A Chicana Cathero: A Lack Of Identity

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Furthermore, because the speaker was raised in celebration of only one of her cultural identities, English, she is “orphaned” from her Spanish heritage (Emplumada 41). Just as Cervantes was discouraged from speaking Spanish to avoid the racism and prejudices that pervaded the time, the speaker has been limited to English and thus feels a disconnect with her Spanish birthright. It’s interesting to note here that Cervantes is making a direct comparison; a lack of language leads directly to a lack of identity. The speaker then goes on to look in the mirror; the imagery provided is that of an honest reflection: “bronzed skin, black hair,” the striking markings of a Chicana woman. She feels detached from the image in the mirror, as though her body and inner self does not feel at one with the dark-skinned girl gazing back at her. Yet because of her Mexican …show more content…

She is in a permanent transitional stage, constantly in between two places but never reaching her ultimate destination. The speaker is struggling, accentuated by her language choice of words such as “slide,” “stumbling,” “orphaned,” “foreign,” and “captive,” many of these which she places at the end of the line for further emphasis (41). She is incapable of ever truly arriving at one culture because in her blood is a mix of the two, something the speaker hasn’t quite come to terms with yet because she is instead focused on the hopelessness of her situation. This sense of being the “Other” and isolation from her identity is indirectly reinforced by the assumption that the speaker is most likely a female, a gender role that has been traditionally also labeled the “Other” throughout history. Not only is the speaker alienated from both her cultures, but she is also automatically cast in a lower caste and alienated from the male-dominated world she

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