THE COLONIZER’S

TONGUE
Background Knowledge

 The Aztec Empire had cultural practices that would make the modern
man cringe. They practiced slavery and bloodd sacrifice. It is
popularly believed that the Aztecs gave way to the conquistador
Hernan Cortes because they had an ancient belief that someday, their
God, Quetzalcoatl, would come back to their lands in the form of a
white man. One of the other reasons that the Spaniards was able to
conquer Mexico was because of La Malinche, or Malinalli, the
translator and lover of Hernan Cortes, who also helped in advising
Cortes. Today, she is considered as both a traitor to Mexico and a
tempress.The except you are about to read is from the novel Malinche
and follows the story of the titular protagonist, which in the original
meaning was "The Tongue" of Hernan Cortes. In this particular
segment, we see how Malinche, also known as Malinalli, begins in
learn of her power, something which she is alien to, as she was sold
into slavery by her mother.

Malinche
By
Laura
Esquivel
 Characters

 Cortes

 Malinalli
Setting

 Exposition

 Malinalli needed that silence to create new and
resonant words. Recently she had stopped serving
Portocarro, her lord, Because cortes had named her
” The Tongue,” the one who transcribed what he
said inthr nahuatl languagr, and what montezuma’s
messengers said, from Nahuatl to spanish. Malinalli
had learned Spanish at an extraordinary speed, in no
way could it be said that shr was completely fluent.
So that what she said made sense in the linds of both
the Spaniards and the Mexicans.
 Rising Action

 Cortes stared intently at malinalli and sae the light in
the abyss of her eyes. It was a moment of intense
connection between them, but Cortes directed his
eyes somewhere else, abruptly disconnected himself
from her, bacause he was frightened by that
sensation of complicity, of belonging, and he
immediately tried to cut off the conversation
between them, for, aside from everything else, it
seemed too strange speaking about religious matters
with her, a native in his active.
 Climax

Media Reviews "The resulting disjointed storytelling
gives short shrift to this complex heroine, a woman
whose role in Mexican history is controversial to this
day." - PW. "This novel is not as accessible as
Esquivel's earlier work, and the quality of the prose is
uneven, sometimes lyrical and sometimes stilted." -
Booklist. "Despite its lyricism, this odd marriage of
spirituality and psychology will be a slog for all but the
most devoted New Agers." - Kirkus.
 Falling Action

 Malinalli did not want to answer him and said that
she did not know, His interruption bothered her. It
proved that cortes was not interested in talking
about his religion, or his gods, or his beliefs, or even
about her. It was clear that he was only interested in
material treasures. She excused herself and went to
weep by the river.
 Conclusion

This literary piece shows us that differences doesn’t matter when it
comes to love. Even if you don’t have the same religion, language,
beliefs or culture. As long as you love each other, there would be a
way for you to understand each other. Malinalli was a Mexican that
believed in other God, while Hernan Cortes was a christian. He
believed that everything was made from God. They also had a
different language. In the end, Malinalli and Cortes fall in love. Cortes
made Malinalli his translator, and Malinalli learned Spanish in an
extraordinary speed. Malinalli hold the weapon because she’s the one
who understands Mexican and Spanish at the same time. She could
say whatever she want to say because she holds the finest weapon of
all, language. Malinalli was considered as a traitor of their country. It is
said here that this story really happened before. This really happens,
not just in religion, culture or beliefs. Even distance, it could be the
problem but if the two lovers really love each other it would not be a
problem to them
 Theme

 La malinche, an religious story and about two
language Spaniard and Mexican beliefs.

