Petrarch; Machiavelli; Native America; De La Cruz

1.   Machiavelli believed that if a political leader was going to be generous, it was better for him to displayed his generosity in public.  He believed that if someone was in the process of becoming a prince, then it was wise to use generosity as a means to gain people’s trust.  In the other hand, generosity could be a sign of weakness.  For Machiavelli, a prince should be feared, but not to the point of being hated because of being too cruel. When a prince is feared, it makes their subjects united and obedient.  A leader also should be able to be a good liar when can’t do impossible or conflicting tasks.  The prince should know when to deceive and when to have integrity, depending on the circumstances and the kind of people.  For Machiavelli, the prince has to be good, but not all the time, sometimes it has to know when to be the opposite, otherwise the enemies and subjects will take him for weak and the people will not be secured.  I agree with Machiavelli, in that a political leader should be good to the people, but not so good to the point that he does everything that the people want, because this demonstrates that he is not a leader, but a follower.  Also, in today’s time, it is not that everyone has the appropriate education to determine what is the best for everyone.  There is a lot of people that are ignorant and will vote for a leader, for the mere fact of his looks.  I don’t agree in that a leader has to be cruel or coercive to rule or maintain order among the people or subjects.  Often, being persuasive and having more than one alternative is all it needs to have.  I think a leader should not deceive or lie to the people, with the excuse that is better if they do not know the truth, by thinking like this they make things worst.

2.   The hair always has symbolized the feminine side of a woman.  In different times it has also been considered a symbol of fertility.  In the old testament, the hair of the women was considered to be her veil, who distinguish them in the religious society.  It was then acquired as part of their culture.  Nouns, often cut their hairs to symbolize their religious commitment.  It means they are renouncing to everything considered vanity by the world, to instead, commit to a religious standard.

3.     In my opinion, the flowers in this song referred to the warriors that are coming back from war.  The princess, in the song are compared to different types of birds:  “troupials, spirit swans, trogons, roseate swans.’  Like birds are waiting for the spring, the song could be a symbol of how everyone, are waiting for the warriors to come back.  In the same way birds cannot survive without flowers, because they have the nectar, the people are waiting for this warriors to bring back the necessary sacrifices to keep surviving.  It also states:  “They who have accepted flood and blaze’, meaning the warriors, who have been in the awful battle.

2 thoughts on “Petrarch; Machiavelli; Native America; De La Cruz

  1. emrickrachel

    I agree that when De La Cruz cut her hair she was giving up a worldly desire or pleasure. I never realized that nuns cut their hair short, but it does make sense based on its symbolism.

  2. sehoyos

    I didn’t even think about nuns cutting their hair as a renouncement of vanity. That is a good example of how hair is considered a thing a beauty.

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