New Cattle, Night Swan, and Hummingbird

1. We learn of Josiah’s new cattle business and of the almost wild Mexican cattle he buys. What symbolic associations do the Mexican cattle carry? (Consider breeds and breeding, contrast with Herefords, where they go, and relation to nature, fences etc).

In nature, most animals do not want to be kept in by a fence. The fence keeps them from running free and does not allow them to roam across the land. So, the importance of the cattle breaking free from the fence shows how unhappy they were being stuck in the same spot all the time. Not to mention there is a huge drought that has swept over that land where the herd lived. They had no choice but to break free and try to save themselves from death because of the lack of water. The fact that the Mexican cattle were brought to Josiah by a Native American. This serves as a symbol of mixed ancestors. That possibly the Mexicans and the Native Americans have to use one another in order to prosper. Josiah had plans to breed the different cattle together in order to be able to survive in the drought, after he read about the idea in a book. But the ideas of the book did not really go with Josiah's current sistution. Pretty much he wanted to create a "power cattle", a type of cattle that would have to best meat, as well as survive in the drought. But he was unable to do this, which symbolizes the idea of failed attempts for a proper civilization. Possibly why the whites were able to take over the land in the new world, and then move all the Native Americans onto reservations.

2. We are also introduced to Josiah’s Mexican lover, the Flamenco dancer, Night Swan. What do we find out about her? What significance attaches to her character? What’s with all the blue? How does what she tells Tayo connect with elements that come up in other parts of the novel?

Night Swan is a very sexy, old woman, whom Josiah met and fell instantly in love with her. She used to dance flamenco for men, when she was younger, so they would fall in love with her. She is now a grandmother and she dances for her gandchildren. Night Swan is a mixed Mexican and had traveled a great amount in order to find water. She ends up dancing and seducingn Tayo in order to teach him a lesson about change. She knows how powerful her sexuality is, but is able to use it for good.

3.We get poetic installments of the Hummingbird tale on p. 42-45, 49-50, 65-66, 76, 97, 104-105, 140 (to this point) How might you relate this story to Tayo’s?

In Hummingbird, the poem, the shawman, were doing witchcraft and dancing on their roofs. This made one of the sisters very angry and so she took the clouds away from them for a long time, which caused a huge drought. The Shawman became worried and wanted to know how they could get the clouds back so they could have water again. The poem goes along with the situation that Tayo believed he was in. He wished the water and rain away because it was making things very hard during the war. After he prayed many times, the rain stopped. In fact, it stopped for six years, and he blammed himself for the drought. He felt that it should be taken into his own hands to figure out a way to get the rain to come back. Both Tayo and the Shawman had the same task in mind.