A Prized Assignment
The video above highlights two divas: one "gone far too soon" and the other probably at the height of her game.
1) Define the idiom "fall from grace".
2) Is it relevant to the topic we are now doing?
2) Based on your prior knowledge of these two women,
explain the analogy between the two divas and the Tainos' demise and Spanish rise.
Kayla and guests feel free to comment.
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The idiom "fall from grace" refers to the transition of a individual or group from a position of elegance and beauty to one of destitution and distress.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the idiom is relevant to the topic we are doing. Before the arrival of Christopher Columbus, the Taino were a gracious, peaceful, satisfied, attractive and growing tribe. However, the Spaniards caused the Tainos to suffer slavery, fatal diseases, starvation, overbearing tribute and even suicide. Truly, the Tainos had fallen from a state of mesmerizing grace right down to a condition of horror and death. Nonetheless, as they fell, the Spanish empire rapidly progressed in the Caribbean.
The video above mainly depicts two famous female singers, Whitney Houston and Adele. Whitney represents the Tainos: elegance, magnificence and beauty transformed into destitution, sorrow , sickness and death. On the other hand, Adele symbolizes the Spaniards, seeing that after the death of whitney (representing the Tainos), her success bloomed extraordinarily.
Overall, the scenario above can surely be summarized with the famous proverb "when one door closes, another one opens." Meaning, that as the sad end of one great person or tribe approaches, the booming success of another stupendous person or group may commence.
Fairly good interpretation Arize. Do you think the other door that opened could have been synonymous with African slavery? Also more about Whitney's demise could have enhanced the analogy. How did she die and was it years of abuse that led to her demise? Could Bobby Browne be compared to the Tainos or should Whitney's demise be blamed solely on herself?
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ReplyDeleteGood Arnelle! Also look at my comments above for Arize. Do you think the analogy could have been enhanced even further?
DeleteIs Adele likely to suffer the same fate like Whitney? Why?
DeleteWhat price did the Tainos pay for being naive? Was Whitney naive?
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DeleteGood response Arnelle!
DeleteThe idiom “fall from grace” refers to a loss of prestige, power, elegance and respect and it originates from the bible. Its biblical meaning refers to man’s “fall from grace” in Genesis chapter 3. In this episode, Adam and Eve are manipulated by the devil and disobey God’s commands by eating the Forbidden Fruit or the Fruit of Knowledge. God punishes them by banishing them from the Garden of Eden- A perfect paradise.
ReplyDeleteThis is relevant to The Demise of the Tainos in that, they in a sense lived in a Garden of Eden. Also related, is that the Spaniards were seen as Gods and like God, the Spanish sent these people away from their utopia. The difference is God banished Adam and Eve. The Spaniards massacred and destroyed an entire culture and people.
The video above implies that Whitney Houston has “gone far too soon” and that Adele is at “the height of her game.” The Taino can be compared to Whitney Houston while Adele is similar to the Spaniards. Both Whitney and the Taino ate “the forbidden fruit.” In Whitney’s case it was narcotic drugs whereas in the Taino’s case, it was believing that the Spaniards were Gods and allowing them to gain a foothold in their territories. Whitney’s fall landed her unto her untimely end, which opened the window for Adele to now reach what is probably her zenith. The Tainos were destroyed by the Spaniards and they rose from their ashes to enter into the Golden Age of Spain.
Interestingly enough, in this analogy, the Spaniards can be compared to both Adele and “the forbidden fruit.” However, Adele played no part in the demise of Whitney like how the Spaniards played a part in the downfall of the Tainos. Julius Caeser once said “Alea iacta est- The die is cast.” What’s done is done. Even though Whitney and the Taino are no more, we must not forget the contributions they have made to this world and impact they have had on modern society. “Destroying is a necessary function in life. Everything has its season and all things eventually lose their effectiveness and die.”- Margaret Wheatley
Some interesting analogy and quotes Arthur! And as I questioned in Arize's comments above, does Bobby or Whitney have himself/herself to be blamed for the demise? How is greed pivotal to the fall of mankind and how is this synonymous with the Spaniards lust for gold? Your Margaret Wheatley's quote is quite powerful but do you believe self-destruction is a natural process as well?
DeleteThe idiom 'fall from grace' means to fall from a position of high esteem. However, to give an even better explanation, the definition of the word 'esteem' is crucial. Esteem means the regard in which one is held in admiration, favour, or respect. Therefore, the idiom 'fall from grace' simply means to lose that hold of admiration, favour or respect. Doug Horton quotes the definition in a concise, but meaningful way. He states "To hit bottom is to fall from grace."
