Topic: Essay on Cuban Revolution
INSTRUCTIONS: Cuban Revolution Paper Topics II:
Write a two-page essay on one of the following themes. All essays must have an argument (ie. thesis statement) in the introduction which
is defended via textual citations and include a correctly formatted bibliography and footnotes. Be sure to contextualize the text
historically in terms of period,
1. What does Reyita’s story reveal about the struggles of the poor on the eve of the Cuban Revolution? What does it tell us about the society which the Cuban Revolution set out to change, and the values and priorities of the poor, and of poor women in particular? Be sure
to consider it as a story representative of her experience as a black women from the eastern province of Oriente, and base your essay on a
close reading of the text.
3. Reyita’s story contains within it the core narrative or script of the Cuban revolution and how it was a necessary culmination of
Cuban history, fixing a variety of social and national ills; that it thus brought long-overdue progress to many subordinated social groups
in Cuban society. It also contains other threads related to personal memory, biography and subconscious desire. Discuss the official story
in relation to some of these submerged threads, for example, Reyitas spiritual beliefs, her racial identity, or the relationship between
class and race.
Please use this as your source
• María de los Reyes Castillo Bueno, Reyita: The Life of a Black Cuban Woman in the Twentieth Century, Durham: Duke University Press,
2000.
