...the essay "It’s Hard Enough Being Me," Anna Lisa Raya relates her experiences as a multicultural American at Columbia University in New York and the confusion she felt about her identity. She grew up in L.A. and mostly identified with her Mexican background, but occasionally with her Puerto Rican background as well. Upon arriving to New York however, she discovered that to everyone else, she was considered "Latina." She points out that a typical "Latina" must salsa dance, know Mexican history, and most importantly, speak Spanish. Raya argues that she doesn’t know any of these things, so how could this label apply to her? She’s caught between being a "sell-out" to her heritage, and at the same time a "spic" to Americans. She adds that trying to cope with college life and the confusion of searching for an identity is a burden. Anna Raya closes her essay by presenting a piece of advice she was given on how to deal with her identity. She was told that she should try to satisfy herself and not worry about other people’s opinions. Anna Lisa Raya’s essay is an informative account of life for a multicultural American as well as an important insight into how people of multicultural backgrounds handle the labels that are placed upon them, and the confusion it leads to in the attempt to find an identity. Searching for an identity in a society that seeks to place a label on each individual is a difficult task, especially for people of multicultural ancestry. Raya’s essay is an...
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...Alexandra Ortiz English 120 Professor DiFranco Essay #2 Sacramento Both Ernesto Galarza’s “Barrio Boy” and Joan Didion’s “Notes From a Native Daughter” write about Sacramento’s past. Both authors talk about Sacramento during two different time periods. Joan Didion talks about the mid-century and Ernesto Galarza talks about the early 20th century. Although both author’s perspective of Sacramento differs from era to era, there are differences in certain characteristics described by both authors. Galarza’s essay focuses on an immigrant point of view arriving into Sacramento versus Didion’s experiences as a native decedent of Sacramento. Joan Didion’s Sacramento is a very different place compared to Ernesto Galarza’s , for him it’s an immigrant place where Mexican, Yugoslavs, Chinese and many other different cultures come together to make one home. For Joan Didion, Sacramento is a place that with the pas of time and the changes that has come with time, have forced memories to be lost and most importantly identities. Didion highlights the true nature of Californian lifestyle and how with its gradual disappearance more than the past is being lost, but a new generation is also losing an understanding of its true roots, its true history and as a result a loss of knowledge. The loss of knowledge is equivalent to the loss of identity because if one doesn’t know where they came from how one can truly know who they are. Didion talks about her own experiences as a child in Sacramento...
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...A compilation of essays, The Labyrinth of Solitude mostly reflects on political history, while a few others tackle the experience of solitude in a direct manner. The author Octavio Paz holds to the belief that genres of solitude in society derive from a psychological fixation of defeat. For example, the Aztec’s humiliation begins with the harshly commanding leaders who are ousted and superseded by the Spanish fighters, which occurs during the independence period. In addition, the Aztec people grow intimidated by the North Americans. The outcome of these outside influences creates an oscillation between harsh treatment and aloofness. However, Paz elaborates that the feeling of being oppressed did not develop out of a sense of inferiority....
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...The Power of Language: Using Language to Reclaim and Reform Identity In her essay “Spanish Lessons,” Christine Marin describes her struggle with two language identities and how finding her voice in both Spanish and English allowed her to discover the power of language. Similarly in “Coming Into Language,” Jimmy Santiago Baca discusses how, in spite of seemingly insurmountable obstacles, language became a powerful outlet through which his life was changed. Both essays describe situations in which language and education were used as tools to empower the authors to reclaim their respective identities. I identify with the authors’ struggle to turn language and education from sources of humiliation to platforms of empowerment. Marin describes to...
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...Wordup Labor and Legality Essay August 9, 2011 In her book, Labor and Legality: An Ethnography of a Mexican Immigrant Network, Ruth Gomberg-Muñoz describes the lives of ten busboys, she referrs to as the Lions, living and working in the Chicago area. Gomberg-Muñoz provides an insight into the lives of these undocumented Mexican workers. They share their stories of crossing the border, the affects of their absence on family back in Mexico, and the daily struggles of living in a country without the benefits of citizenship. The Lions, as well as other undocumented Mexicans, have to face Americans stereotypes every day. Probably the biggest stereotype the Lions contend with is the belief that all Mexicans are hard workers. The word “easy” cannot be used to describe the Lions’ busboy jobs. Gomberg-Muñoz describes their daily duties some of which include: cleaning, stocking, setting and clearing tables, and generally assisting the waiters and managers. The managers tell Gomberg-Muñoz that the busboys are “the best workers we have at Il Vino” (Gomberg-Muñoz 2011:18). This may be why on top of the Lions’ standard workload they regularly “unclog toilets, clean martini-induced vomit, change customers’ flat tires, trap mice, organize storage rooms, move furniture, paint, salt the parking lot when it snows, water the plants, and scrape gum from the bottom of tables” (Gomberg-Muñoz 2011:17). The Lion’s may have a stereotype to live up to, but they do try to make it work in their...
