Analysis & Real World Context
The work of art above depicts the conquistadors writing history with he blood of the conquered Native Americans. This serves to show the idea that history is always written by the victors. This is a famous line from Winston Churchill and can be seen all throughout history. In the drawing, you might say that it is horrible that they slayed the natives, but because they are not there to tell of the events, the event is left up to the winners to portray as they wish. In this case, the conquistadors make the natives appear as savages that needed to be put down. All blame falls on those who lose. No one in the image is around to verify what happened except for the winner. The winning side can say anything about the losing side and it is considered fact, even though it may not be. This is one of the controversies that plagues our historical records as being from only the winning side.
We read from our history book and accept what we read as being factual history. What we often don't take into consideration is that the source is often times from the victor. The victor gets to decide what is published as they have won and either killed, or humiliated the enemy. This is seen all throughout history and we have very swayed views of certain events. We do not see the point of view from the losing side and the horrors they had to face. For example, in the American Civil War, the Union is seen as being the heroes and the Confederacy as the villains. The Confederacy is now shamed as being an enemy to the American way of life as well as morally incorrect in their accepting of slavery. What we don't consider is if the Confederacy had one, the ideas of the Union would have all the blame and they would appear as the enemies.
We read from our history book and accept what we read as being factual history. What we often don't take into consideration is that the source is often times from the victor. The victor gets to decide what is published as they have won and either killed, or humiliated the enemy. This is seen all throughout history and we have very swayed views of certain events. We do not see the point of view from the losing side and the horrors they had to face. For example, in the American Civil War, the Union is seen as being the heroes and the Confederacy as the villains. The Confederacy is now shamed as being an enemy to the American way of life as well as morally incorrect in their accepting of slavery. What we don't consider is if the Confederacy had one, the ideas of the Union would have all the blame and they would appear as the enemies.
Literature Context
In The Man in The High Castle, the same concept applies, but to a different event. The war was one by the Axis instead of the Allies, thus meaning the losers must be painted as the villains. All Allied countries are described as being ruthlessly violent and savage. Joe describes a seen where British commandos strangled soldiers and describes them as being sick and cruel. Reversely, since the Germans one, the extinction of Jews became a normal thing and no one questioned it. The U.S. was described as a weak force and easily conquered. They also said that the U.S. never had a chance, even though that was not true. The Germans and Japanese get to decide how the losers look as well as how the future will turn out. Even the Americans are ashamed of the bombings that took place by U.S. planes. The contrast of this novel, the painting, and real life shows that the victors are the authors of history.