Thursday, September 18, 2014

Essay on Identity (made changes)

Gabriela Allen
September 17, 2014
Professor Young
ENGL 1100
Essay 1: Identity Final Draft

           
           
            Many different people have a different kind of way that shows other people who they are.  Human beings all have different identities that have a value to the way they are living.  McBride and Anzaldua both had shown different examples of the ways identity may be shown.  Both of these authors show the different ways their identity shows how it lets people know where they come from.  The authors show how important identity is towards life and how it could affect you.  I agree with McBride and Anzaldua towards the fact that identity is very important. Identity is an important aspect towards your own life. 
Identity is your own personal traits that make you the person you are today.  Your identity can come from where you grew up or whom you grew up around.  Your identity is what tells you who you are.  It give you an open mind on how you act the way you do.  They way you dress is a big factor when you’re going to school because most of the time someone could be judging you or praising how you dress.  You dress for yourself and it shows those classmates the type of style you are into.  Identity includes all of the physical aspects of your life, the way you act, how you may speak, and the way you may react to different situations.  You gain this identity all throughout your life from your parents and peers.  Identity is based off of how you were raised and where you came from.  The area you grew up I also am a big part to what makes up your own personal identity.  Different things that make up your identity are your physical features, your emotion, and nationality, how you speak toward an adult versus someone your own age, and a socioeconomic status.  A lot of your identity comes from your parents and ancestors.  They were the starting block of the life you live so without that you wouldn’t have the identity that you have.
            Anzaldua in her essay, “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” shows different aspects of her identity and what she thinks of it.   In her essay she speaks of the different languages and how that is part of someone’s identity.  How you speak usually defines where you came from.  “Wild tongues can’t be tamed, they can only be cut off (Anzaldua 246).  This specific quote from her essay really stuck out to me.  It is saying that you cannot control the way people speak.  They speak their own language and the only way you could stop someone from speaking the language that defines them is if you cut someone tongue out.  Realistically, you would not do that.  It gives someone the ability to speak what is on their mind in their own way given whatever custom and culture they may come from. Language is also a learning experience for those who may not hear different languages all of the time.  It gives you an idea of where someone you may have just met, came from and how they may celebrate different celebrations.   Language is an important part of your identity and Anzaldua really proves her point throughout her essay.
James McBride does a good job at describing how important identity is because he shows how curious he is as a child to know where he came from and what makes him, him.     His mother was white and he was not so he was always wondering why he was not white to.  He was always asking questions as to why they weren’t the same color or questions like if her parents were nice and loved her.  He wanted to know all about his elders and why he was made the way he was.  He was interested in finding out his own identity, which is important to a lot of people.  McBride, because he was a different color, would get made fun of.  He had basically beaten someone up and that shows a little bit of his identity.  The way you may react in these types of situations shows other people the type of person you may be.  That’s why my parents have always taught me to be respectful so then you get that respect back in the long run.
            James McBride and Anzaldua both do a good job of showing how important identity is in many different ways.  I agree with their main point in these essays because your identity is an important thing to know.  It is what makes you who you are.  Your own identity is the only thing that can give you ideas of where you came from.  Another person’s identity would not be capable of proving where you came from.  It comes from you.  McBride wanted to know where he came from and Anzaldua did a great job on proving how language was an important part to someone’s identity.  Personal traits are what make up your own identity.  McBride and Anzaldua do a wonderful job on showing how identity is important towards your life and how it makes you a better person inside and out.




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