José Martí and Randolph Bourne

These two were among the most original thinkers and gifted writers in the turn-of-the-century U.S. To appreciate their distinctive visions, however, some biographical background and an analytical framework may be useful.

An introduction to Martí:
http://college.cengage.com/english/lauter/heath/4e/students/author_pages/late_nineteenth/marti_jo.html

An introduction to Bourne:
http://college.cengage.com:80/english/lauter/heath/4e/students/author_pages/modern/bourne_ra.html

Martí's "Our America" (Reader 81-85)

• By "America," Martí does not have in mind the U.S. What does he have in mind? How can we tell? Who is the "formidable neighbor who does not know [America]" (295)?
• Martí shares a rhetoric of masculinity with Roosevelt, whom we recently read. E.g., "Only runts whose growth is stunted will lack the necessary valor"; "their puny arms with bracelets and painted nails"; "delicate creatures who are men but do not want to do men's work" (289). However, his vision for the Americas is very different from Roosevelt's. How so?
• Martí relies on oppositions between the "natural" man and the "artificial" man, between knowledge derived locally and knowledge imported from afar. How do these oppositions advance his argument?
• This essay is full of figurative language - metaphors, similes, metonymy. E.g., "We wore epaulets and judge's robes, in countries that came into the world wearing rope sandals and Indian headbands" (293); "Make wine from plantains; it may be sour, but it is our wine!" (293). What are some other examples you notice of Martí's use of figurative language?

Bourne, "Trans-National America" (Reader 113-17)

• Why is it okay with Bourne that assimilation - the celebrated melting-pot - is not working as well as others hoped?
• Why, according to Bourne, has the Anglo-Saxon in the U.S. become hostile and disappointed in immigrants? Why does he feel this hostility and disappointment are misplaced?
• What other myths about the U.S. cultural landscape does Bourne wish to challenge?