Gloria Anzaldua Speaking In Tongue

Although I can’t specifically relate to Gloria Anzaldúa’s struggle between her languages in “How to Tame a Wild Tongue,” I can relate to her “kind of dual identity” in which she identifies with neither Anglo-American cultural values nor Mexican cultural values (1566). Being half white, half Chinese, I struggle identifying as either identity, especially because my mom (who is Chinese) never learned Cantonese and largely became Americanized in her childhood. It’s an uncomfortable position to be in when racial and ethnic identity are so significant in America and when I must interact with the world as part of both the majority and the marginalized. Considering my own struggle and the conflict Anzaldúa describes, it became clearer to me the way race relations in American not only marginalize people of color but train our consciousnesses to damage ourselves. Before I turn back to Anzaldúa, a novel I’ve recently read, William Godwin’s Caleb Williams has also been on my mind, particularly in Godwin’s portrayal of how police surveillance transforms us into agents of our own oppression. Although Caleb is a white man, he also experiences a split consciousness as his values and characteristics are whittled away by the paranoia of constant surveillance.

A Chicana woman is a person of Mexican origin. Activist Cecilia Caballero falls into this category. Through a website that she cofounded, Chincana M(other)work, author Caballero writes to spread social justice to mothers who are minorities including Mexican women who are treated unlike white mothers. Caballero has good intentions when arguing how life is different being a brown mother by sharing a personal story and using emotional appeals, which in return makes her writing effective for her target audience. However, her writing would not be effective for other audiences outside the echo chamber because she fails to recognize other people’s point of views and circumstances, which ultimately would have made her writing stronger by appealing to a larger audience.

The main argument that both Anzaldua and Baldwin makes are very similar, and in these aspects, both are as equally strong. Both authors have experienced cultural and language discrimination throughout their lives, and wish to make a change. Anzaldua argues that Chicano English should not be considered an inferior language, while Baldwin claims that Black English should not be considered an inferior form of English. Anzaldua and Baldwin address the oppressors of their language and condemns them for marginalizing Chicano English and Black English, respectively. They also empower those who can relate to their situation, and encourage them to step up to be equal to that of speakers of other languages. While the main message and purpose of each author is clear, their delivery differs vastly.

For centuries, a great deal of ethnic groups have been disempowered and persecuted by others. However, one should realize that none are more intense than the oppression of women. In the novel, The House on Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros, women living in the Mango Street neighborhood suffer from their restricted freedom. Three such women, Rafaela, Mamacita, and Sally, provide great examples. All try to escape from their dreadful environment. Most of them fail, but at first, Sally seems to succeed in escaping from her father. However, she ends up meeting a husband as equally bad as her father. Ultimately, the men who live with Rafaela, Mamacita, and Sally act as insuperable obstacles that limit the freedom in their women’s lives.

Most people think that the struggle for race equality finished with Obama, but in reality, society has just reached the tip of the iceberg. In the article “Afro Latinos: Black denial”, the author argues that Dominican women are in denial about their blackness because being white is considered superior and black is inferior. This connects to The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, when the author argues that the history of the Dominican Republic affects the way people think and express themselves. Namely, Beli and Lola in their young adulthood when they struggle to fit in. These characters relate the issues to the real world, where the standards of success are for the most part are the same as the white standards of success. Race Hegemony exists

Feminism is often spoken of in generic terms, but the novels of the Hispanic-American author Sandra Cisneros and the Chinese-American Maxine Hong Kingston highlight how, even though the oppression of women may be a nearly universal construct, this oppression inevitably takes on very particular forms, depending upon the social, national, and political context of the authors. The authors' collective works highlight the struggle of women from historically-discriminated minorities to celebrate their cultures, even while acknowledging these cultures' patriarchal imperfections.

In Gloria Anzaldua’s essay “How to Tame a Wild Tongue,” Anzaldua expresses her experience of growing up in the United States with a strong Mexican background. She is quick to point out the prominent social and cultural differences within the dual cultural society such as language and culture. Anzaldua uses definition essay to demonstrate that language and culture is not always concrete. Throughout her essay, Anzaldua switches back and fourth between English and Spanish. It is clear that Anzaldua is proud of not only her Spanish language, but also her ability to speak both English and Spanish.

