"EVITA" (N. FRASER & M. NAVARRO) & "CHILD OF THE DARK" (CAROLINE MARIA DE JESUS).   Term Paper ID:26315 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Compares triumphs & troubles of wife of powerful leader & woman of poverty.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Compares triumphs & troubles of wife of powerful leader & woman of poverty. Paper Introduction: Both Evita and Maria, in Evita (by Nicholas Fraser and Marysa Navarro) and Child of the Dark (by Carolina Maria de Jesus), are products of a combination of both their times and circumstances as well as of their exceptional individual characters. The special circumstances of their lives challenged and drove them to accomplish what they did, forced them to do far more than they perhaps would have done in less challenging circumstances. Of course, there is no way to determine the dividing line between such internal and external forces, but clearly without a powerful inner drive to survive and succeed, neither woman would have overcome adverse circumstances. Both women were powerful characters, but Evita strikes this reader as a woman driven by vanity, while Maria seems to be a woman of great depth. Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. . Eva Maria had no money, little education and no proven talents, but she wanted to conquer the city and be a star (Fraser and Navarro 11). She played that role spectacularly almost to the end of herlife, when she "renounced her political ambitions" as if it were a"sacrifice," when in fact she was far too ill to pursue such ambitions(Fraser and Navarro 147). Sheand Juan would dazzle the country in part because of the myths of theirleadership, in part because she was perceived as being (along with Juan)the spiritual and practical answer to the needs of the people, and in partbecause she played the role to the hilt, like the actress she wanted to beas young girl. Both Evita and Maria, in Evita (by Nicholas Fraser and MarysaNavarro) and Child of the Dark (by Carolina Maria de Jesus), are productsof a combination of both their times and circumstances as well as of theirexceptional individual characters. One might argue fairly that Evita is a deceiver at least in partbecause she did not deliver on the promises made to her people in socialand economic terms. She is toobusy trying to survive, to find water and food and shelter for herself andher children, to dream the self-centered dreams which obsess Evita at anearly age. . She would likely die for her children, but shechooses to live for them, so that they may live. On the other hand, she seems to this reader to havefallen under her own spell, so to speak, so that she believed what she wassaying, and is therefore a self-deceiver. Reading her story after readingEvita's story, the reader sees that as magnificent and dramatic as wasEvita's rise from relative poverty to extraordinary wealth and power, thelatter's life pales in terms of dignity and worth when compared to the lifeof Maria. The special circumstances of their liveschallenged and drove them to accomplish what they did, forced them to dofar more than they perhaps would have done in less challengingcircumstances. And there isonly one spigot" (de Jesus 96). She believed she could rise toofficial political power, but it is unlikely that Person would have everallowed such a thing in his lifetime. . his wife's bond with the descamisados. . Maria is not able to seduce a powerful political leader in orderto become practically worshipped by the people of her country, as is Evita.To the contrary, Maria is burdened with three illegitimate children, andshe dedicates her life to their survival in the poverty of Brazil. Obviously, most young girls do not leave home tofind fame and wealth in a few years, especially young girls raised inrelative poverty. Her apparent rebellion from that traditional roleis not entirely authentic, however, for Evita obviously plays on herfeminine charms to become an entertainment star, and ten to win the heartof Juan Peron, the man who would help her achieve her dreams of wealth andpower. At theage of fifteen she left home to pursue wealth and fame, and eight yearslater she had become "one of the best-paid radio actresses of that time"(Fraser and Navarro 27). Evita's (or Eva's) early life showed none of the politicalinvolvement of her later life, although she was, with other girls,conscious of her socioeconomic deprivation and had a "'sense of outrage atinjustice' directed at their families, their dull villages and theirpoverty" (Fraser and Navarro 11). But while that bond had given Peron power, propelling him to the Presidency, Evita's marked both the zenith and the end of her political career (Fraser and Navarro 146). New York: Norton, 1996.