Society at Its Best

In the primary source given, Nahuatl Speeches and Dialogues, exemplary behavior is outlined, in the form of examples of different situations, and how one should speak in each of them. This signifies that the stratification of society was somewhat open, due to the notion that all should speak similarly, yet the actualization of this is not likely. This text was written by a noble; although the thought was overreaching the general idea was that all in society should speak in this manner. The classes were at the very least meant to appear to all be well spoken and revere God in all that they did. The influence of Christianity is overwhelming in this document. However, it is very important to note that these speeches were idealized notions of how one is to behave, rather than actual representations of their behavior, which could have been very different.

In one situation the policy prescribed for greeting a family member on the way to market was a lengthy conversation about the health of family and God and his desire to grant health or afflictions. The representation of such notions equate to a desire for the general population to engage in healthy dialog, yet it is lacking one age old aspect of grocery store chat—gossip. This seems to be completely left out of the conversation, and although this period is far separated from modern forms of communication, it is sure that gossip had its place in society and generally this type of encounter is where that would take place. Especially in this situation, because it is said that they lived very far apart and this would be prime opportunity for local news to travel.

The idealized notion of conversation in this text also is “reflective of a bygone era” which reveals that the practicality of this means of communication is also off skew. In many examples the turn of phrase revolves around the notion of health and well being, yet little mention is of how to respond if one is feeling ill. It is not possible that one feels blessed in health each day, yet there is no explanation for this. This could be similar to the greeting of many modern Americans where when someone asks another “How are you today?” the proper reply is always “Fine, thank you. How are you?” This could be similar, yet in many cases the questions are to immediate family such as mothers or uncles. In reality it is unlikely that one would hide their true status of well being form this segment of the population, thus the notions may be over done.

This particular source is quite interesting and important because the idealized values and means of communication are still very important. They reveal the desires of the population or at the very least the noble in this case of the population. The shortcomings of the document are obvious in the sense that they lack the actualization of conversation, yet the examples provide a glimpse into the societal expectations of the period, rather than the true portrayal of society. This is their society at its best.