The essay How to Tame a Wild Tongue, by Gloria Anzaldua, highlights the difficulties Chicanos have being raised in the United States. In the essay, Anzaldua also describes her problem with self identity regarding which language she should speak due to the ethnocentric views and the cultural imperialistic nature of others. In the essay it seemed that no matter what language Anzaldua spoke she was criticised for it. When she spoke English the American born English speakers criticised her for her accent. Or when she spoke Spanish the Spanish speakers claimed the way she spoke Spanish is not proper. Society tried to tame Anzaldua’s tongue mainly by making her feel like a social outcast. However, she was able to overcome this through a strong sense …show more content…
However, this fails and she is able to overcome this societal pressure to change through a strong pride in her background. Anzaldua says, “[...] I am my language. Until I can take pride in my language, I cannot take pride in myself. Until I can accept as legitimate Chicano Texas Spanish [...] I cannot accept the legitimacy of myself”(30). Anzaldua states that her ethnic identity is equivalent to her linguistic identity so as long as she is embarrassed by the languages she speaks she will be ashamed of herself. So instead of backing down Anzaldua goes against society she says, “I will no longer be made to feel ashamed of exiting, I will have my voice [...] I will overcome the tradition of silence”(31). Anzaldua will not be pressured into disliking her background. She is proud to be a Chicano and she will not continue to feel ashamed of it. Although other people still did not appreciate Chicano literature like Anzaldua did, she still fought for it. While Anzaldua was in graduate school working towards a ph.D. she said, “[she] had to ‘argue’ with one adviser after the other, semester after semester, before I was allowed to make Chicano literature an area of focus”(31). This shows that Anzaldua is willing to go to great lengths in order to use Chicano literature. This clearly reveals that Anzaldua has a huge amount of respect for her background and she is not afraid to show it. And when she started teaching High School students she said, [...she] tried to supplement the required texts with works Chicanos [...]”(31). This is just another example of how Anzaldua would go to great lengths to get Chicano literature known. She ends this section of her essay by saying some encouraging words for Chicano people. She says, “Stubborn, preserving, impenetrable as stone, yet possessing a malleability that renders us unbreakable, we, the mestizas and mestizos, will remain”(34).
Preceding her youth, in 1977, Anzaldua became a High School English teacher to Chicano students. She had requested to buy Chicano texts, but was rejected to do so. The principal of the school she worked for told her, in Anzaldua’s words: “He claimed that I was supposed to teach “American” and English literature.” She then taught the text at the risk of being fired. Anzaldua described, “Being Mexican is a state of soul – not on of mind.” All in all, the reprimanding she had to endure only made her stronger: “Until I can take pride in my language, I cannot take pride in myself.” It led to Anzaldua embracing her Mexican culture even more, contrary to shoving it aside. Anzaldua transformed her beliefs into something both cultures can applaud, and be honored
Gloria Anzaldúa was a Chicana, lesbian feminist writer whose work exemplifies both the difficulties and beauty in living as one’s authentic self. She published her most prominent work in 1987, a book titled Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza. In Borderlands, she write of her own struggle with coming to terms with her identify as a Chicana, an identity that lies at the border between Mexican and American. For instance, she writes,“we are a synergy of two cultures with various degrees of Mexicanness or Angloness. I have so internalized the borderland conflict that sometimes I feel like one cancel out the other and we are zero” However, even as she details this struggle she asserts pride in her identity, declaring, “I will no longer be
Anzaldua grew up in the United States but spoke mostly Spanish, however, her essay discusses how the elements of language began to define her identity and culture. She was living in an English speaking environment, but was not White. She describes the difficulty of straddling the delicate changing language of Chicano Spanish. Chicano Spanish can even differ from state to state; these variations as well as and the whole Chicano language, is considered a lesser form of Spanish, which is where Anzaldua has a problem. The language a person speaks is a part...
