A Comparison of ‘Search for my Tongue’ by Sujata Bhatt and ‘Ogun’ by Edward Kamau
When making a comparison between the two poems, ‘Search For My Tongue’
by Sujata Bhatt and ‘Ogun’ by Edward Kamau Brathwaite we can see that
both are primarily concerned with notions of culture and identity and
in particular how one impacts upon the other. The implication being,
that the culture into which we are born plays an important role in the
formation of our identity and that when we attempt to integrate
ourselves into a ‘foreign’ culture conflict is created within. This
conflict can threaten our sense of self, causing it to fragment – the
result of which is that some part of our self is ultimately lost.
Both poets use metaphors in order to demonstrate this point, for
example, Bhatt uses the physical tongue as a metaphor for language as
she creates the image of two tongues:
“….what would you do
if you had two tongues in your mouth,
and lost the first one, the mother tongue,”
Here, Bhatt suggests that the ‘two tongues’ or languages and the
cultures from which they are derived are incompatible. She feels that
the first will be lost or replaced by the second, which she refers to
as “the foreign tongue” which you can not really know. This idea that
the second tongue is one that ‘you could not really know’, implies
further that language is about more than words, but that it
encompasses a whole range of meanings connected with the culture from
which it is derived and that even though she has mastered the
language, she feels as though the meanings and underlying culture will
always be alien to her.
Brathwaite als...
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...e tells us that it in her
dreams it does in fact re-grow. In relation to this tongue she
writes, “it ties the other tongue in knots,” thus giving us the sense
that this part of her is victorious rather than lost.
Thus in making a comparison of the two poems, ‘Search For My Tongue’
and ‘Ogun’ we can see that though the poems are similar in their
views of the possible threat integration with ‘foreign’ cultures
poses to our sense of self, and the use they make of metaphor to
demonstrate the conflict this presents within us, contrast can be
found in the general tone of the writing. In the case of Bhatt’s poem
there is the implication of growth and blossoming, whereas in
Brathwaitte’s poem there is much more anger at the loss of cultural
identity and implies the loss of part of one’s self as the ultimate
outcome.
I don’t know how history shapes a language, but I know that languages do change over time. When Jamila Lyiscott in “3 Ways to Speak English” says, “Now you may think that it is ignorant to speak broken English. But I’m here to tell you that even ‘articulate’ Americans sound foolish to the British.” It means that every language even a broken language is a language to someone and it has to mean to them. Also, people might interpret a word a different way than other people will because of their original language that might never really get the whole understanding. New words are made every day so our language is ever so vastly changing every single day, and it has been changing since the day our language was made. When she says that she is “articulate”
In the society that we live in today we are surrounded by an abundance of different cultures, politics and physical features. In the two books, Sky Burial and Stick Out Your Tongue it gives us different aspects on the people and culture of Tibet. Sky Burial written by Xinran is a story about a Chinese women going to Tibet in order to find her husband. During that journey we are able to get a sense of what Tibet and the people are like and see the political conflicts between China and Tibet as well. However in Stick Out Your Tongue written by Ma Jian, is a straightforward book that depicts Tibet in more details and in a harsh perspective. This book unlike Sky Burial, is way more descriptive and does not involve the concept of love. Despite the differences in the two books there are still similarities and concepts that tie in together. Reading these two books allows readers to see Tibet in different lenses and get a better understanding about the culture, religion, and the people of Tibet.
Being a culture under pressure from both sides of the contact zone, there needs to be passion and emotion or else the culture might disappear into history. Anzaldua’s text makes great use of passion and emotion while merging the ideas of multiple cultures together through the tough experiences in her life. Autoethnographic texts give perspective to outsiders on how a culture functions from the inside point of view. Anzaldua’s “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” excellently portrays her culture’s plight and creates a fiery passionate entrance for her culture in their uprising through the contact zone.
Throughout A Loss for Words, Lou Ann discusses the impact of having deaf parents played in her and her sister’s childhood. Some examples include, being an interpreter and a guide for her parents while she was growing up, causing her to more of an adult rather than being a child (Walker, 1986, p. 2). Lou Ann never minded though she loved to feel important and to help her parents, along with her two sisters, with their business affairs. It was not always easy though Lou Ann says that, “in a few instances I was an unfaithful go-between,” for instance, “the garage mechanic who refused to serve them because [her parents] were deaf” (Walker, 1986, p. 21). As children of deaf parents, Lou Ann and her sister were apart of the deaf culture, but they were also the connection to the hearing world as well. Her parents would often look to her for clues in different situations such as a thunderstorm, someone walking into a room, etc., but they never tried to place any pressure on her it simply came naturally to Lou Ann to help her parents because they relied on her. If I were Lou Ann I probably would have done the same thing, no one should feel helpless and have no one that can help them accomplish tasks that need to be done.
