The language from Spanish to English is one of the numerous conflicts that Antonio has had to face. Antonio has grown up in a family where they only speak Spanish, not one word in English. When he goes to school, he has to learn English. On the first day of school, the teacher “…pointed at me but I did not understand her. Then the other boys and girls laughed and pointed at me. I did not feel good. Thereafter I kept away from the groups as much as I could and worked alone” (Anaya, 58). Antonio is intimidated by the new language and the children. He feels as if he is left out because he can’t understand what the other kids are saying, but understands that they are laughing and making fun of him. At the end, Antonio learns English with the help …show more content…
For example, a major dichotomy in this book is Márez and Luna. This has an important impact on Antonio’s identity such as whether to become a priest or a farmer. Another dichotomy is good and evil. This also plays a role as an impact on Antonio’s identity. For an instance, Ultima executes good deeds, but she is still accused of being a witch by some. At the same time, Tenorio takes evil actions and is still not blamed for seeking avenge for his two dead daughters. Ultima is forced to prove that her nature isn’t witchcraft, so she is put to a test, a test in which you “…take the holy needles and pin them to the door. Put them in so they are crossed—and in the name of God,” (Anaya, 133) and everyone knows that “…a witch cannot walk through a door so marked by the sign of Christ,” (Anaya, 133). Ultima took the challenge and passed through the door, but then Antonio notices the cross is on the floor. It is unclear whether or not Ultima was able to cross the door marked. Antonio is left to conclude that a good person is a person that acts according to the inner being of Catholicism, not necessarily the laws and structure of
Victor Villaseñor with his beautiful story and eye opening experiences of learning english as a second language really helped me understand the obstacles he faced, as I myself went through the same obstacles of learning a new language, not only victor had to learn a complete new language but was also belittle of his race a mexican-american. Learning a second language can be difficult specifically when the teacher does not supports the student in the process of teaching ,Villaseñor argues that he feels no sympathy for bad teachers, for good teachers he believes that they deserve to go to heaven, as he often relates to his
“Se Habla Español,” is written by a Latin author, Tanya Barrientos; and Amy Tan, a Chinese author, wrote “Mother Tongue”. In both literate narratives the authors write about their experiences with language and how it impacted their lives. In This essay we will be discussing the similarities as well as the differences in the stories and the authors of “Se Habla Español” and “Mother Tongue”. We will discuss how both authors use a play on words in their titles, how language has impacted their lives, how struggling with language has made them feel emotionally, and how both authors dealt with these issues.
When Antonio first became homeless, an older man tried to steal one of his belongings, which was a simple hot plate. His first instinct was to attack the man and take back his property. While doing so, Antonio thought, “We have almost nothing, and this man wants to take it from us” (43). In addition, he mentions how, “It felt good to hit this man… For a moment, he felt strong and free; fury was a much better drug than self-pity.” (43). When Antonio discusses about the old man and his crimes, he may be alluding to Longoria and what he did to Antonio’s family. The man who tried to take away part of Antonio’s possessions is referring to Longoria and how he took away Antonio’s family. The act of beating the old man refers Antonio’s eventual act of revenge against Longoria and the satisfaction he experiences afterwards. Both acts demonstrate Antonio’s willingness to sacrifice and harm other in certain scenarios where it is necessary. The significant difference between Longoria and Antonio is the intention behind their actions. Longoria killed hundreds in cold blood for his own selfish desires and beliefs, while Antonio only harmed a total of two people to get revenge and to enforce justice in the only way he could. As mentioned before, Longoria’s actions are evil because he commits them for selfish reasons and without remorse. In contrast, Antonio’s actions are seen as necessary evils. A necessary evil is defined as an act of evil (as perceived by society) that is committed in a certain scenario where it follows a utilitarian approach; an approach in which the action does more good than harm. When Antonio beat up the old man, he was merely protecting his belongings and enforcing the law. More importantly, when Antonio killed Longoria, it was for his wife, his son, and the hundreds of other innocent lives that Longoria had claimed; Antonio did an act of
Throughout the novel, Antonio fights a psychological war in his mind about all the religions and faiths that surround him in his everyday routine. All his life he was raised to believe in God, and as a result he grew to be a devote Catholic. However, some of his beliefs alter when Ultima, a curandera, comes to live with his family. By witnessing her mysterious powers, Antonio begins to question his beliefs. For many years following Ultima’s arrival Antonio balanced the religions of both worlds, by praying to the Virgin Mary while his brothers were away at war, as well as helping Ultima pick and care for her many magical herbs. At first, he didn’t compare the two faiths, but as time went on, he knew it was time to choose which path he wanted to follow into his future.
