The Alamo: history and significance

James Michener's "The Eagle and the Raven"

This book takes place in the first half of the nineteenth century, during the lives of Sam Houston, a Texas revolutionary leader, and Antonio L. pez de Santa Anna, Mexican General and President. It has several different settings, as it jumps back and forth between the lives of the two men before they meet. The basic setting, however, is the wild and somewhat dusty land that is now Texas, and was then Tejas, a state in the country of Mexico. Michener matches the setting to the subject in his description, making it seem as though the land -- like the men the book is mainly concerned with -- was destined for a future both of glory and of notoriety.

This books major conflict is difficult to determine. Given the title and the subject matter, it is tempting -- and perhaps correct -- to conclude that the central conflict is between the two men, who end up leading armies on the two different sides of the Texan independence issue. In another way, the major conflict could be said to be that of the land of Texas itself, and the determining of its future. In a way, these conflicts are one and the same simply because the two men led the two most clear-cut sides of the disagreement. In another way, however, the conflicts are two separate things, as Sam Houston was fighting (n this account) more for the glory and protection of Texas, while Santa Anna is portrayed as more of a selfish and power-hungry general. Rather than two equal men butting heads, this story tells of honor's triumph over greed and unfairness, symbolized in Texas' successful secession from Mexico.

The main theme present in this book is the ability of individual personalities to change history. There are several instances for each character when this occurs, and not just in the final culminating battles of the Alamo and San Jacinto, which are the most well-known and arguably the most important battles fought by the two men. Sam Houston ended up being the Cherokee spokesman in Washington, and went on to lead Texas to independence. Santa Anna rose through the ranks of the Spanish army due to his heroism -- or at least his ability to draw attention to himself -- and managed to retain and even increase his power in an independent Mexico. It was the specific, individual personalities of these two men that allowed them to shape history in the way they did, and this concept is clear in the earliest details of their lives as told by Michener.

This is not to say that Michener describes the two men as the same. Though both were involved heavily in the political and military actions of their countries, they did so in different ways. Santa Anna is portrayed as power-hungry and very politically driven, changing sides when necessary and playing the game of politics to get what he wants. In the end, he ceded huge amounts of territory to the United States in an attempt to gain favor, but his own country turned against him and he died an un-heroic pauper. Sam Houston, on the other hand, is what we might consider a maverick of politics, doing his own thing in his own very skilled and very effective way. In this book, he is shown as a larger-than-life adventurer; the prototypical Texan.