In Inés of My Soul, the Spanish conquistadors changed drastically once they reached the Americas. When the conquistadors were in Spain, I'm sure they were civilized and respectable men who strove to follow the law. Once the conquistadors arrived in the Americas, they started to do horrific things, one of those being raping and mistreating women. The conquistadors' change of behavior once they were away from their homeland of Spain reminds me of the behavioral change that occurred with the young British boys in the movie, Lord of the Flies.
In the movie, Lord of the Flies, a group of British boys are stranded on an uninhabited island in the Pacific Ocean as a result of a plane crash. For sometime, the boys on the island try acting in a civilized manner and try governing themselves. Overtime, the group of boys end up splitting into two groups. One of the groups is led by a righteous boy named Ralph, while the other is led by a savage and power hungry boy named Jack. In the end, Jack and his clan commit murders, burn parts of the forest, and become savages because of the situation of being on an uninhabited island with no authority figure. The movie ends with Jack and his clan chasing after Ralph through the forest in order to murder him. As a result of the fire, a passing British naval vessel goes to see what is the matter. A British naval officer sees Ralph and a group of boys running after him with spears and thinks that the boys are just having fun. He thinks that because he expects better from sophisticated British boys.
This movie reminds me of the part in Inés of My Soul when Valdivia threatens his men that he would take their women away if they continued to mistreat them. Much like how the young British boys became corrupt overtime after being far away from home, the Spanish conquistadors also became corrupt and savages. In both Lord of the Flies and Inés of My Soul, the people were far away from home and were in a very difficult situation. It's amazing to see how even such sophisticated and educated people could become so savage as a result of being put through hard times. Much like the British naval officer in Lord of the Flies, Valdivia expected more from his men and was disappointed to see them act in such a savage manner.
Lord of the Flies and Inés of My Soul prove that even the best of people can change for the worst once they are put in very difficult situations. Trying to act in a civilized manner even during arduous times is a great problem that the world has.
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