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...“Like Mexicans” is a narrative essay written by author Gary Soto who is using his own personal Experience to describe his moral believes, cultural values that shaped his thinking and tried to influence his mindset. His cultural identity as a Mexican had a deep impact in shaping the principles of his life and had an impact on his attitude towards making a future decisions. Author is describing two periods of his life, when he was in his early teens around thirteen years of age and later when his emotions, thoughts and believes have changed, around his young adulthood early twenty’s . This essay talks about Gary’s childhood being raised in a closed Mexican community with the set rules and expectations of the society that every Mexican should morally obey. Everything that he learned, observed and truly believed has changed when he became a young adult. His values about life and people has drastically taken a different path in life, when he met his future wife Carolyn, who was a Japanese decent. The author very much concentrates on his grandmother and her strong influence on trying to talk Gary into marrying only a Mexican girl. For her everyone that was not Mexican would not be a fitted wife for her grandson Gary. She sais “ No Okies hijo”, “ My son married one, and they fight everyday about I don’t know what and I don’t know what”. She is using her personal unfamiliarity and unawareness about people from different backgrounds and that made her indirectly...
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...Caught Between Cultures Gloria Anzaldúa’s The Homeland, Aztlán / El Otro México, explores the political and social impact of creating borders between places and their residents. Through use of her unique and diverse writing style, Anzaldúa is able to capture the struggle faced by displaced Mexicans and their posterity. Not only is she able to accurately portray their hardships, but she is also able to alienate her white audience by using both English and Spanish. This is done in a way that provides some insight into the cultural barriers that Mexican-Americans encounter. Her use of historical context illuminates the injustice that these people were subject to, while her incorporation of firsthand experiences and family history give the reader a more personal view of the trials and tribulations of a typical Mexican family. The combination of these different writing techniques make the reader empathize with the Mexican people’s struggle, by providing a new perspective on the conflict between Mexico and the United States and its impact. Anzaldúa uses a substantial amount of background information and history to provide context for her audience. She begins by explaining that the oldest evidence of human existence in the United States, is from the ancestors of the Chicanos, who settled there in 35,000 B.C. (Anzaldúa 41). This initial piece of history is important because it shows that the ancestors of the Chicanos were the first inhabitants of the land that is now modern day...
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...Culture and Identity Immigrants have help shaped both American culture and identity, but many people disagree, what do you think? Many people are mixed in America, they can have a black mom and a white dad, which are two totally different cultures and ultimately combined into one, when they have their child. Also, immigrants have helped shape identity by having many different identities from different countries coming to America. In Richard Rodriguez’s essay “Blaxicans and Other Reinvented Americans” he shows how immigrants shaped American culture by having mixed races, making America having mixed nationalities. For example in the essay Rodriguez states, “One doesn’t walk down the street decide to be 40 percent Mexican and 60 percent white”...
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...College students should not be able to write formal essays in their preferred dialect for the simple reason that there are hundreds of different dialects. If every student decided to write a formal essay this way I am sure that professors would have a difficult time analyzing papers that might not even be understood. In, Border Crossing: Leave your Name at The Border, Munoz explains how his father had to anglicize his name from Antonio to Tony. Doing so, he would be able to be more appealing for better chances of receiving more work. Munoz did not care that he anglicized his name, even though he was not being true to his identity, he knew is that there was more work coming his way. At work, his name would be Tony, but at home and in his heart...
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...Jeff haring History 339 March 23, 2010 Essay II Transition of Mexican Identity Identity is a peculiar thing. Identity as a person, place or even thing can be somewhat misconstrued depending on the perspective at which the observation is taking place. The following piece has an objective of helping formulate the identity of a nation in transition. A nation that has multiple creeds and cultural diversity but still looking to find its purpose in the world in which it exists in. Establishing the foundations for its existence through strong leadership, economic know how and cultural influence Mexico reaches forward to gain confidence through this time of turmoil. During the last years of reign of Santa Anna, discord was found throughout the Mexican government and with the common people who were under his rule. Santa Anna’s self promotion for personal welfare left the nation in a spin heading in directions that were not conducive to national security or international respect. The revolt that led to the ousting of Santa Anna was led by a group of intellectuals who had hoped to find a Mexican pride unlike that which was currently felt. Their leadership promoted a sense of social consciousness, with a synchronized effort of public service in the desire to see Mexico emerge at last from its long night of political shame. Humiliated by the war with the United States, they sought to re-evaluate the Mexican national conscience and redefine national goals. Secularly...