ReplyDeleteThis idiom is the ultimate description of our topic, the Tainos. The Tainos before the coming of the Spaniards, were on the height of grace. In greek, grace is the word charis. It literally means 'free gift'.Free means costing nothing, and a gift is something that is given. So in brief, grace is something that is given, causing no cost to the one it has been given to. The Tainos had alot of 'free gifts' that many other nations or tribes did not have. They had freedom. The previous topic before this one shows that there were many tribes that were subject to the Aztecs. The Tainos had no masters. Secondly, the Tainos had peace to a certain extent. They were not constantly in warfare, although on a few occasions, they had to fight the island caribs. Thirdly, they had natural skills that showed them how to deal with agriculture, industrial matters and thus provide for themselves. These gifts were free indeed since they did not have to pay for these gifts in physical payments or otherwise. The fact that they had life itself was the sign of grace, the free gift. However, when the Spaniards came, they caused the Tainos to hit the bottom. The Tainos were no longer free. They now had the Spaniards as their masters. Secondly, they were now in constant warfare with the Spaniards, when before, they were living in peace and harmony. Thirdly, they could no longer use their skills to help them survive. Their skills were instead used for the survival of the Spaniards. Even the gift of life itself was ripped from their bodies. Their story is the epitome of the idiom 'fall from grace.'
The video above is primarely based on two female singers: Whitney Houston and Adele Adkins. Adele has reached the top of her game. she has snagged six grammies in one night and has become one of the most influencial people in the world according to the American magazine 'Time'. It is quite safe to say that Adele 'runs the music industry.' Whitney, was once like that. There was a point in her career when she was the most known female artist. Then later in her career, she became 'music's laughing stock'. The out pour of poor reviews eventually brought Whitney's music career to its knees. Then, her last hope of trying to revive her failing career, came to an abrupt end when she died, a victim to cocaine use.
We can place the Tainos as Whitney and the Spaniards as Adele. The Tainos, just like Whitney, were rulers at some point. They ruled the area in which they lived in. They had freedom, they had food and they had pleasure. But then, all of this came to an abrupt end. A nation more powerful than themselves came and overpowered them and the lives of the Tainos were taken. The Spaniards followed the steps of Adele. The came to the homeland of the Tainos and were quickly able to control the entire Caribbean. They were at their height of prosperity and the Tainos were at the bottom of doom, just like Whitney and Adele.
Life is a funny thing. At one point, you are on top of the world, while at another point you are at the bottom of nothing.
Excellent description of Whitney's fall....would have to liked to see more what could have propelled the fall...no mention of Bobby or drugs. Is this deliberate?
DeleteThe fact that I didn't mention Bobby is deliberate. I do not personally blame Bobby Brown for Whitney's fall. I am of the belief that you make you're own decisions in life. Sure, someone can influence you to do something, but unless they are putting a gun to your head, or a knife to your neck, or any other weapon to your physical body, ultimately, you make you're own decisions in life and you decide to do something whether it is right or wrong. In her interview with Oprah, Whitney never said that Bobby forced her to do drugs. So therefore, that leaves me with the conclusion, that yes he might have influenced her, but she chose the drugs for herself. Therefore, in that case, she is responsible for her fall.
DeleteConcerning the drugs, at the time when I did this assignment, I was focusing on her music comeback. And when I did research on her, it wasn't really drugs that caused her to fail. It was bad reviews from her CDs and the concerts she performed. However, when I think back, it was the drugs that killed her musical career back in the lat 90's and early 2000's, and after a little more digging into her life, and watching another interview, the drugs had ruined her voice and so when she tried to make a comeback, with her voice ruined, she only got bad reviews. My apologies for not making more mention of the drugs.
No problem. I guess Whitney's fall may have been self-inflicted indeed.
DeleteThe idiom "fall from grace" means to fall from a position pf positive image or to experience a major reduction in status or prestige.
ReplyDeleteThis idiom is in a sense appropriate when used to describe the fall of the Tainos to the Spanish. The Tainos were at peace with themselves and had no great issues to fret over, they lived the good life where their children were guaranteed to lead a peaceful and contented lives, the same for their grandchildren and so forth. but as always life never runs as smooth as people generally wish. The arrival of the Spanish was the unintended "push" that started the Tainos'"fall from grace".
The video above shows the tragic "fall" of the late Whitney Houston, one of the greatest performing artists to ever live, who much like the Tainos had everything her grasp, money, fame, talent and beauty. ALL of it lost prematurely due to rash actions. Their naive ideas of gaining better favor with these apparent 'Gods' lead to them losing everything and gaining nothing, and as Adele rose in fame, so did the Spanish in fortune and distinction.
To summarize these events I would say that whenever an entity "falls from grace" another steps over their prone body to take their place.
Too vague Jaron! More meat needed for this analysis.
DeleteSorry about that Ma'am I'll make sure I use more info.
DeleteAnything that I could get from the video and the little that I know about the Tainos and the Spaniards has been captured in the posts so far. So I guess my input to the discussion would be that nothing in life is going to remain at the same level forever. Some things become augmented while others become diminished and in my opinion, the human way of life dictates that our levels constantly change to create balance. That being said, those who tend to be willing to fight for the higher level and do what's best for them to get there are usually the ones who do get there and stay there.
ReplyDeleteI guess it's survival of the fittest Kayla and I guess the Spaniards showed why they can be deemed superior.
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