Ships Up And Cabeza De Vaca example essay topic

Does Cabeza de Vaca change from the beginning of the narrative to the end? Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca's fight for attainment of survival, while being deprived of the basic necessities of life, proves there is a change in him from the beginning of the narrative to the end. This transformation, though, affected multiple aspects of de Vaca, including his motives, character, and perspective of civilization. Cabeza de Vaca's experience is crucial to the history of America, as well as Spain, because it was one of the first accounts that revealed a certain equilibrium between the mighty and superior Spaniard and the Indian, once the Spaniard was stripped of his noble stature. The idea of nakedness is consistent throughout the narrative and conveys the tribulations he experienced and a sort of balance between him and the Indians. The original intentions of conquering and populating the area between Florida and a northern part of Mexico quickly shifted Cabeza de Vaca's focus to the need to survive.

His encounter with different Indian tribes and ability to get along with them (no matter what the means), and then prosper as a medicine man, shows that through his beliefs in Christian faith, and in himself, he turned the failure into an unexpected success. The nature of the Narvaez expedition was intended to be like that of any other Spanish exploration to the New World. Pan filo de Narvaez, who was selected as governor of Florida and who financed the expedition, was also appointed the commander in chief by emperor Charles V. Cabeza de Vaca was appointed royal treasurer of the voyage for his brightness and noble character. The Spaniards were to conquer the land of Florida in the name of the Charles V and the nation of Spain. They expected to take on and overcome any natives who got in their way and to reap all of the wealth and materials of worth that they came across. When the ships arrived at the western coastline of Florida, they were greeted with a storm.

This was just a sign of things to come for the fleet. The storm forced the ships to land at a different bay than what they planned on. From this point the governor wanted to move inland and explore the terrain. Meanwhile he also wanted the ships to sail along the coast until they reached the correct bay. This commenced the downfall of the conquest.

Cabeza de Vaca, as well as the commissary and other elites on the expedition, tried to persuade the governor that this was not the best decision available. Cabeza de Vaca seemed to think that loading the ships back up and sailing in search of another land more suitable for establishment, "since the country we had seen was the poorest and most desolate ever found in those parts", (de Vaca, 11) was the best idea. The others also disagreed with the governor, but had different opinions of what the next step should be. The governor's ignorance of their advice led the expedition to move inland from where they were, and further toward the dangers and misfortunes that laid ahead. This decision of the governor was the turning point of the conquest, yet Cabeza de Vaca does not know it yet.

Cabeza de Vaca's suggestion to aboard the ships and look for better land elsewhere probably would have been a valid proposition looking back on it. The Spaniards would have avoided the rough estate and swampy grounds that caused them experience physical weaknesses that they were not accustomed to. Cabeza de Vaca, although he guessed it before they went inland, quickly realized that after a few days of traveling across the uneasy country this was going to be a struggle. Guided by Indians, the Spaniards moved north in search of a settlement called Apac hale, where they were told they find all of the gold and abundance of food they needed. After a difficult journey through a thick forest, they arrived at Apalache, "where we wished to be and where we had been assured so much food and gold would be had made us forget many of our hardships and our weariness" (de Vaca, 16). At this point Cabeza de Vaca is starting to make a change.

He seems to be more knowledgeable and rational than most of the other Spaniards as he foresees the troubles that this journey brings to them. He also has his first encounters with Indians and experiences adversities that he had never faced before. Cabeza de Vaca, however, has not yet given up. He is still in hope of good things to come for the Spaniards through his belief in God and the Indians that guided them. This proves that the idea of conquest was still his mind set.

Cabeza de Vaca's alteration from being the conqueror to becoming the conquered has not quite taken place yet. Although there are interactions between the Spaniards and the Indians, there is no indication that Cabeza de Vaca finds them as a real threat to disrupting their expedition. Cabeza de Vaca and the Spaniards' motives were still driven by the search of gold and food, and they were sure that it was near. Sure enough, the Spaniards failed to find any gold in the Apalache settlement. The frequent mistreatment of the Spaniards by the Indians there led the Spaniards to departure. With no particular destination, the Spaniards fled across the Floridian land constantly crossing treacherous rivers and avoiding confrontations with Indians.

They came across Indians who tried and succeeded in hitting the Spaniards with arrows. Cabeza de Vaca observed many men who were struck by these arrows, including him. Sickness and hunger began to plague the adventurers and there was nothing they could do about it. Cabeza de Vaca started to realize the grave danger that they were in. They had little to no resources and men were so ill that they were of no use and could not go on. He even abruptly stops himself from interpreting their situation since "anyone can imagine what might be experienced in a land so foreign and evil and so utterly without resources of any kind to either stay or leave" (de Vaca, 22).

