Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Mike Warren
Stephanie Maenhardt
English 1050
18 February 2017
Pt. I
new phrases, contrive new meanings, and form new words. It seems to
and perceptions of right and wrong have an even greater turnover rate.
Some of the best voices to include in our discussion belong to people who
that they are correct or the people they put down are any one of a number
simply be too unrealistic a goal for now. What I propose is that we take a
deeper look at what othering is and some specific examples from history
and today. It has in the past, and still does so today, reared its ugly head
Douglass asked his audience the following: Must I argue the wrongfulness
Warren 2
does not know that slavery is wrong for him (Douglass 467). These days,
slaves working for them, just like pre-Abolition days, but it has been a
practice held in societies throughout the world for millennia. Now here is
very limited minority: a former slave who escaped from his captivity, got
His courage and bravery have been elevated him to a heroic status, and
rightly so.
ago, our country took a mighty step in putting into practice the principles
and beliefs the United States were founded upon. Barack Obama, a lawyer
from Chicago, worked hard and won the American peoples voice to
was not his revolutionary policies and plans for improving the country, but
the color of his skin, something he had absolutely no hand in. All
Warren 3
people based on the color of their skin. Today, however, many American
American students. In reality, the schools pride should come from high-
athletes who still manage to excel. It shouldnt matter what color the
discrimination, but rather how many men and women overcame the odds;
how many were able to make a way out of no way for those like me who
would come after them (Obama 479). While Obama brought up several
all people fairly, despite life itself not doing the same. The bottom line is
beaten down, demeaned, and subject to derision to build another up. Even
love certainly did not come across as clearly as she may have hoped due
to the coarse language she used to belittle anyone who disagreed with
argued. Othering can and does occur far too easily in politics today as we
have gotten to the point where many feel the need to share their beliefs
but are intolerant of the beliefs of their contenders, even when one or
drastically, just like our language, from one form of othering (slavery and
voice: Indian, Spanish, white (Anzalda 525). This excerpt from Gloria
power that each of us has. Anzalda grew up between cultures, such that
she felt as though she never fit in with either, only with her own
community and people. She was looked down upon by Texans because
she didnt speak English as well as they wished. She was looked down
upon by Latinos because she didnt speak Spanish as well as they wished.
In spite of the pressure she felt from so many people, she learned to be
like a diamond and used her hardships to refine herself. Anzalda and
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everyone like her are an inspiration to me, be they white, black, Mexican,
about himself is the one who is in dire need of assistance. Those who
overcome the odds, like President Obama referred to, are the ones who
are truly respectable. Those who stand up for their beliefs, especially
when they are not popular, and do not lose their temper when someone
disagrees, are the ones who we ought to model ourselves after. So,
instead of focusing on what is wrong with somebody else, why not look for
a way to help that person and build them up? Why not work as a team
said in many ways by many people throughout history and it still fully
applies today. That said, let us set aside our judgments and differences
Pt. II
it will be twenty-seven years old this year, having come to the public in
1990 (Shea). Tan connects with a broad audience in this piece, as she
breaks away from the norm of traditional proper English. Part of her
focus is to establish a bond between the reader and her mother, so she
writes a few parts exactly as her mother would or did speak. This bond
fosters empathy in the reader and can open the mind to better
face.
As Tan reveals parts of her life, her use of ethos draws the reader in
the scenes she describes. Why he dont send me check, already two
weeks late. So mad he lie to me, losing me money (Tan 2). Here we see
mothers style of speech, Tan provides a much clearer idea of her mother
and their relationships with one another and with those around them. It is
a matter of fact that learning a second language is difficult, and Ive been
(although Brazilians are quick to boast that Portuguese is the worlds most
verbally to create words and sentences. If this was the only definition of
expresses more than our words. American Sign Language, for example is a
I read through our classs discussion, I came across a gem that Matthew
language, symbols, and gestures can a lot of times fill the breaks in the
terrible poker player. What makes body language especially cool is that it
transcends the spoken tongue. One may see a given situation and discern
Of course Tans descriptions and word choice made her essay more
real and illustrative, but what really captivated me was the flexibility in
her writing. She quickly and frequently switched between her academic
voice, her family voice, and her mothers voice. Her superficial disregard
but she didnt resign herself to literary bondage. She chose to sacrifice
outside the box, who innovate, who find new solutions to old problems,
her to create an essay that could connect with a larger audience than just
the scholarly, while helping her readers gain a greater understanding for
her mother.
Works Cited
Anzalda, Gloria. "How to Tame a Wild Tongue." George, Diana and John
Trimbur. Reading Culture: Contexts for Critical Reading and Writing,
Eighth Edition. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, Inc., 2012.
521-527.
Douglass, Frederick. "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" George,
Diana and John Trimbur. Reading Culture: Contexts for Critical
Reading and Writing. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, Inc.,
2012. 460-475.
Obama, Barack. "A More Perfect Union." George, Diana; Trimbur, John.
Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, Inc., 2012. 476-483.
Shea, Renee H. Exploring Language and Identity: Amy Tan's "Mother
Tongue" and Beyond. n.d. 6 2 2017.
<http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-
plans/exploring-language-identity-mother-910.html?tab=3>.
Tan, Amy. "Mother Tongue, by Amy Tan." n.d. The Essay Experience. 6 2
2017.
<http://theessayexperiencefall2013.qwriting.qc.cuny.edu/files/2013/
09/Mother-Tongue-by-Amy-Tan.pdf>.