My Broken Language Sparknotes

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Has anyone ever truly felt the weight of language and inequality shaping their world? In My Broken Language, Quiara Alegria Hudes weaves together her and her family's past with bigger social and political problems of systemic inequality and community resilience, in addition to recent developments relating to immigration policy. This author's lush storytelling signals the reader to discover the complexities of identity and the collective struggle for equality at large, which is a defining feature of this memoir. Hudes is able to draw readers into the personal complexity of her life through a poignant story that includes the threads of larger social issues at hand. This discussion of systemic inequalities is not let loose into a quick theoretical …show more content…

She does this not only by making abstract political issues sensible, but also by giving the reader an invitation to look inward on the subtleties of identity and collective struggles toward equality. Through much of the memoir, Hudes navigates her way through tough times in search of identity and belonging amidst the influence of being raised as a Puerto Rican in America. She speaks of the disparities she observed among her peers, “My cohort had impressive facilities with language. Their rough drafts were sophisticated, with imaginative plots and keen structural surprises. Mine felt nave by comparison, with melodramatic storylines and on-the-nose dialogue” (Hudes 223). This quote not only underlines the educational inequalities Hudes faced, but also becomes a powerful indictment of systemic inequalities in access to quality education and opportunities. Hudes goes on to explain how these inequalities have been deeply built into the structure of society and continue to entrench cycles of disadvantage among the

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