Throughout Richards early childhood development he quickly understood that in order to succeed in America he would have to learn to confidently speak in English. Richard is Hispanic American and although he was born in America, Spanish was the only language that he was exposed to as a young child. He grew up in a home where Spanish flowed freely, but he soon realized outside of his home the language that he primarily knew was foreign. His parents spoke fluent Spanish along with all of his relatives. The brief encounters he experienced of his parents speaking English were only in public places and the proficiency was very poor. Rodriguez’s home was as a safety net for him and his Spanish speaking family with they are his only real connections to the outside world. It wasn’t until Richards encounter with his teachers that he and his family was heavily impressed on the importance of developing a public language. After the encouragement of the visit home from a teacher as a family
So that was the case for Richard Rodriguez in “Aria”, he expands on his life as a kid learning to speak English. And his parents not knowing how to speak English fluently. He would not like going to school because when he would try to speak English he would get made fun of. English was never comfortable to him. But that all changed when the nuns from his school came to his house to tell his parents to speak more English at home. He felt broken, there was no talking in Spanish in the house just English. From there he started to learn more English at school and became fluent in it. He even forgot how to pronounce things in Spanish after that. Richard Rodriguez said, “I would speak, or try to speak, Spanish, and I would manage to utter halting, hiccupping sounds that betrayed my unease” (Richard 319). He felt disappointed in himself for not being able to speak Spanish. This is a showing of how language has power. Just because he stopped speaking a language, he forgot it and became more fluent in another
The binary opposition of Antonio’s mother and father are one of the major central conflicts. Antonio resides between the Lunas and the Márez tradition, two families that see no common ground. His passage into maturity is one that forces him to decide between his mother and his father, the moon and the sea. During one of Antonio’s dreams he sees his births. This birth shows him the Lunas and the Márez arguing over his future and the presents they bring represent that. The Lunas bring fruit from their farm, they expect Antonio to respect his mother’s side and honor either the land or the heavens by becoming a farmer or priest. The Márez, who expect him to become a cowboy, smash the Lunas offering and present their own emblematic gifts. This profession is represented by his father’s dream of moving to California when becoming a vaquero is no longer a real option (Novoa, 4). Antonio’s dream ends with Ultima solving the problem, and becoming the bridge between the two worlds, something she frequently becomes for Tony. Antonio feels that he must choose one of the traditional pa...
Richard Rodriguez offers an alternate yet equally profound truth: While our heritage and culture may remain forever tied to and expressed in our native or "home" language, only through the dominant language of our country (English in most cases) can we achieve a place in society that gives us a feeling that we belong amongst everyone else. The only way we can truly become a part of our community and fit in is to dominate the current spoken language. In the United States, the dominant language is Standard English. In this excerpt from "Aria," a chapter in his autobiography entitled "Hunger of Memory": The Education of Richard Rodriguez, Rodriguez discusses public and private languages, and agrees that his achievements in English separated him from his Spanish family and culture but also brought him "the belief, the calming assurance that [he] belonged in public." We as human beings want to feel we belong. We search for that place in society where we are most comfortable all our lives. One should consider the benefits of mastering the dominant language of the society they live in, but should also take into account the harm of taking your native language for granted. I will attempt to explore both of these considerations and examine Rodriguez place in life now, by stating the facts of who is now by the childhood decisions that were made.
In the book Sula by Toni Morrison, Morrison’s ambiguous link between good, evil, and guilt, she is able to show that these terms are relative to each other and often occur mutually. In her comparison of good and evil, Sula states that "Being good to somebody is just like being mean to somebody. Risky. You don't get nothing for it" (145). Good and evil are being compared as if they are equal and that is how the book is structured. For instance, Eva's burning of Plum is a complex conjunction of motherly love and practicality and cannot be described as simply being a good act or a bad one. The killing of Chicken Little is a similarly ambiguous situation from which Sula and Nel's feelings are unclear. Lastly Sula, upon her death bed, questions what it means to be good and suggests that it what may be considered bad could in reality be good. Both in the syncopated style of Morrison's writing and the morally ambiguous portrayal of characters, cause the reader to question morals and think about them on a larger scale.
Tan’s essay does more than just illuminate the trouble with language variations; her essay features a story of perseverance, a story of making a “problem” harmonize into a “normal” life. Almost like a how-to, Tan’s essay describes an obstacle and what it takes to go above and beyond. Mirroring Tan, I have been able to assimilate “the [world] that helped shape the way I saw things” and the world that I had to conform to (Tan 129). Life is a struggle, but what makes it worth it is the climb, not what is on the other side.
My parents decided to immigrate to the United States when I was six years of age. As we established ourselves in the United States, my first language was only Spanish. Spanish was the language that I was taught at home, and it was the only language to be spoken at home. Rodriguez describes when he first entered his classroom where he was introduced to a formal English-speaking context, writing that, ?I remember to start with that day in Sacramento-a California now nearly thirty years past-when I first entered a classroom, able to understa...
One way Francisco struggles in his new life is that he and his family cannot speak English. In paragraph 11 Miss Scalapino is speaking to the class and Francisco can’t understand a thing. In paragraph
The persona that Richard uses in this essay is that of a native Latino child who immigrated to America. Richard argues that it would not be beneficial to children’s learning because he was taught that “I had the right-and the obligation-to speak the public language” (The Northern Reader, Rodriguez pg. 286). Learning and using the public language was viewed as socially acceptable and that other languages were seen private.
Antonio “could not understand why Narciso…had lost his life; and why Tenorio…was free and unpunished” (Anaya 91). After seeing the death of a close family friend, Antonio lost more of innocence. Now he begins to question God on why Tenorio, an evil man who took the life of another, walks free. He questions the justness of his God, and if he is truly worth believing in. As he return the school the following year, Antonio “seemed older, and yet the lives of all [his] schoolmates seemed unchanged” (Anaya 194). This dramatic change in Antonio’s life adds to the growth of his character by introducing him to the depravity of the world, demonstrating the injustice of life, which creates even more questions in the curious and doubting (in religion)
She realized the value of her language when she lost it and now treasures it. The kind of Spanish she speaks is neither English nor Spanish, but both. It is overflowing with culture from Medieval Spain, France, Germany, etc., just from the origins of the words. It is her pride and a representation of herself, fighting and living. In conclusion, in addition to Lera Boroditsky’s article proving that the structure of language affects how we think, the articles by Eric Liu, Amy Tan, and Gloria Anzaldua show how language is a foundation for a person’s culture, pride, and self.