Anzaldúa makes several claims against her Mexican-American culture. The first is that the culture considered her “lazy” because she “would pass many hours studying, reading, painting, writing” instead of ironing or cleaning. (38) The second is that “culture is made by those in power-men. Males make the rules and laws; women transmit them.” (38) She goes on to explain that the result of disobedience for these “cultural” rules and laws was typically a beating either by husband or by parents. I thought it was especially important when she also included “the church” when she says that “the culture and the church insist that the women are subservient to males.” It is not enough that this in engrained into the females through the culture,

First I want to say these two essays “ speaking in tongues and Search of our Mother’s Gardens” are very strong stories were it reflect the struggles of the women in our society by giving an idea and feeling of their lives. The essay “Speaking in tongues: a Letter to third world women writers by Gloria Anzaldua”, it really got my attention in different ways. It is a very strong essay how I mention before were it portrays the common problem that all these different woman’s cultures face in our society, by telling us how Latinas, Asia’s, Indians and black women, are know to be categorize as “dumb dangerous beast”. I can have a voice, plus I do agree with Gloria Anzaldua, were she say that only ignorant people with no education have these wrong

Growing up, Gloria Anzaldua was encircled by lots of sayings that only women had to follow concerning how you ought to act and such. She identifies herself as a Chicano. Chicano is an assortment of nearly everything, from the “standard Spanish to Southern Texas Spanish.” All with diverse customs of speaking, many people believed that Chicano’s cannot voice Spanish suitably. They feel uncomfortable when talking to other Hispanics. Identity, in relative to language, is together. She talks about the finest technique to demoralize a Chicano is to talk critically of her language, which in turn would bring harm to her identity. She is zealous about her identity and language, and It is quite clear when she begins to speak about her experience in trying

Puerto-Rican American writer and poet Judith Ortiz Cofer describes the societal prejudices against Latina women in her autobiographical essay. Her aim is to enlighten others of the bigotry that Latina women are subjected to. Cofer uses exemplification to spur an emotional reaction and a fundamental understanding from her readers. Cofer begins her essay by captivating her audience with a detailed personal account that highlights a stereotype placed on Latinas. She explains a man who “broke into and Irish tenor’s rendition of ‘Maria’ from West Side Story,” as he saw her.

Her work as both an activist and writer has specifically made an impact within the realm of the Chicana community of women. Upon reflecting on her work, Moraga solidifies her purpose in writing and explains the impact that she intends to have. According to an interview with the San Francisco Foghorn Press, Moraga stated, “....she hoped to instill lessons of oppression, and Chicano history and culture. “We came in with memory…Particularly working with young people of color who are artists, my commitment is to help people remember that.”(2012). In terms of how Moraga’s work has affected her audience, a student stated, “I read about her a lot since I’m a Latino-Chicano Studies Minor, but I also wanted to come for myself, because both my parents are from Mexico and I love Chicana feminist work and art,” said Senior Elizabeth Castro, who waited patiently for Moraga’s autograph.” (San Francisco Press, 2012). This displays the impact Moraga’s work is having on the next generation of activists, learners and intersectional feminists. Moraga’s work has been inspirational in forging the path to uncovering the connection between race, gender and

Representation matters. It is amazing that in a “progressive” society, the majority of representation is for white, straight, upper-middle class people. It has only been in the last decade that media has included people of color in roles that are more than stereotypes. Current shows and books may be taking a page from Gabriel García Marquéz’s critically acclaimed novel, 100 Years of Solitude. Within the novel, women from the fictional town of Macondo (based on Aracataca in Colombia) are the true heroes of the story.

Through the Viewpoints of Said, Wilson, and Acuna on History and Culture. Said, Wilson, and Acuna, express throughout their various stories of the struggles their culture faces and protrude the reality of what is being done to keep what they so desire silenced. Said sincerely speaks upon the merciless lies of American and Europe and how they depict many different cultures are orientals, ever so without understanding their culture that they have to offer. Wilson fears that African Americans are losing their sense of self and their culture has for them and are becoming what they were not meant to be. Acuna expresses the multitude of cultures that thrive in central america and perpetuate that their way of living was better off without the involvement of whites, as they developed many major developments that inspire the present day. Words were changed, from their encounter in America, but Acuna, finds justice in speaking the truth as his people were not. these authors may protrude what they are saying in a different sense, but they all share the same meaning.

Although it is nearly impossible to get an entirely accurate count, there exist at least 6,500 languages (Leonard et. al., 59). Something tells me that if language were about something as simple as communication, that number would be smaller. In all actuality, people feel deeply connected to their native languages for another reason. Language and culture are one and the same, and Gloria Anzaldua illustrates this in her piece “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” using examples of changes and suppressions of her language, to represent changes and suppressions of her culture as a whole. This evident not only in the piece itself, but through much of linguistic discourse as well.