In "How to Tame a Wild Tongue," Gloria Anzaldua's thesis explores the formation of her dual Mexican identity through the usage and abuse of her native language as the main guiding force; her structure leans towards a creative and prose style where the thesis or main idea is not directly given in the introduction, but appears in the conclusion. Though she highly emphasized evidence of language silencing, it is just an analogy/factor of dual Mexican identity; language is our identity. Although Anzaldua's chosen structure does not follow the rules of academic essays devoutly, it is highly effective in presenting her argument and is a good example for further speculations on writing styles and the academic arena. .
Anzaldua hints near the start that language gives people their identity, specifically Mexican, Anglo and Spanish languages and heritage. Anzaldua begins with her memories at the dentist and the metaphor of cutting her tongue--taming it, which iterate the concept of destroying language while assimilating a cultural group. This alludes to the Anglo-American perception of taming barbaric or uncivilized cultures which severs many cultures and its identity, creating mixed ethnic backgrounds or poly-cultural identities. A unifying, mixed language, becomes the mirror of one's identity. .
"For a people who are neither Spanish nor live in a country in which Spanish is the first language; for a people who live in a country in which English is the reigning tongue but who are not Anglo; for a people who cannot entirely identify with either standard (formal, Castillian) Spanish nor standard English, what recourse is left to them but to create their own language?".
Anzaldua attempts presenting this idea by giving factors of one's (dual) identity through layers upon layers and leading into her true statement. This defies the academic approach of clear-and-concise writing.
The Chicano People Gloria Anzaldua writes about a borderland. ... Two essays in which she wrote are Entering into the Serpent and How to Tame a Wild Tongue. ... Anzaldua discusses her experiences growing up between many cultures. ... In How to Tame a Wild Tongue, Anzaldua points out that it was not only from white people that she faced challenges. ... Anzaldua was told by Latinos thatyou?...
Gloria Anzaldua's "How to Tame a Wild Tongue" illustrates this fact. ... "How to Tame a Wild Tongue" is what I would call a work of creative criticism, with emphasis on the creative part. In Gloria Anzaldua's "How to Tame a Wild Tongue," both creation and criticism are fused into one piece of writing. ... "How to Tame a Wild Tongue" cannot be boxed into the category, creation or criticism. ... "How to Tame a Wild Tongue", could also be considered part criticism because it is a critique or criticism on society and its practices as a whole. ...
"The Fourth of July" by Gloria Anzaldua and "How to Tame a Wild Tongue" by Audre Lorde, are both autobiographical essays written by immigrant women living in America who try to grapple with the challenge of identity. ... Anzaldua's "How to Tame a Wild Tongue" discusses the cultural and social difficulties an immigrant faces when living in America. However, she emphasizes the discrimination she has endured for speaking in her mother tongue "Chicano" Spanish. ... " (Anzaldua, 39) Throughout the essay, Anzaldua uses a mixture of both English and S...
Gloria Anzaldua, author of "How to Tame a Wild Tongue,"" would argue that imposing mandatory requirements to learn this new way of thinking called "academic discourse- are both oppressive and objectionable. ... Anzaldua states in her essay, "Ethnic identity is twin skin to linguistic identity "I am my language. ... In this quote Anzaldua explains that her ethnic identity and her linguistic identity go together as one. ... There is a large difference between learning and embracing a whole new language and culture compared to learning how to utilize "academic discourse- in thinking and w...
Author of "How to Tame a Wild Tongue", Gloria Anzaldua, recalls one day in recess when she was scolded for speaking Spanish, and the teacher thought she was talking back, when in reality she was not. ... This event in Anzaldua's life restricted her Spanish speaking abilities which caused her to have to speak more English at school. ... We discuss the advantages we have by being bilingual and how it makes are lives much more simple. ...
