"Complexion" The Division Between Light and Dark.
Division between skin colors has always existed. While it has been tamed over the past few years it still exists today. "Complexion" is an essay written by Richard Rodriguez that shows unfair treatment against dark skinned individuals living in a predominant white America. Rodriguez uses rhetorical modes to show specific examples of how dark skinned Hispanics were a target of discrimination.
Description is the very first mode used by Rodriguez he uses this to let the audience know how his skin was the thing that separated him from everyone else. The terms Rodriguez uses to describe himself are "Mayas" and "Indians," those terms fit perfectly with his description because not only were The Mayas and the Indians dark skinned, but they too suffered discrimination in the hand of whites (light skinned people). In the old days Mayas and Indians were put to do the light skin people's dirty jobs just for looking the way they did and for having dark skin. This will later connect with the way Rodriguez's family was treated in the work force by the white people for the same exact reason.
Rodriguez also uses comparison to show how those of lighter skin got treated better than those of darker skin. Rodriguez states that his brother, who was light in color got a lot of compliments, had many girlfriends, and drew a lot of positive attention while his dark sister was pushed around, could not get a boyfriend, and was less accepted by people than her lighter brother. This gives reason to believe that supposedly being light skinned makes individuals better looking, more liable to be talked to, and more accepted in a society where being dark is a handicap. Rodriguez also uses the words "Gringo" and "Negro" when he's talking about his sister and his brother to show how the dark and light people went on to use slang terms to classify one another. "Gringo" in the essay is used as a positive way of describing a light-skinned individual whereas "Negro" was used as an offensive way to describe an individual of dark color.