In her book “Borderland/La Frontera, The New Mestiza” by Gloria Anzaldua, Gloria talks about what it means to be able to identify, culturally, one’s self. So what does it mean to be able to identify one’s self with a specific culture? What about when the culture you identify yourself with, to other cultures, isn’t legitimate? In her writing, Gloria expresses the struggles of Chicanos trying to find their own identity with language. By showing how she had to use several different styles of English and Spanish growing up, the rejections of both American and Mexican cultures, and by showing how the Chicano language finally came about, Gloria is able to effectively convey this point.
In addition, both essays reflect how the language they spoke intertwines with their identity and how it sometimes has an impact on the way they interact with society. The effect of the language on their identity is demonstrated through what the authors may call their “different languages.” Although Tan uses more of a personal narrative style than Anzaldua, Anzaldua uses definitions and quotes to demonstrate how her identity was influenced as well. Anzaldua mentions the examples of the different languages by describing “Home tongues”, “Chicano Spanish”, “Chicano Texas Spanish”, “Pachuco” and many others. She uses personal narrative to describe the “Home Tongue” by stating it was the language she spoke with her sisters and brothers.
America is a presumptuous country; its citizens don’t feel like learning any other language so they make everyone else learn English. White Americans are the average human being and act as the standard of living, acting, and nearly all aspects of life. In her essay “White Privilege: The Invisible Knapsack,” Peggy McIntosh talks about how being white has never been discussed as a race/culture before because that identity has been pushed on everyone else, and being white subsequently carries its own set of advantages. Gloria Anzaldua is a Chicana, a person of mixed identities. In an excerpt titled “How to Tame a Wild Tongue,” she discusses how the languages she speaks identifies who she is in certain situations and how, throughout her life, she has been pushed to speak and act more “American” like. McIntosh’s idea of whiteness as a subconscious race that carries its own advantages can enlighten why Anzaldua feels like she
The question that stems out of Anzaldua is can you be the dominant discourse and then have another group of people come in and put you into the role of the “other”. Both Pratt and Anzaldua distinctively show the dominant discourse and the “other” in their essays. Anzaldua shows that she and the Chicanos are considered as the “other” but the problem is that they were there first and were treated like they were not important. Pratt spoke of the Incas and Spaniards. The Spaniards thought that they were the dominant discourse and they treated the Incas as if they didn’t matter. Anzaldua started her essay by saying “We’re going to have to control your tongue, “the dentist says, pulling out all the metal from my mouth. After reading that I realized that the dentist is the dominant discourse and he is
The essay “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” by Gloria Anzaldua is relevant to today’s society, because it brings to discussion important social issues such acculturation, racism, and sexism. A major social event that she lived through and was an advocate of was the Chicano movement, which influenced her in her writing. This essay is not only written solely using her intelligence and research, it also comes from personal experience. Furthermore, she says that she will not be silenced anymore, that all people deserve the right to freedom of speech and the freedom to their culture. Not to have to submit to the dominant cultures found here in the United States. This essay is directed towards two groups
Have you ever felt like you didn’t belong somewhere? Do you know what it feels like to be told you don’t belong in the place of your birth? People experience this quite frequently, because they may not be the stereotypical American citizen, and are told and convinced they don’t belong in the only place they see as home. In Gloria Anzaldúa’s “How to Tame a Wild Tongue”, Anzaldúa gives the reader an inside look at the struggles of an American citizen who experiences this in their life, due to their heritage. She uses rhetorical appeals to help get her messages across on the subliminal level and show her perspective’s importance. These rhetorical appeals deal with the emotion, logic and credibility of the statements made by the author. Anzaldúa
Another struggle for identity with Latinos is their struggle with the Spanish and English languages. While some Latinos may speak Spanish in their homes, the language may not be conversationally used in their schools. Some Lat...
