Huang 1

Shunyou Huang
English 5M
December 13, 2017
Research paper
Deborah Brant is a researcher for Center of English Learning & Achievement (CELA).
She states from The Sponsors of Literacy, citizens reading and writing skills are important to
the increasing amount for the exchange of information, especially to their pursuit of education
and status (1-2). Brandt emphasizes that work places, schools, and families are strands that bring
together the complex form of literacy (17). Literacy includes both reading and writing. A
persons literacy experience, such as lessons taught in school and outside readings can be factors
that formulate a writing, but an authors identity is the most significant contribution to the piece.
There are many aspects when it comes to defining an individuals identity. From James
D. Fearons report of What is Identity (As We Now Use the Word)? He explains a social
identity is a set of persons marked by a label and distinguished by rules deciding membership
and (alleged) characteristic features or attributes (2). A persons social identity has tags and
labels that separate him/her from others. Furthermore, Fearon explains personal identity as
some distinguishing characteristic (or characteristics) that a person takes a special pride in or
views as socially consequential but more-or-less unchangeable. (2). This distinguish a persons
status and a role from anyone in the society.
Despite the formal definitions of both social and personal identity, in Julian Bagginis
speech of Is There a Real You? He defines you as in every individual, consist a collection of
elements, so you have memories, and these memories help to create what you are. You have
desires, maybe for a cookie You will have beliefs We have knowledge. We have sensations
and experiences as well. Identity makes a person unique. One can distinguish from others who
even shares the same trait. A person is a central core that is made from abstract elements such as
memories, desires, beliefs, knowledge, sensation, and experiences. The elements overlap and
interconnect with each other. These are what construct a person and his/her perspective.
Authors have a will to lead audiences to a specific direction. As Baggini mentions in Is
There a Real You?, desires or wishes are parts of ones identity. This is their desire (as what is
defines to be one of the element from an identity) and want readers to see what they see. This is
like a narrow view where writers want us to see the world in one way as opposed to another, not
unlike the way a photographer manipulates a camera lens to frame a picture (Greene 30).
Authors want their readers to see and feel a certain way; therefore, they are leading them to a
road of direction. This is the authors desire for the readers to perceive the way they wanted to.
They have control to channeling which vision readers should be sighting. It is what authors
desire of wanting readers to see a specific angle. Desires made up ones identity.
Ones cultural background can shape his/her identity. Especially with multilingual
writers, they are what Ferris identifies as someone who speaks and perhaps read/writes
languages other than English and that English was not the first languages [she]/he leaned. (23)
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According Ferris, multilingual speakers understand more than two languages and cultures. They
bring valuable background knowledge and experience that can help their own learning
processes (23). A multilingual identities to be one who speaks and/or writes more than one
language besides English. The quotes explain a student with more than one cultural background
can bring a broader aspect when it comes to writing. With cultures blending in, writers create a
new chemistry of writing. That is, they can involve some element from English and another from
his/her culture to create a writing of new trend. This is a unique characteristic of some
individuals whose background and culture are diverse.
All writings contain authors traits in it. In Donald M. Murrays article of All Writing is
Autobiography, Murray argues that we are autobiographical in the way we writeI have my
own peculiar way of looking at the world and my own way of using language to communicate
what I see. (67). By autobiography, it does not mean authors are writing about themselves.
Murray means that the origin of any writings contains some traces of the author. Autobiography
of one can be experiences, beliefs, or desires. Indeed, the writer uses his/her experiences as muse
to develop his/her piece. The experiences create a persons unique identity, are being utilized to
make their writing exclusive compare to others.
Authors often blend in elements of their culture to the writings. In Girl in Translation,
Jean Kwok wrote After everything Ive done for you, you speak to me like this. You treat the
human heart like a dogs lung. (266). The synopsis for the novel is when Kimberly Changs
aunt Paula argued that Kimberly should not go to Yale without her permission. If Kimberly and
her mother left Aunt Paula, they would forget everything Aunt Paula had done for them to have a
good life in Brooklyn, United states.
Authors can extract traditional phrases from their culture to give a meaning to an action.
For example, Kimberly and her mother seem like they dont care about Pauls hard work. Kwok
uses a Chinese traditional phrase, treating the human heart like a dogs lung; describing
Kimberly had no appreciation for a good persons heart for doing something for them. I sorry,
sir, I said. We not find school. (Kwok 25). The narrator, Kimberly Chang has similarities
with Kwok. Kwok is an immigrant from Hong Kong and move to Brooklyn and graduated from
Harvard. They speak Cantonese as their native language; Kwok implements this element to
Kimberlys background because this will develop connectivity to the novel. It will also make the
readers feel a correlation between themselves and the book, if they have similar immigration
experience. As an author, Kwok uses part of her identity, a Chinese immigrant, to create a
character in her writing.
It is not always the author shaping the writing, but writing is shaping the author as well.
As Writers shape and change genres, the power of those genres also shapes and enables
writers identities (Wardle 287). Sometimes genres create a blockage for authors. In addition,
blockages also suggest that resistance arises from contradictions individuals experience in
their multiple subject positions (Wardle 287). An individuals identity is influencing the
writing, but when encounter a writing, a type of genre, how one is expanding their involvement
in one system and will force he/her to stay away other system value (Wardle 287). This will
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cause contradictions in authors experiences when he/she is writing. One incidence can
contradict another event. As a result, author has to avoid putting this element into the writing.
Authors identity is the most important contribution to writing, despite of their literacy
experience such as lessons taught in school, and outside readings. Identity is a distinctly unique
representation of an individual. Baggini defines a persons memories, desires, beliefs,
knowledge, sensation, and experiences are the factors to an identity. Specifically of a persons
background belongs to experience category. All writings are autobiography since texts contain
certain original traits that belongs to author. Cultural and language environment is influencing
the authors input to the writing. As seen through Kwoks input of treating the human heart like
dog lung. This is portraying her Chinese trait by inserting a Chinese traditional, commonly
used phrase. Because a writing composes of a purpose, a reason why one writes a piece or
message he/she wants to convey, author wants readers to view in a specific way. This is the
desire that author strongly want readers to create within their thoughts of this writing. Elements
including culture, education, experience, and many others are shaping an identity of an author.
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Bibliography
Baggini, Julian. Is There a Real You? TEDxYouth. . TED. January 2012, Manchester. Speech.
Brandt, Deborah. The Sponsors of Literacy. National Research Center on English Learning &
Achievement. New York. 1997. pp. 1-2, 17. November 10, 2017
Fearon, James. What is Identity (As We Now Use the Word)? Stanford. Draft. November 3,
1999, pp. 2. November 11, 2017
Ferris, Dana Multilingual Students and College writing.Student writing handbook, Dan
Melzer, 2009. pp. 23. November 11, 2017
Greene, Stuart. Argument as Conversation: The Role of Inquiry in Writing a Researched
Argument. The Subject Is Research. Ed. Wendy Bishop and Pavel Zemiansky. Portsmouth, NH:
Boynton/Cook, 2001. pp. 30. Print. pp. 30. November 10, 2017
Kwok Jean. Girl in Translation. Riverhead. May 2010. pp. 25, 266. November 10 2017
Murray, Donald M. All Writing Is Autobiography. College Composition and Communication
42.1 (1991): pp.67. Print. November 10, 2017
Wardle, Elizabeth. Identity, Authority, and Learning to Write in New Workplaces. Enculturation
5.2 (2004): n. Pag. Web. 18 Feb. 2010.pp. 287. November 10, 2017