Dr. Dawkins
AP Literature and Composition
January 11, 2016
Creative Project Assignment
‘Please do not ignore
My tears, fair sister,” she implores, “but feel
For me in my misfortune. Are you not aware
What tomes and what disasters I have seen
After the Spaniards’ endless appetite
For gold had spurred them on to infiltrate
My lands? (For certainly they were not moved
By any moral zeal or holiness.)
In consequence, though hoping to progress
From those wild rites with which I formerly
Appeased the shades of ancestors, and learn
About the God you worship, now instead
They make me raise altars to mortal men
And pray to silent idols or to trees,
In madness honouring I know not what
Catholic deity.’
The New Found Land of Stephen Parmenius by Stephen Parmenius
I chose The New Found Land of Stephen Parmenius by Stephen Parmenius as the piece of literature from which I based my creative project. Within my drawing, three distinct individuals are represented; “America” in the form of a stereotypical Native American woman, “England” depicted as a wealthy and elderly Caucasian woman, and “Spain” illustrated as a Conquistador with a skeleton rendition of “Death” looming overhead. The background slowly fades from darkness, near the Spaniards, to light, surrounding the Native American woman, in order to reference the painting “American Progress” by John Gast, which I thought of when reading the lines, “though hoping to progress / From those wild rites with which I formerly / Appeased the shades of ancestors”.
Within my illustration, I chose to draw “America” in the form of a badly beaten and enticingly youthful Native American woman just coming into the prime of her life. I chose to illustrate the America’s and the New World in this way for multiple reasons, the first being that her sexual nature is explicitly referenced within the poem by Stephen Parmenius in the lines, “For gold had spurred them on to infiltrate / My lands” when referring to Spanish plight. As a young and attractive woman, this line could literally refer to the pillaging of Native American lands and wealth, while also figuratively referencing rape and the desecration of American culture. The sexual undertones of the poem as well as the provocative thoughts associated with the New World, including lust, adventure and wealth, aided in my decision to depict “America” in revealing, though simplistic, clothing on the body of a fit and beautiful young woman. She is beaten and bruised in order to illustrate the physical toll both the indigenous inhabitants of the New World suffered from disease, rape, torture and death as well as the New World itself through the destruction of its lands and the alteration of its landscapes. Similarly, the woman’s tears represent the internal suffering New World inhabitants experienced through the loss of loved ones, their culture and their freedom. “America” thus serves as propaganda, widely known as the “Black Legend”, used by Britain to entice its citizens to travel to the New World and stake their claim for not only their nation, but also for their morality and religious devotion.
In contrast, “Britain” is illustrated as an elderly rich woman, most likely of royal descent as I chose to place her in a purple dress, a color often associated with royalty. Though “America” refers to “Britain” in the poem as her “fair sister”, I chose to illustrate her as an older, more sophisticated motherly figure protecting her daughter. “Britain” is holding up the flag of her nation in order to illustrate patriotism and the importance of defending America and the values British subjects hold most dear; their religion. “Britain” is clutching onto a Protestant cross symbolizing her desire to protect “America” out of religious expectation and moral obligation, however, the inside of the woman’s dress is lined with gold fabric, illustrating the underlying goals of British involvement in the New World. Though this woman outwardly portrays patriotism and religious devotion, underneath her wise and strong physique, she desires wealth and opportunity as much as, if not more than, the Spaniards.
Finally, the Spaniard’s involvement in the New World is depicted through a fully armored conquistador shadowed by a looming skeleton cloaked in darkness. The man, resembling a young Hernan Cortes, is covered in valuable silver armor though his neckpiece is distinguishably gold. This neckpiece is designed to illustrate the Spaniard’s open desire for wealth, as illustrated in the lines, “After the Spaniards’ endless appetite / For gold”. Though the Spaniard’s desire for wealth is more apparent than Britain’s, both nations’ primary motivation for funding exploration in the America’s was to acquire new wealth. The hovering representation of “Death” above the Spaniard’s head is a direct representation of the loss, destruction and desolation Spanish rule had upon New World societies.