“It’s Hard Enough Being Me” by Anna Lisa Raya, is an essay written about the time when Raya first discovered she was Latina and her following experiences with this realization. It’s an essay that deals with culture shock and discrimination, with expectations from others based on your culture, and about being more than a word or a place. It’s a story that shows the importance of the characteristic-defining choices you make. The essay opens with a brief explanation of Raya’s family history and her home. She then moves on to talk about arriving in New York as a brand new college student. “When I entered college, I discovered I was Latina. Until then, I had never questioned who I was or where I was from … “(Raya 1). Raya writes about the culture
The Latino Generation: Voices of the New America is a book written by Mario T. Garcia. This book tells the individual life stories of individual Latino Americans all attending the same class at University of California, Santa Barbra. The book discloses stories and events told by 13 students each who narrate from first person and give us a brief description of their life. The book is composed of 13 sections with an additional introduction and conclusion (Garcia, Kindle). Within this reflection I will describe the key points within this book and compare the stories within this book not only to each other, but also to additional stories of Latino Americans and how Garcia’s book rids the general public of misconception of Latinos.
of the native tongue is lost , certain holidays may not be celebrated the same , and American born generations feel that they might have lost their identity , making it hard to fit in either cultures . Was is significant about this book is the fact it’s like telling a story to someone about something that happened when they were kid . Anyone can relate because we all have stories from when we were kids . Alvarez presents this method of writing by making it so that it doesn’t feel like it’s a story about Latin Americans , when
America is a presumptuous country; its citizens don’t feel like learning any other language so they make everyone else learn English. White Americans are the average human being and act as the standard of living, acting, and nearly all aspects of life. In her essay “White Privilege: The Invisible Knapsack,” Peggy McIntosh talks about how being white has never been discussed as a race/culture before because that identity has been pushed on everyone else, and being white subsequently carries its own set of advantages. Gloria Anzaldua is a Chicana, a person of mixed identities. In an excerpt titled “How to Tame a Wild Tongue,” she discusses how the languages she speaks identifies who she is in certain situations and how, throughout her life, she has been pushed to speak and act more “American” like. McIntosh’s idea of whiteness as a subconscious race that carries its own advantages can enlighten why Anzaldua feels like she
Tara Yosso’s is a motivational, informational book that gives us an insight and awareness of how the Chicana/o students struggles throughout their education in the American society. Critical Race Counterstories Along the Chicana/Chicano Educational Pipeline, portrays how Latino students have been marginalized in the educational system. Yosso addresses the problems that might be hindering students of color to drop out of school to continue to higher education. She does this research by analyzing various situations that still happen in the K-12 educational system, as in high school, and higher education. Yosso also addresses counterstories to better understand the experiences and struggles Chicanas/os go through in their schooling. Counterstories are important to be able to know what Chicanas/os struggles go through. Also tells about the outcomes that Chicanas/os have overcome when they are in a situation were they ate being underrepresented and how they have been dealing with these unequal educational opportunities. Her book addresses, awareness of how the Chicana/o culture is being underrepresented in the American educational system. It gives an understanding of why the Chicana/o students are leaking out of the educational pipeline. It also shows the obstacles this Latino students have to face to be able to make it through the educational pipeline. Chicana/o students want to continue to higher education they have to transform the educational system and acknowledge this culture to be successful instead of setting them to failure. Furthermore, this critique will analyze the strengths and the weaknesses of Tara Y...
Instead of loving and caring for her baby, and forgetting about Danny, she became worse than him. Rodriguez presents many aspects of the minority class that live in the United States, specifically the South Bronx. Even though the cases presented in Rodriguez’s short stories are difficult to mellow with, they are a reality that is constant in many lives. Everyday someone goes through life suffering, due to lack of responsibility, lack of knowledge, submission to another entity or just lack of wanting to have a better life. People that go through these situations are people who have not finished studying, so they have fewer opportunities in life.
As children, we all want to make our own parents proud and accept us for who we are. As humans, we all want to feel loved by those we admire the most. However, when a parent’s lack of acceptance and encourage continues to grow, it can shape a child’s life. Sandra Cisneros, the author of “Only Girl,” comes from a working-class Mexican family whose parents only want what is best for their seven children. Or at least, thinks they know what it is best. The America that Cisneros believes in is a nation full of freedom, which are limited by attempts to certain achievements and capabilities in regards to level of skills and strengths. However, while growing up in two different houses, one in America and one in Mexico, the Mexican culture was favored
Anzaldua grew up in the United States but spoke mostly Spanish, however, her essay discusses how the elements of language began to define her identity and culture. She was living in an English speaking environment, but was not White. She describes the difficulty of straddling the delicate changing language of Chicano Spanish. Chicano Spanish can even differ from state to state; these variations as well as and the whole Chicano language, is considered a lesser form of Spanish, which is where Anzaldua has a problem. The language a person speaks is a part...
