the community, she repeated her vows to do so.
Rigoberta’s community is organized around a series of rules that promote obedience and respect. Although Rigoberta believes in such devotion to the common good, she will eventually realize that obeying rules is not necessarily positive: in unjust situations, it can be better to rebel and defend one’s dignity.
Themes
