way later generations viewed malintzín • H u m a n i t i e s

A maximum 800-Word Dialogue based on the chapter “One of Us People Here” from
Malintzín’s Choices. Imagine that you are having a conversation with an opinionated person who seems both sexist and
uninformed. In the middle of a conversation about Mexican history, this person makes the following
statement:
“Malintzín was not just a traitor to the Mexican people, she was also very
unimportant in the story of the Spanish Conquest of Mexico. People only say that
she’s important today because everyone is so afraid of being ‘politically incorrect’
that they feel they have to say that a woman participated in this historical event, even
though she really didn’t matter very much.”
You have recently become familiar with Malintzín and the conquest of Mexico and you find this
statement infuriating. You feel compelled to persuade your interlocutor of the reasons why he is
completely wrong.
Thus, your assignment is to write a dialogue between yourself and this other person (go ahead
and give her a name) in which you attempt to prove why Malintzín was important in the Conquest
of Mexico. Make sure to include your interlocutor’s objections and your rebuttals. For example, if he
discusses how the Tlaxcalans painted depictions of the conquest in the 1580s that do not include
Malintzín at all – which he interprets as meaning that she wasn’t important – respond by pointing
out that the Tlaxcalans had very specific political reasons for leaving her out of those paintings,
reasons that have nothing to do with how important she was.
Be sure to discuss various issues, including:
• The visual sources created at the time of the conquest that depict her important role
• The traditions that emerged in Mexico after the conquest that give homage to Malintzín
• Why translation became less important after the initial years of Spanish contact in Mexico
and how this affected the way later generations viewed Malintzín
• The role of historical memory and human beings record historical events in different ways
depending on their particular context
• Also discuss how historical memory is sometimes evident in dances, celebrations, traditions
and rituals and not just in written texts. Your maximum 800-word dialogue will be assessed based on how well it completes the three writing
goals outlined below.
1) Makes strong assertions
2) Supports those assertions with specific and concrete details and examples from the text
a. Give at least three specific examples of that evidence.
b. Be sure to include phrases such as “for example” or “for instance” – followed by
something concrete from the text
3) Explains important concepts, such as “historical memory”
Word Count:
Minimum: 500 words
Maximum: 800 words
Your micro-theme must be longer than 800 words!
Thus, you must include a “Word Count” in your heading at the top of the paper.
You can determine the “Word Count” of a document (if you write it in Word) in two ways.
1) Look at the bottom left side of the screen when you have your Word doc open. You
should see a bar across the bottom. The first thing on the left side will be the number of
pages (“Page 1 of 1,” for example). Then, to the right of that, you will see the word
count. That will include the entire document, including the heading at the top.
2) If you would like to exclude the heading from the Word Count, which you should do,
then highlight the words you want to count, go to the top menu bar, click “Review” and
then choose “Word Count” on the left side, among the options that appear. That box
will give you the Word Count of just the text you have selected. For the Primary sources of Malintzin document attached I know it’s a lengthy document but you ONLY NEED TO READ UP TO PAGE 7.