Bilingualism Language is more than just a means of communication; it is part of one’s culture, identity, and self-expression. In “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” by Gloria Anzaldúa and “Homecoming, with Turtle” by Junot Díaz we observe how two bilingual people deal with maintaining and losing their culture. In “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” Anzaldúa examines her childhood and how she used to be punished in school for speaking Spanish and be criticized by her mother for speaking English with an accent. This, she felt, was repressing her right to express herself while forcing her to lose part of her culture. Anzaldúa also talks about how this criticism of learning English can make one be deemed as a traitor to their people.
Because Pearl is a product of the passion of the adultery that the Puritan community does not accept, she does not follow by its rules and when she is born into the Puritan community she has to make her own laws to follow. This is shown more clearly in the contrast between the solemn, grave Puritan children who reflect the stern countenance of their parents and ostracize Pearl. She is dressed in bright, festive colors that show off her beauty and “fire” (90) while in comparison the other Puritan children are portrayed as drab and “somber” (91). While the children practice the lives
She has to go everywhere we go.” When John Wesley was asked by the grandmother what he would do if confronted by the Misfit his reply was, “I’d smack his face.” But in the end we find this to be very untrue. The Misfit’s character is again the result of the breakdown in humanity, family values and all of the values that have been lost in today’s culture. The Misfit may have some social graces because he responds respectfully and apologizes to the grandmother for Bailey’s harsh comment, but there is some uneasiness about the morals his own father had as a role model. There is a hint that the Misfit’s father had a darker side and had some run-ins with the authorities. The Misfit explained to the grandmother, “Daddy was a card himself.
Critical Research Essay on Everyday Use by Alice Walker It is argued that Dee Johnson is a shallow, insensitive, self- absorbed daughter and sister. Critics say she passed up her right to her true heritage for a false African heritage all because she has adopted an African name and she has failed to learn how to quilt, a skill that critics will have you believe is vital to Dee’s understanding of her true identity. Her hair and style of dress are called into question as though they are a deliberate slap in the face to her family. Dee is lambasted for wanting to protect and display everyday household items that were handmade by her now deceased relatives. She cannot even take a picture of her family’s house without critics attacking this act as her need to prove where she came from.
Mama can’t help but feel ignorant compared to her daughter Dee. Mama describes her feelings and states, “She washed us in a river of make-believe, burned us with a lot of knowledge we didn’t necessarily need to know” (Walker 477). Mama states this because she and Maggie know what is truly important and that is the real understanding of how their heritage should be viewed. Maggie and mama have a similar understanding of their heritage. Dee mistakes her family background for material and desires racial heritage because she went to school with other people and friends with popular ideas.
People have a major problem with judging other people too quickly, and we can do nothing about it. Humans build a judging opinion as they grow up from personal experiences or society’s morals. Judging a stranger is a result from human ignorance. This natural but sick problem in today’s society is expressed by the quote “don’t judge a book by its cover.” Since Hester
It’s not easy for Connie to live with her mother, who constantly harps on the way Connie looks and how she doesn’t live up to her sister reputation. “If Connie’s name was mentioned it was in a disapproving tone.”[453]. Every time Connie’s mother comments anything about June’s profile, it pushed Connie unconsciously to be nothing like her sister. Mother usually complained about her about habit of looking into a mirror. The narrator states the mother’s resentment of Connie’s beauty because “her looks were gone and that was why she was always after Connie.”[451].
A white mother didn’t want her daughter to be roomed with a black girl. Roberta does not seem to understand that Twyla shows concern for being put into the same room as Roberta, while Roberta does not seem to notice any hatred towards her. Another clue of each girl’s race is the depiction of each of their mothers. Twyla’s mother, Mary, wore tight green pants and a ratty fur jacket with the pocket linings so ripped she had to pull to get her hands out of them. Roberta s mom was very different.
One can see that she is hurt immensely by the fact that “she would’ve sold us to the devil if she could.” (82) As she talks about her mother and the actions she is willing to take and her mother uses the excuse that she is “too busy worrying about her own life.” (82) One can almost feel the pain distorted in between the lines of the text. So as I go into “Never Marry a Mexican” by Sandra Cisneros, she shall be the character I will be talking about it and doing my literary analysis upon. I will describe her personality as she is growing up and then during her time with the father and then how her emotions remain steady as she is becomes involved with Drew, his
The boys mother finally enters the poem, with her face frowned, most likely due to the mess they had created. If this were a poem about abuse, normally a mother’s love and willingness to protect her child would have intervened and stopped the abuse. Safely assuming that this is an autobiographical poem and that Roethke is reminiscing about his father, when stating “The hand that held my wrist/ Was battered on one knuckle” (Roethke 10), could be over-read or misinterpreted if the reader is ignorant of Roethke’s relationship with his father. Reothke’s