A Response to Becky's Blog:

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Hey Becky,

You posted about the perception and portrayal of women, so you know I have to respond!

I agree with what you're saying in this blog. The way that the revolutionaries treated women is pretty frustrating. I'm going to even refer to something here that I read in Carrie's blog and that stuck with me: how we're supposed to get ourselves out of the 21st century mindset when thinking about these things, but how now we're dealing with events that occurred around 100 years ago. I never really put those two things together, but now that I have, it's even more crazy how that not so long ago, women were treated as objects. In some ways though, this hasn't changed.

I think it really needs to be pointed out that not only were women treated as objects and merely as sexual beings, but also, the men seemed to be incapable of finding somebody who could stand up to them attractive. I guess it didn't fit their needs, because who wants to put up with a woman that's going to fuss, right? Camila was a sweet, soft-speaker, and the men knew that from the beginning. On the other hand, War Paint acted just like the men did - she was harsh, loud, and partook in the same things they did. You think they would've liked that from her, or at least respected it, but no. They were all happy when she was gone (even though they act the same way, arguably even worse).

I would also like to point out the fact that War Paint could also be considered sweet, the men just didn't see it. She knew what Demetrio was up to and tried to get her out of the situation and take her home. She was looking out for Camila. But what does Camila do? Decide that she is "starting to like it" and stays, like the submissive woman that Demetrio wants her to be. I think War Paint should get a little credit for standing up for a fellow woman who she thought was in danger; she didn't need to do that.

Another thing that I want to bring up is the author's choice of names for these two characters. Camila sounds like the name of somebody who is gentle and sweet. But War Paint? That makes her really stand out as being the opposite. Was she named this way just to show she has experience with fighting, or is there some other reason for this?

I think that just the contrast between these two women is pretty interesting and I hope we discuss it more in class, because I think it could be important to the book.

Thanks Becky!

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