This statement is the moment where Cabeza de Vaca knows that the conquest has officially failed, and the fight for survival begins. With no other pragmatic options, the Spaniards decided to build their own ships in order to leave the land, even though none of them knew how to construct a ship and they did not have the tools nor the materials to do it. Once again, Cabeza de Vaca expresses his faith in God to guide each man to try and successfully build these ships. The character and motive of Cabeza de Vaca take a swift turn at this point. He claims their only hope was to keep faith in God for their fate rests in his hands. This isn't to say that he was giving up, but he realizes that they have quite a different expedition ahead of them, and the goal of this one is staying alive.

After the Spaniards were able to manufacture a few stable ships they fled to the open sea. Storms ate these ships up and Cabeza de Vaca observes that they would lose sight of the other ships and sometimes of land. Cabeza de Vaca's boat eventually landed on an island, which they later named the Isle of Misfortune, and for good reason. They soon tried to escape this island but the weather gave them no chance to get their boat out on the sea.

They were stripped down to their bare skin and "were in such a state that our bones could easily be counted and looked like death itself" (de Vaca, 32). On this island they met a tribe of Indians which Cabeza de Vaca naturally became close to. These Indians were naked; naked just as the Spaniards were. This observation proved to be very important to Cabeza de Vaca.

The correlation between the nakedness of himself and of the Indians conveyed the idea that they were no longer superior to them. Although these Indians were for the most part generous to the remaining Spaniards by giving them food and shelter to keep warm, they soon no longer appreciated the Spaniards as visitors. The Indians gave the Spaniards jobs in order to get food and warmth in return. Cabeza de Vaca was treated very poorly by them, but a severe illness kept him from trying to escape. Once he was somewhat well, he fled to another Indian tribe where they made him pull roots from the ground in the water. Cabeza de Vaca soon "could no longer bear the life I was forced to lead" (de Vaca, 42).

He had become a slave to the Indians, but he had no other choice. If he wanted to survive, he had to swallow his pride and accept the fact that he was under the orders of these savages. Cabeza de Vaca explains that he "was treated so badly that I had to flee from my masters three times, and they all went in pursuit, ready to kill me. The fact that Cabeza de Vaca refers to the Indians as his masters was the ultimate low point of his expedition. He faced the facts that this was his only means for survival and he had to live with this humility. The conqueror had become the conquered.

With the simple act of making the sign of the cross over a few ill Indians, the Spaniards had saved themselves. It had been a few years before Cabeza de Vaca was able to flee from being a slave to these different tribes. He knew of other Spaniards, Andres Doran tes, Alonso del Castillo and slave Estevan ico, who were held captive of another Indian tribe, and so in hope of joining them, he sacrificed himself to be a prisoner of them as well. After patiently waiting a few years, they finally escaped for good. They came across a new Indian tribe where they made their mark as medicine men. A few of these Indians came to Castillo complaining about headaches, and as soon as Castillo made the sign of the cross over their bodies, they immediately felt better.

The next day a few more sickly Indians showed up wanting Castillo to perform this healing, and he again did so and received much praise for it by the Indians. Cabeza de Vaca stepped in for Castillo one time and performed the sign of the cross over a man on the verge of death, and sure enough the Indians praised him greatly and awarding him with prickly pears and the man's bow. As they continued on, each new Indian tribe greeted the Spaniards kindly as they had gained the Indians' respect for their healing powers. From there on Indians would give the Spaniards food and helped guide them toward northern Mexico.

Cabeza de Vaca believed that God had brought them through and the hard times were behind them. They eventually came across traces of other Christians who were nearby. They were so grateful to God for surviving their hardships and "redeeming us from our sad and gloomy captivity" (de Vaca, 93). It was not too long ago that Cabeza de Vaca was being mistreated poorly by Indians whom he had referred to as his masters, and now he was being looked up to by other Indian tribes and presented with food and gifts for his healing abilities.

They saw him as a shaman, someone who was able to use supernatural forces to benefit the well-being of the ill people of the community. His reputation became known by each tribe that they came across and he was treated very well. This final transformation demonstrates that Cabeza de Vaca has won the battle of survival. Cabeza de Vaca cannot thank God enough for carrying him through the terrible times that he and the few remaining Spaniards went through as captives of the Indians. He feels a sort of accomplishment for making it through and comes out with a better appreciation for life. After experiencing what it was like to have been an Indian and a slave, and after being on the verge of death several times, the fact that Cabeza de Vaca was able to keep his composure and take each day at a time is astonishing.

Of course, like a worthy Christian, Cabeza de Vaca gives God all of the credit in the world for his survival and success. However, it is Cabeza de Vaca's faith in himself and determination that allow him to survive and go through the changes that he makes. It is almost a riches to rags, and back to riches story. However, the riches at the outcome of the expedition are far different from the riches going in.

These new riches are not measured in gold or land, but in the appreciation for human life and the struggle for survival which made a better man out of him.