Anth G222: Aztecs and Spaniards

Prof. Zeitlin

Fall 2002

First paper assignment: The Letter Home

DUE THURSDAY, SEPT. 12

Several individuals portrayed in Bernal Díaz' account of the Cortés mission stand out either for their deeds or for the roles they played in this enterprise. Based upon your close reading of the unfolding events in Díaz, pp. 1-115 and our class discussions of Spanish institutions and values in the early sixteenth century, try to recreate the character you have been assigned. In a typed paper of about two pages, write a letter home to a friend or family member of this individual as if you were the character. You should have some fun with this assignment, adopting the "voice" of a person from another culture and another time who is experiencing an extraordinary and often terrifying adventure. But in the course of this letter, I want you to be sure to cover the following three points: 1) a brief description of the major incidents that have transpired thus far, 2) the motivation of your character in participating in the events, based upon what you can learn of his life and circumstances from Díaz, and 3) the character's view of how things are going for the Spanish cause (or at least for this individual's faction).

Your grade for this assignment, as for all the short papers, will have two components: a score (1-10 points) reflecting how well I think you did in meeting the substantive challenge of the assignment, and a score (1-10 points) reflecting how clearly and effectively you presented your argument. The presentation and substance scores on the four short papers will be averaged together for the final grade. I will be looking for improvement in both parts of your writing over the course of the term for additonal "improvement points."