It can be hard for a latina woman to be taken seriously in an education based profession. Stereotypes and unfair inferences are the cause of such hardships. The ethnic studies professor at Washington State University, Carmen R. Lugo-Lugo is no exception. She faces many obstacles a latin professor likely would face while teaching students about ethnic studies. The majority of professors students encounter are often white males. Lugo-Lugo realizes this and makes countless attempts at showing her colleagues and students that she is at their level. She writes many articles about her area of expertise. What she focuses on is society's views of race, sexuality, gender and culture. In the article “A Prostitute, a Servant, and a Customer Service Representative: a Latina in Academia” the author Carmen R. Lugo-Lugo demonstrates usage of ethos, pathos and logos to persuade her audience to be more culturally
I was born in Mexico and raised in beautiful San Diego since the age of four. Coming to the United States at a very young age I had to face many challenges that have shaped me to the person that I am today. I consider myself a Chicana woman who has overcome the obstacles to get were I am know. Being raised in a Mexcian household has thought me to embrace my culture and its roots. The Spanish and native blood that is with in me remind me of many Americans today. The reason I consider my self Chicana is because of the similar background that I shared with many Americans today. Living in the U.S. I have learned to adapt and embraced the American culture so much so that it came a point of life were I struggled to find my own identity. Taking
Yolanda’s upbringing was strictly Catholic and Dominican, and to be suddenly thrust into a new world with new cultures and beliefs leaves Yolanda confused. For the most part, Yolanda cherishes her culture and religion. But when surrounded by Americans who do things differently than her, and feel confident in the way they do things, Yolanda wishes she could be like them: “For the hundredth time, I cursed my immigrant origins. If only I too had been born in Connecticut or Virginia, I too would understand the jokes everyone was making” (Alvarez 94). Yolanda wants to be an American and to understand their ways. Being different from everyone takes a toll on Yolanda’s sense of identity. She is riddled with conflict between who she is and who she wishes she could be. She sees herself as being worse or worth less than the Americans, and has to face this on an everyday
In “I Want to Be Miss America,” Julia Alvarez examines her adolescent struggle to be “American.” For Alvarez, her Hispanic culture becomes a burden to her inclusion in American society. So, Alvarez and her sisters, struggle to become what they are not, Americans. Alvarez uses a somewhat biased stereotype to identify the model of an ideal American, but she does make clear. The struggle of all American teenagers to fit into or molded by a standard which for many of them is impossible to achieve.
I can personally resonate with Anzaldua is trying to convey to her audience. Although I identify as heterosexual Latino male Anzaldua sums it perfectly, in the following quote. "If you're a person of color, those expectations take on more pronounced nuances due to the traumas of racism and colonization"(65
In the essay "It’s Hard Enough Being Me," Anna Lisa Raya relates her experiences as a multicultural American at Columbia University in New York and the confusion she felt about her identity. She grew up in L.A. and mostly identified with her Mexican background, but occasionally with her Puerto Rican background as well. Upon arriving to New York however, she discovered that to everyone else, she was considered "Latina." She points out that a typical "Latina" must salsa dance, know Mexican history, and most importantly, speak Spanish. Raya argues that she doesn’t know any of these things, so how could this label apply to her? She’s caught between being a "sell-out" to her heritage, and at the same time a "spic" to Americans. She adds that trying to cope with college life and the confusion of searching for an identity is a burden. Anna Raya closes her essay by presenting a piece of advice she was given on how to deal with her identity. She was told that she should try to satisfy herself and not worry about other people’s opinions. Anna Lisa Raya’s essay is an informative account of life for a multicultural American as well as an important insight into how people of multicultural backgrounds handle the labels that are placed upon them, and the confusion it leads to in the attempt to find an identity. Searching for an identity in a society that seeks to place a label on each individual is a difficult task, especially for people of multicultural ancestry.
The eternal endeavor of obtaining a realistic sense of selfhood is depicted for all struggling women of color in Gloria Anzaldua’s “Borderlands/La Frontera” (1987). Anzaldua illustrates the oppressing realities of her world – one that sets limitations for the minority. Albeit the obvious restraints against the white majority (the physical borderland between the U.S. and Mexico), there is a constant and overwhelming emotional battle against the psychological “borderlands” instilled in Anzaldua as she desperately seeks recognition as an openly queer Mestiza woman. With being a Mestiza comes a lot of cultural stereotypes that more than often try to define ones’ role in the world – especially if you are those whom have privilege above the “others”.
Julia Alvarez was an example of how a Latina writer identified herself in a new culture outside of her comfort zone. She, as a Dominican Diaspora, had to reinvent herself as she migrated into a new scenario. Her assimilation into the United States culture allowed her to understand and relate to the reader’s needs and points of interests. After all the effort, Alvarez kept in mind that she could not comfort to all the reality that she lived in, so she re-reinvented herself all over again to process her thoughts and beliefs into her life. She put her perspective on her writing so that the new wave of readers, even if they did not understand, could relate in some way and appreciate the differences. The sole purpose of her writings was for everyone to change their perspective from “walk to the other side of the street in order to avoid sharing the same sidewalk” to “I do not know them, but I do not avoid them because I do not know them”. She instilled in her reader’s mind how ordinary events were viewed differently through other cultures’ eyes. Her story Snow was a great example of how she portrayed her technique.