Rodriguez

GarielisRodriguez
Ms.Sroka
Writing
May16,2016
WhoAmI?&WhoAreYou?
AgreatauthorbythenameofRalphEllisononcesaid,WhenIdiscoverwhoIam,Ill
befree.(Quotes..).Thisquoteisdirectlyaccordingtoidentityduetowhenyoudiscoverwho
youareyoullbefreeofanyquestionsaboutwhoyouare.Identitymayhavemanymeanings,
itsjustaccordingtohowapersonviewsitinitself.In
IdentityandBelongingThemesand
Ideas,
identityishowwebehaveandactaroundothersandalso,howwerelatetoothersalong,
withdifferentfactorslikereligionandpastexperiences.However,
Mommy,WhatDoesNigger
Mean?
,identityistheraceyouareandlanguageyouspeak.Also,howyouandothersperceive
yourself.Inthisessay,Iwillcompareandcontrasteachoftheauthorsperspectiveonidentity,
describetheirideaabouthowidentitiesdevelop,andhowtheirperspectivesdevelopintheir
texts.
Tostartoff,In
MommyWhatDoesNigger

Mean?
And
IdentityandBelongingThemes
andIdeas
,bothmentionhowyouridentityiswhatothersperceiveyouas.Evenifit'sdueto
youractionsandrace.In
MommyWhatDoesNigger

Mean?
Itshowpeoplelookatyou.Ifyou
exceedtheboundsofdecencylikearguinginpublicorconstantlyuseprofanityyourelooked
uponasatriflingpersonwithalackofselfrespect,In
IdentityandBelonging,
itstheway
thatyouactaroundothers.Thepersonyourparentseesmaybedifferentcomparedtowhat
yourfriendsorpartnersees.Whichmaybelikemultiplepersonalitiesbecauseitrepresentsa

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distinctshiftinhowwepresentourselvestoothers.Also,bothtextsexplainhowraceis
directlyassociatedwithidentity.In
MommyWhatDoesNiggerMean?
,theblackracedescribes
themselvesasvariedandcomplexhumanbeingsbecauseofthefactthatthecoloroftheirskin
isbrown.Iftheywereadifferentrace,theywouldnotusethosecertainadjectivestodescribe
themselves.In
IdentityandBelonging
,thetextexplainsthatraceprovidesasenseofbelonging.
Whiletherearesomegroupswecannotchooseidentityaddstothesenseofbelongingand
feelingsthathelpyoucanconnectwithothers.However,thetextsexplainadifferentmainidea
of,howidentityisshapedthroughoutthetext.In
MommyWhatDoesNiggerMean?,
identityis
heavilybasedonraceandlanguage.Thepowerofspokenlanguageissostronginthisessaythat
itdefineswhoyouare.ThatNwordcanbeusedassomebodywhoisstrongandintelligent
personwhooversteppedtheboundariesofdecencyorapersonwithlackofselfrespect.
Also,raceisdependentonidentitybecauseitsthewayyourelookedupon.Herrace,whichis
AfricanAmerican,wascalledtheNwordbywhitestoidentifythemasworthlessor
degrading.Hermotherknewthatitwaspartofheridentityso,hermomtookherinherlapand
explainedtotellheraboutheridentity.In
IdentityandBelongingThemes,
identityisheavily
influencedbychildhoodbutchangesovertimeaspeoplegetolderandexperiencethings.Also,
identitychangeswhileyourewithothers,whichislikehavingfalseidentitiestofitintooneor
moregroups.Identityalsoiswhoweassociateourselveswithlikeourfriendsorpartners.
Significantfactorsthatcontributetoidentitycanalsobe,upbringing.Religion,culture,and
gender.
Toaddon,inbothtextsidentitydevelopsdifferently.In
MommyWhatDoesNigger
Mean?,
identitydevelopsby,youbeingcalledtheNwordtodescribehowyoureperceivedas,

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thewayyouperceiveyourself,andhowyoubehavearoundothers.Thewordcouldbedescribed
as,howamandistinguishedhimselfinsomesituationwhereheusedhisstrength,
intelligence,ordrive.Also,ifsomebodyrefusedtolookforajoborparentswhoneglected
theirchildrenwouldbelookeduponastriflingniggersbecauseofthewaytheyactedand
werelookedas.In
IdentityandBelonging
,identitydevelopsbymaturityanddifferentfactors.
Childhoodinfluencesidentitybutitshiftsovertimewithourexperiencesandprocessof
maturation.Thisisduetolessonslearnedandthingshappeningtouseasweregrowing.Also,
identitydevelopsbyupbringing,race,religion,andmuchmorebecauseitsthewayweview
things.
Furthermore,theauthorsperspectivesonidentitydevelopdifferentlythroughoutthetext.
In
MommyWhatDoesNiggerMean?
,atfirst,shesaysthatwordsarehurtlessandthattheydont
reallymeananything.However,attheend,sheexplainshowtheNwordsignifies
worthlessnessanddegradationandthatifitweretodisappeartotallyfromtheirmouthsthat
itwouldstillbeintheirminds.Whichshows,howherviewoftheNwordandlearningwhatit
meantchangedherperspective.In
IdentityandBelonging
,atfirst,identityishowwebehave
andourabilitytorelatetopeoplearoundus.However,asthetextprogresses,peoplesidentity
changes.Asweagewearemorelikelytoasituationwithcynicismorwithlessonspreviously
learnedbythingsthathappenedasweaged.Whichshows,thatidentitycanbemultiplethings
it'sjustalldependentonwaysthatyouviewthingsyouexperienceandwayyouact.
Toconclude,
IdentityandBelonging
&
MommyWhatDoesNiggerMean?
Aresimilar
becauseidentityishowothersperceiveyouasandhowraceisdependentonidentity.However,
In
IdentityandBelonging,
identityisinfluencedbybehaviorsaroundothersandyourchildhood.

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Intheothertext,identityisbasedonraceandlanguage.For
MommyWhatDoesNiggerMean,
identitydevelopsby,howyouperceiveyourself,howyouactaroundothers,andthewayothers
perceiveyou.Intheothertext,identitydevelopsbymaturationandthingslikeupbringing,
gender,andculture.Theauthorsperspectiveineachtextdevelopsdifferently.In
MommyWhat
DoesNiggerMean?,
atfirst,wordsdontmeanathing.However,attheend,theNwordisa
derogatorytermthatispurelynegativeinthemouthandmindsofwhites.Intheothertext,
identityisourbehaviorandhowwerelatetoothers.However,attheendofthetext,isour
pastexperiencesandthingslearnedfromourexperiences.Eventhough,peoplestrugglewith
findingtheiridentity,onceitsfound,yourlifeischangedforever.

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WorksCited
"QuotesAboutIdentity."
(1177Quotes)
.Web.03May2016.