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...unfolds her tailored views on linguistic identity in her essay “How to Tame a Wild Tongue”. As a child growing up in south Texas to Mexican immigrant parents, Anzaldua found herself questioning her teacher’s unfair treatment of Spanish speakers at her school. Her essay continues by dissecting her problem of creating a self-identity through language in a suffocating Anglo-Saxon environment. Anzaldua’s main claim is that the strength of her Chicano roots over power any attempt to uproot her linguistic culture. Anzaldua’s self-identity is shaped through language by her writing style, evidence of robbed freedom and strong culture. In order to properly analyze Anzaldua’s text I will examine her use of language. After reading her essay it is evident that she manipulates her use of English and Spanish in order to raise a reaction from her reader. Linguistic use also drives home her thesis of a strong culture shaping self-identity. The next top of dissection will be Anzaldua’s person identity. As a feminist, she definitely uses language as a tool to express who she is as a person. She feels as though language robs her of her freedom to completely express herself. Lastly, I will examine the magnitude of Chicano culture. Much like a magnetic pull, Spanglish draw’s its culture participants in and gives the speakers an ultimatum: either speak Spanish or be considered a traitor. Each of the topics are thread that weave together to create Anzaldua’s essay “How to Tame a Wild Tongue”. The...
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...How does our culture influence our identity and view of the world? There are several opinions whether culture influences us, never, sometimes, or always. Throughout this unit we have read and watched several pieces that can be used to argue each side of the argument. Pieces such as “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, “An Indian Father’s Plea” by Robert Lake, and “Legal Alien” by Pat Mora, can be used to argue more than one of these views.These pieces show how culture constantly influences one and their view of the world. Some may believe that culture that culture rarely informs how we view the world and others. This can be argued using examples from Alice Walker’s short story “Everyday Use” in which two sisters “Dee” and “Maggie” who once shared a culture now see the world very differently. According to Dee, Maggie is “‘backward enough to put them to...
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...The Mexican people were subject to a wide range of oppression, and became second class citizens within the U.S. Mexicans as well the indigenous people never fully assimilated into American society, Mexicans as well as the indigenous became a colonized group of people within the United States conquest. After many years of institutionalized racism, Mexicans began to develop an identity, Chicano was a way for people to identify with who they were, and became the staple to gather up the masses as well as go against an unjust system that have not only put them in a position of isolation and segregation, but have too denied them the ability to gain access to the equality of rights that have once been fought for in relation to the Treaty of...
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...Tanya Barrientos is the author of the essay “Se Habla Espanol”. Barrientos, originally borned in Guatemala, was raised in Texas. I really enjoyed this essay. It was very truthful and full of emotions. The main point in this essay I believe is how the world views certain groups and how their views of them are. Stereotyping occurs outside and within the person or group. This essay speaks of a female who was born in Guatemala, who is clearly Latino on the outside down to the color of her skin. She moved with her family to the United States when she was three years old so she is completely Americanized on the inside. She is struggling with her race and the stereotypes that go with it. She should be able to speak Spanish but she is still trying to learn the language up into adulthood. She also criticizes her own heritage with stereotyping; stating in the essay “To me, speaking Spanish translated into being poor.” (Roen, 2010) She enjoys in some parts to defy the stereotypes. This is found in when her and her brother went to start school and the teacher showed negativity with saying “You people. Your children are always behind…” (Roen, 2010) They proved to the teacher that they are very capable of keeping up and also exceeding past the others. You can see the internal race struggle within Barrientos throughout the essay. She thought it a compliment when others told her she didn’t seem “Mexican”. She didn’t want the label of being from Mexico which meant poor, dirty, and lazy...
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... Abolitionist, Transcendentalist, Protester, Individualist, bold, is the most important man who affected our nation today. His actions have inspired so many to do the right thing. His actions have also led him to his choices as an influential writer. Thoreau disobeyed, he disobeyed the government. He refused to pay a poll tax, believing that it supported the Mexican-American war and the expansion of slavery. Because of this, Thoreau was arrested by a sheriff and jailed overnight. But being the Protester he is, Thoreau used his jail time and refusal to pay the poll tax as a way to inspire and raise awareness about the Mexican-American War. After he was released, he wrote an essay called “Resistance to Civil Government”, later titled “Civil Disobedience.” The essay was written about how tyrannical the government’s actions were and how we were to change things. “Civil Disobedience” has been an influence to peaceful protesters around the world, such as Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. Without Martin Luther King Jr. our country might still be discriminating and racist. Without Thoreau’s inspiring essay, Martin Luther King Jr.’s protests may not have been as effective and peaceful as they...
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