----------------------- 1 Ambition and the desire to be in thespotlight were present in her at an early age: Many girls possessed what she called a . New York: Mentor, 1963.Fraser, Nicholas, and Marysa Navarro. She had already risen above her circumstances tostand above the crowd. Maria's story ends: "I got up at 5 andwent to get water" (de Jesus 159). She seems to this reader a thoroughly self-centered woman whose "work" for the people was essentially part of hersense of superiority for having transcended their poverty. She created and sustained these demands for herself as a means, the last and only means, of bargaining for the vice- presidency with Peron. At the same time, even in thatsocioeconomic context, gender is crucial because women are invariably onthe lower rung of the ladder of money and power in any society, and this isperhaps even more the case in Latin American cultures. Of course, there is no way to determine the dividing linebetween such internal and external forces, but clearly without a powerfulinner drive to survive and succeed, neither woman would have overcomeadverse circumstances. For Maria,the goal is not wealth, fame, power or glory, but mere survival, not onlyfor herself but for her three children. Clearly, Evita possessed remarkable drive anddetermination, the same qualities she showed when her ambition led her tomeet and win the heart of then-Colonel Peron, with whom she would laterrule over Argentina. Evita is faced with a life of want and limitation,one in which she is expected to marry and fall into the traditional rolesof what it means to be a female in Argentina in the mid-2 th century(Fraser and Navarro 11). Both women were powerful characters, but Evitastrikes this reader as a woman driven by vanity, while Maria seems to be awoman of great depth. In the case of Maria,m her love for her children goesbeyond the bonds of duty. Maria inChild of the Dark faces problems far more serious than Evita. Meanwhile, Maria, who seems in her diary far moresensitive and intelligent than Evita, trudges in the favela, wanting forthe most basic necessities: "Lately it has become very difficult to getwater, because the amount of people in the favela has doubled. In fact, for all her wealth and power, for all the esteem in whichthe people held her, her role was finally limited by a man, just as surelyas her power would have been limited by a man (and by other social andcultural limitations imposed upon women) had she remained in her childhoodtown and married a man there, whether a wealthy man or not. Many of them wanted to be actresses, but most of them followed their parents' wishes, married safely and well, continued to live in the provinces and go to the movies once a week. Selling trash for money to survive forherself and her children occupies Maria's every waking hour, in contrast toEvita's self-centered vainglory. Child of the Dark. She gained her power through herappeal to the masses, both men and women, as an attractive woman, but thatpower was finally limited by the same man who she attracted in order toachieve power and fame and wealth. Evita's plight in her early years is hardly privileged, but herrelative poverty in no way compares to the absolute squalor and destitutionin which Maria lives. Works Citedde Jesus, Carolina Maria. It was herfeminine charms which won Peron's heart and took her to the heights ofpower, wealth and fame, but it was also the fact that she was a woman whichfinally put a limit to just how high she could go: . Once Evita achieves a measure of wealth and fame, she loses interestfor this reader, for then she reveals herself as a shallow and vain womanwho worries more about her dresses than about the people who cherish her asa savior of sorts. . My God, what are we going to dowithout water" (de Jesus 55). Evita. . In the end it was not enough: Peron had determined she should not be a candidate, and she could not go against his decision (Fraser and Navarro 147). Maria was certainly never able to rise above her poverty, but as awoman she remained brave and true to her children, showing that even insuch terrible circumstances a woman can demonstrate remarkable heroism. She isnot able, as is the ambitious and more educated and privileged Evita, toescape her poor early circumstances by relying on her charms. Gender plays a more significant role in determining the course ofEvita's and Maria's lives than does race, although the truly central forcesin their lives are social and economic. Carolina Maria de Jesus, on the other hand, finds little help (suchas money from Manuel) (de Jesus 135) or no help at all from the men in herlife, not in keeping her alive, not in keeping her children alive. In any case, as noted, when push cameto shove, he kept her off the ticket. A father can leave his children,but a mother is less likely to do so, feeling a tighter connection thandoes the father. Maria is the prime example of such deprivation based on gender. Certainly, her powerful personality in large partaccounts for the claim that she was "his most important follower and theperson who more than anyone else and almost as much as he did, gave anidentity to the movement which bore his name" (Fraser and Navarro 33). As Fraser and Navarro note, Evita did eclipse Juan once, but onlyonce, and briefly: For the first time in his career, Peron found himself relegated to a secondary role [to] . Life ceases without water, but Maria isalways more concerned with others than with herself, in contrast to Evita:"I want water for the baby's bottle. Notonly is she a poor woman locked out of the job market by reasons of gender,education, residence, and so on, she is also responsible for three childrenwhose fathers are irresponsibly missing. Saving her family, Maria impresses thisreader far more than the self-obsessed Evita does, despite the latter'srise to the heights of power and wealth. Evita, of course, not only conquered the city, but conquered thecountry and became a "star" as the wife of the President Juan Peron. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.