A Visual Metaphor
Magical Realism and the History of Latin America
Unit
Pre-Colonial
Style
Colonialism &
The New Social
Order
Independence
and Revolutions
Social Studies Topics
Themes
Maya
Aztecs
Architecture
Art
Clothing
Economy
Government
Language
Religion
Spanish Conquest
War
Cortez, Malinalli & Montezuma
Pop Vuhl

House of Spirits
(Chapters 1-3)





Malinche
Social Class System
Peninsulares
Creoles
Mestizos
Columbian Exchange
Catholicism
Native Americans
Haciendas
Free Blacks
Maroon Colonies
Slaves
Haiti
House of Spirits
(Chapters 4-9)
Magical Realism & Frida Kahlo
Mural Art & Diego Rivera
Literary Devices
Constant Warring States
o
Ethnic groups within the Mayan
empire (Quiche)
Importance of Storytelling prior to
colonialism


Masculine vs. Feminine
Civilization vs. Tribal
Old social class vs. New social class
Assimilation vs. Revolution

Latin American Short
Stories
House of Spirits
(Chapter 10-14)
Born in Blood & Fire
(Excerpt)




Hegemony,
Marginality
Identity
Destabilization


Transculturation
Hegemony
Elements of a Myth
1st person vs. 3rd person
narrative
Motifs
Malinche: Water, Corn,
Baptism, Ritual, Language,
Horse
o
House of Spirits: Big
House on the Corner (93)
Theme
Metaphor
o
Visual Metaphor
o


Las Casas: A Short Account
Corridos & Plenas
Argentina
Chile
Cuba
Guatemala
Mexico
Transculturation
Books

Magical Realism
House of Spirits
(Epilogue)
In Social Studies you learned about the construction of Latin American social classes and identity following the arrival of
the Spanish (like a “builder”). In English you learned about important Latin American themes and artistic techniques
unique to the Latin world (like a “decorator”).
Purpose: For this assignment you will be answering the essential question of this class: What is Latin American identity?
Using style, themes, and storytelling of Latin American writers we have studied this trimester answer this question.
Goal: Using the motif from House of Spirits, the Big House on the Corner, you will be building
and decorating a
house in order to answer the essential question of this course. Your house will essentially become a visual metaphor
that addresses the answer. Remember, a visual metaphor is a picture for one thing that is used to refer to another thing
in order to show or suggest that they are similar.
Mediums:



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

Digital Tour of a House
Painting
Diorama
Art installation
Clay?
Other?
Tasks:
Build the house. (This is like your analysis but it’s in visual form.)
o
Go through the list of Social Studies topic and brainstorm ways you could, metaphorically, build those
attributes into the house.
 For example, how would Aztec culture would be represented in this house? Maybe they are
represented by being the “side garage”. Or maybe it’s built with weird mythical creatures
coming off the side.
Decorate the house. (This is like your analysis but it’s in visual form.)
o
Go through the list of Language arts themes and literary devices and brainstorm ways you could,
metaphorically, build those attributes into the house.
 For example, many of the authors we have read have a particular opinion about female vs.
male roles. Maybe you represent this by an apron strangling a hammer in the kitchen.
Thesis and Quotes/Evidence
o
o
o
Make sure you have your thesis that answers the essential question somewhere on your piece.
Add quotes from some of the social studies book: History of Latin American: Collision of Cultures, Las
Casa’s A Short Account of the destruction of the Indies, Eyewitness: Aztec
Add quotes from the English books (see chart above).
SS and LA should have
Exceeds Standards
Standard
“I know/Can
it well enough
to
“I know/Can do everything that was
theirdoown
rubric.
make connections that weren’t
taught.”
taught without making mistakes”
Approaching Standard
Below Standard
I know/Can do all the easy parts, but I
don’t know/can’t do the harder
parts.”
“With help, I know/can do some off
what was taught”
IDEAS: Thesis is clear, supportable, and
specific; statement is complex and
thought provoking.
IDEAS: Thesis is clear, supportable, and
specific, though written in a simplistic
style.
IDEAS: Thesis almost meets the
requirements, but it may be too
broad/vague or too specific.
SIGNIFICANCE: Answers the “So what?”
and “Why is this important?” in an
interesting and insightful way.
SIGNIFICANCE: Vaguely answers the “So
what?” and “Why is this important?”
Getting there, but hard to understand; a
little confusing.
IDEAS: Unclear as to what the author is
trying to say.
Thesis _____/10
Wrote a question not a statement.
Thesis has a great idea but the wording
is disjointed and hard to follow.
Nice idea, but it’s hard to decipher what
is arguable.
Thesis is not arguable, it’s simply a fact.
Does not answer the prompt.
Put evidence in the thesis.
SIGNIFICANCE: Does not answer the “So
what?” and “Why is this important?”
MEANING: Explaining the significance of
the evidence is achieved, thereby the
student shows a complex understanding
of the significance of the evidence as it
relates to the thesis. (I.e. It was a
fascinating metaphor for depicting the
thesis.)
MEANING: Explaining the meaning of
the evidence is achieved, thereby the
student shows SOME understanding of
the importance and the significance of
the evidence related to the thesis.
Clear depiction of visual.
Evidence _____/20
Analysis Visual_____/20
It is so broad that it barely resembles a
thesis statement.
QUALITY: Analysis takes creative risks
with the evidence to explain possible
connections, cause and effect,
outcomes, conclusions, etc. Very
thought provoking! Makes the reader
say, “Wow, I never thought about that!”
QUALITY: Analysis attempts to interpret
beyond the simple implications, but the
student may not be quite clear in how to
do that.
QUANTITY: Student has extensive
evidence that incorporates a widerange of materials.
QUANTITIY: Evidence is pulled from
different assignments, lectures, notes
and/or research.
A variety of evidence is pulled from
different assignments, lectures, notes,
quotes, characters, plot, scenes, and
conversations.
Too much evidence is used; therefore
the argument becomes a bit hard to
follow.
QUALITY: The evidence is well
developed, and specific pieces of
evidence are used (names, places,
people, events, dates, quotes,
characters, plot, scenes, conversations,
etc.). It is clear the student understands
their evidence in a great amount of
detail.
QUALITY: The evidence was not very
specific and was rather simple. The
student understood their evidence but
not in great detail.
REALTION TO THESIS: Some support for
the thesis statement was given using
evidence, although at times it was a
somewhat difficult to make the
connection.
Craftsmanship
_____/5
RELATION TO THESIS: Evidence was used
to support the thesis and never strayed
from the argument.
MEANING: The student attempts to
analyze the evidence for meaning as it
relates to the thesis, but the visual does
not seem support the thesis very well.
The analysis mostly summarizes the
evidence and does not explain the
meaning or how it relates to the thesis.
Uses similes and/or metaphors in the
thesis.
Could not find thesis.
MEANING: There was no connection
between the thesis and the visual.
There is little to no analysis present.
Analysis does not answer the prompt.
QUALITY: Analysis merely explains the
basic implications.
QUANTITY: Not enough evidence was
given to make a strong argument.
QUANTITY: Very few pieces of evidence
were given.
All of the evidence seemed to be very
similar and/or was used repetitively.
QUALITY: Uses generalized evidence;
does not develop it.
QUALITY: The evidence was really brief,
so brief in fact that it was not clear as to
what the information was about.
It was hard to decipher between
evidence and analysis.
RELATION TO THESIS: Uses
text/historical event in support of an
idea, but may not develop fully, or may
use generalizations rather than specific
textual/historical references.
Student has attempted to use evidence
that relates to the thesis; however, the
evidence did not seem to apply directly.
(The student could have chosen
stronger evidence to support the
argument.)
The design and construction were
somewhat planned.
RELATION TO THEIS: Student has
attempted to use facts and evidence
that relate to topic; however, the facts
did not seem to apply directly to the
thesis.
ACCURACY: Some of the information
was inaccurate.
The piece shows that the creator took
great pride in his/her work.
The design shows that the creator took
pride in his/her work.
The design looks thrown together at the
last minute.
The design and construction look
carefully planned.
The design and construction look
planned.
It appears that little design or planning
was done.
It is color, creative and shows that a lot
of time was taken to create it.
It took a bit of time to create.
Craftsmanship is poor.