A Mayan Life #3

The author's relationship with the book's material is hard to pin down. He obviously has pride for his people and country; he describes the landscapes as beautiful and the people as polite and hardworking. But, as Mekel works in the fincas, a place where there are hard working conditions, little food, and death everywhere, the author's diction is loaded with words that imply hatred and disgust; he uses words like "vile" and "infested." The conditions in the fincas are so bad that Malaria sweeps amongst the people like the common cold; so many people have the disease that the one doctor present hardly tries to cure it any more. Gaspar must also feel sadness towards his book's material; so much pain and suffering is inflicted on his people and homeland. Mekel witnesses the deaths of small children, with their parents sobbing over their small bodies. The Mayans are so impoverished that starvation and disease are daily occurrences. While Mekel is off doing his work in the fincas, trying to earn his family some money, his wife and son are back home, harvesting crops. Mekel's son, Lwin, is described with much affection by the author. Gaspar chronicles Lwin's growth from a small child to a man, all the while boasting of Lwin's strength, wit, and intelligence. The author's attitude toward Mekel's family is very loving; his descriptions of Mekel's wife, Lotahx, paint her as a hard working woman willing to sacrifice her comfort and time for the sake of her family. Gaspar's emotion towards his book's material is loving towards the people of Mekel's hometown and family, but hateful towards the fincas.