In the essay “Mother Tongue” Amy Tan, the author, gives a different, a more upbeat outlook on the various forms of English that immigrants speak as they adapt to the American culture. Using simple language to develop her argument, she casually communicates to the audience rather than informing which helps the audience understand what is being presented at ease. Her mother plays an important role in her outlook of language, because she helps her realize that language not only allows one to be a part of a culture but create one’s identity in society. Amy Tan shares her real life stories about cultural racism and the struggle to survive in America as an immigrant without showing any emotions, which is a wonderful epiphany for the audience in realizing
At the beginning of the essay, Anzaldúa recounts a time when she was at the dentist. He told her, “We’re going to have to control your tongue” (33). Although he was referring to her physical tongue, Anzaldúa uses this example as a metaphor for language. The dentist, who is trying to cap her tooth, symbolizes the U.S. who is similarly seeking to restrict the rights of minority groups. Nevertheless, the tongue is preventing the dentist from doing his job. Likewise, there are several minority groups who refuse to abide to the laws of dominant cultures and are fighting back. Anzaldúa also touches on a personal story that happened at school. When she was younger, she was sent to the corner because apparently, she spoke back to her Anglo teacher. The author argues that she was unfairly scolded because she was only telling her teacher how to pronounce her name. Her teacher warned her, “If you want to be American, speak American. If you don’t like it, go back to Mexico where you belong.” This short story provides an understanding of what Anzaldúa’s life was like. It demonstrates how even at a young age, she was continually pressured because of where comes
Throughout Richards early childhood development he quickly understood that in order to succeed in America he would have to learn to confidently speak in English. Richard is Hispanic American and although he was born in America, Spanish was the only language that he was exposed to as a young child. He grew up in a home where Spanish flowed freely, but he soon realized outside of his home the language that he primarily knew was foreign. His parents spoke fluent Spanish along with all of his relatives. The brief encounters he experienced of his parents speaking English were only in public places and the proficiency was very poor. Rodriguez’s home was as a safety net for him and his Spanish speaking family with they are his only real connections to the outside world. It wasn’t until Richards encounter with his teachers that he and his family was heavily impressed on the importance of developing a public language. After the encouragement of the visit home from a teacher as a family
The contrast between the Mexican world versus the Anglo world has led Anzaldua to a new form of self and consciousness in which she calls the “New Mestiza” (one that recognizes and understands her duality of race). Anzaldua lives in a constant place of duality where she is on the opposite end of a border that is home to those that are considered “the queer, the troublesome, the mongrel and the mulato” (25). It is the inevitable and grueling clash of two very distinct cultures that produces the fear of the “unknown”; ultimately resulting in alienation and social hierarchy. Anzaldua, as an undocumented woman, is at the bottom of the hierarchy. Not only is she a woman that is openly queer, she is also carrying the burden of being “undocumented”. Women of the borderlands are forced to carry two degrading labels: their gender that makes them seem nothing more than a body and their “legal” status in this world. Many of these women only have two options due to their lack of English speaking abilities: either leave their homeland – or submit themselves to the constant objectification and oppression. According to Anzaldua, Mestizo culture was created by men because many of its traditions encourage women to become “subservient to males” (39). Although Coatlicue is a powerful Aztec figure, in a male-dominated society, she was still seen
...xpressing her Chinese culture. Mastering a second language allows her to articulate her and her mother’s thoughts; it is a foundation for her pride and a foundation to express herself. For Gloria Anzaldua, instead of choosing one language over the other, she chose a mix of the two and fights for it. She realized the value of her language when she lost it and now treasures it. The kind of Spanish she speaks is neither English nor Spanish, but both. It is overflowing with culture from Medieval Spain, France, Germany, etc., just from the origins of the words. It is her pride and a representation of herself, fighting and living. In conclusion, in addition to Lera Boroditsky’s article proving that the structure of language affects how we think, the articles by Eric Liu, Amy Tan, and Gloria Anzaldua show how language is a foundation for a person’s culture, pride, and self.