Culture makes us who we are. Each individual has their own culture from their experiences in life and is developed from societal influences. The various cultures around the world influence us in different ways which we experience at least once in our lifetime. There are occasions, especially in history, where cultures clash with one another. For instance, the English colonization in Africa changed their culture. Chinua Achebe, the author of Things Fall Apart, portrayed this change in the Igbo people’s society, especially through the character Okonkwo in the village of Umuofia; the introduction of Western ideas challenged him. In the novel Things Fall Apart, the author Chinua Achebe introduces to us Okonkwo whose character’s response to the
contain. These books help readers affectively—giving them pleasurable experiences with reading and boosting their self-concept; these books help readers culturally and
Storytelling has a special importance in culture throughout the African continent; Anansi the spider in Ghana, is one great example of an African fable that teaches children important lessons including respect for elders, the importance of wisdom, and the importance of culture. These stories have been retained and perpetuated by oral tradition, despite the western emphasis on written records; African tribes have preserved history and culture well thorough oral historians. The translator, D.T. Niane, explains the validity of oral history well by stating that written text can contain inaccuracies as well (xv). The importance of the oral aspect of djelis method relays the information in a personal manner, as Djeli Mamoudou Kouyate states, “writing lacks the warmth of the human voice,” therefore by creating a written text of an oral story it “does violence” to it (xvi). I was raised in an African community, here in DC and was lucky enough to attend Djeli performances by family friend, Djimo Kouyate, and later his son Amadou. Although I do not speak Manding, Djeli Djimo Koyate, performed the music in such a way that I was able to relate and...
In Amy Tan’s, “Mother Tongue, the author uses a great deal of diction that is easy to follow along and understand her story no matter the audience’s cultural background. While in Sandra Cisneros’s, “Only Daughter”, the author uses examples and sentence structure that the audience is able to feel and emotionally feel connected to. While both authors use different techniques to gain the attention of the audience, they both effectively win any reader’s attention from any cultural background, therefore communicating their interpretation of language in culture.
In “How to Tame a Wild Tongue,” the author, Gloria Anzaldua illustrates her life; growing up in two completely different cultures. While in American school, Anzaldua is discouraged from speaking Spanish and is expected to speak clear, concise American English. In her Chicano Spanish culture, Anzaldua must live up to certain cultural expectations. Throughout this story, there are many images including language, culture, identity, pride, perseverance and oppression.
Jennings, Elizabeth. One Flesh. 1966. Ed. Mary Jo Salter and Jon Stallworthy, eds. The Norton Anthology of Poetry. 5th ed. New York and London: W. W. Norton, 2005.
Although authors tend to cover different subjects and arguments many use the same strategies to do so. Literary strategies are constantly found in all forms of writing as they aid authors in presenting their argument to an audience.“How to Tame A Wild Tongue” is an essay by Gloria Anzaldua thats discusses difficulties that accompany Chicano Spanish. “Mother Tongue” is an essay by Amy Tan in which she discusses how her mother's Chinese language and “broken” English, and how her mother's language has affected her own. In their essays, both Anzaldua and Tan analyze language and their personal experience in relation to the subject. Both these pieces present different arguments about language while using similar strategies to do so. Although their subject is language and the arguments present differ, the point of view in which they present their arguments and literary strategies used to do so are the same.
One day I was doing a tongue and a quarter contest with my brother Dillon than “Gunk” I swallowed the quarter and Nellbell flipped over the couch freaking out and Uncle Bubba called 911 and Dillon freaked out too. I couldn't breath because the quarter was in my throat. I was little then so my thought was small.
Autobiography is an act of a conscious self that documents significant events through the active help of memory to construct historical facts rather than truth. It is a western phenomenon which has its root in the Greek literature. The Western autobiographical tradition has started long back in an ancient time while documenting military achievements or important lifespan of the worriers or the kings. In the late middle ages, i.e. in the period of Renaissance, the intense unusual experiences on the part of the authors have formed their autobiographies. Even the genre was used to expand their personalities as well as psychological development.
In discussions of oral literature, critics have debated its importance and significance. Many have discussed it specifically in the context of African literature. In his article, “Orality and the Written Word in the Age of Globalization: The Case of Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s Kikuyu Novel” Njogu Waita demonstrates that Ngugi adopting the oral narrative technique came to realize “that he could break with traditional linear timelines and still be able to connect the present with the past and the future” (Waita 85). Waita shows how all three parts of Matigari are following the style of an oral narrative. He explains that Matigari is a mythical character and shows the allegorical references in the novel. Waita here focuses on showing how the oral narrative is another technique of writing which breaks traditional methods.
and Kathryn Harrison's The Kiss." National Council of Teachers of English 66.4 (2004): 403-26. Web. 13 Apr. 2014.