“Can one understand combinations if they hang for ever in
the air and never settle down; if they never gain a firm footing? I read somewhere of a device by which
aeroplanes refuel over the sea without standing firm anywhere (if so where?)”
-
Arthur Schoenberg
Determine which one text you wish to write about from the
following: “Sense of Myself,” “Yellow Woman,” “Storytelling,” “The Homeland,”
“Blue.”
Write a quick summary of the text (it shouldn’t be over a
paragraph long). The summary should
give your intended reader enough of a sense of what the text is about for them
to understand your responses to the text.
But it must be short enough that you do not bore your audience by
repeating a text they can read for themselves.
They are reading your essay because they are interested in your insights
and readings of the text.
Questions to get you started analyzing the text:
What about the text blew your mind? What did the author say or do that caught
your attention? What’s the issue? How did the author present the issue? Why is what the author wrote or implied
important? What opinions did you bring
to the text? How were those opinions
refuted and/or reinforced? How did your
concept of the text change over time?
PUT YOURSELF IN THE AUTHOR’S SHOES: How does the author’s
sense of self, place, and story form his/her message? How does your sense of self, place, and story inform the way you
initially reacted to the text?
Pull out concrete sections from the text to help you
defend and illuminate your answers to the above questions.
Thesis:
Your thesis should serve the purpose of connecting your
personal experience to some larger issue or question of interest to your
readers. You want to make your readers
think and feel. Writing this essay is
your passport; cross the border to engage in dialogue with other readers about
this text. Our arguments will lead to a
revision of your essay in either of these ways: (1) You will defend your
thesis, acknowledging arguments against it, or (2) You will change your mind
and write about this change of perception in your essay.
*Remember that your conclusion does not have to be an
empirical, emphatic point or statement.
Your conclusion may be a question.
Length and format of final Essay One: 5
pages (see syllabus for the rules of the format and due date). *You will also need a works cited page.
Grading:
Things I will be looking for as I grade your essays:
n
Evidence that you have practiced close reading and have
picked apart the text to examine the features that make it unique and
interesting to you.
n
Analysis of the text.
n
A strong thesis statement.
n
Integration of parts of the text into your own argument.
In addition, I will be looking for maturity of thought,
organization, mechanics, and content.
|
This essay is a close reading of Gloria Anzaldua’s “The
Homeland” in which Melissa interweaves her personal response with
analysis. She examines the complexity of being Portugese in American
culture. |
MEILISSA
MARIE AVILA
The
middle. When one thinks of the middle,
he or she may think about the middle of a street, a class, or the middle of the
country. One may also consider the
middle of thought, traffic, or of an argument.
After asking more than ten people what they thought of what the middle
was, none of them ever mentioned the middle of two cultures or traditions. In the essay, The Homeland, written
by Gloria Anzaldua, Anzaldua describes her homeland as being a little of both
Mexican and American cultures. She
talks about the history of Mexico and how the borders between Mexico and the
United States were created. She
explains how the creation of the border has dramatically changed the lives of
the Mexican people. She describes the
border by using many metaphorical devices; one such example is that of the
ocean, “where earth touches ocean, where the two overlap; a gentle coming
together, and at other times and places a violent clash” (Anzaldua, 319). Anzaldua is very realistic and descriptive
in her text. She uses many forms of
writing in her personal narrative, which creates an eye-opening and touching
story. She concludes her essay with
giving the reader a metaphor of what her homeland is to her, a “thin edge of
barbed wire” (327).
Anzaldua explains how she is
stuck in the middle of two cultures due to a variety of reasons. Those reasons include, the fact that she
struggles knowing that the Mexicans must depend on the Americans to live; yet
the Americans are too ignorant to even know what is going on. Moreover, the fact that she lives in America
yet her heart and soul lie in the Mexican culture causes her to feel split
between the two traditions. I, too,
feel for Anzaldua, yet I am Portuguese and not Mexican. Though I do not relate completely with her,
I do in many ways. After reading The
Homeland, I was opened up to a new story about another culture and at the
same time it opened myself up to new ideas about my own.
After
reading Andaldua’s The Homeland, I was shocked to see myself realize
that much of the information that she presented had already been exposed to me,
yet I never bothered to look at both perspectives. Anzaldua is writing this piece of work to inform those North
Americans like myself, who are too preoccupied with the North American way of
life. By writing this, she can open
North American people up to new ideas about different lifestyles and
cultures. As I thought about this, I
also realized that the same is true for me.
I am Portuguese and many Americans are ignorant of the struggles that
the Portuguese community has gone through.
I know this, because I am Portuguese and though I have not lived these
struggles directly, I have lived with people who have my entire life.
Both my parents are one hundred
percent Portuguese and are from Portugal.
My mom came to the United States when she was three and my dad when he was
twelve. When my dad came to America he
did not speak any English, he only spoke Portuguese. Because of this school was very difficult for him. While at school, American children
continuously teased him and his siblings.
The phrase “green horn” would put him in tears. Since he was not accepted by many of his
peers, it was very difficult for him to get used to the American way of life,
yet that did not bring him down. Through
his years at school, he tried his hardest to avoid those who did not accept him
and he slowly began to learn English.
As he did, he also began to become acquainted with the American
culture. Like my father, Anzaldua was
also made fun of because she was uneducated about the American way of
life. “Faceless, nameless, invisible,
taunted with ‘Hey cucaracho’ (cockroach).
Trembling with fear, yet filled with courage, a courage born of
desperation” (326). Though children
teased both Anzaldua and my father, they were ironically both avid in becoming
accepted by the Americans who were treating them so terribly.
To this day, my father has not
been able to speak English very well, yet he has been able to succeed. In view of the fact that he was not able to
speak English well, he did not go to college and had to start working straight
out of high school. He did not only
work so that he could succeed, he worked to help his six younger siblings to
live comfortably. Without the help of
the Americans, who gave my father many different “handy-man” type jobs, he
could not have been there to aid his family and he could not have been as
successful for himself as he is today.
If the Americans did not give my grandfather a job and if they did not
employ my father and his brothers, there is no way that their family would have
survived. Anzaldua recognizes that
without America, many Mexicans today would be without a job. “Currently, Mexico and her eighty million
citizens are almost completely dependent on the U.S. market” (325). Anzaldua explains that the citizens of
Mexico need the United States economy in order to survive.
Though America has hurt the
Mexicans at the same time, it has helped them.
Without the Americans, the Mexicans would not have many of the job
opportunities that they have today.
America has also brought advanced technology to Mexico, therefore
allowing the Mexicans to experience many more innovations in their lives. Though many people can easily argue against
what I just wrote, one must understand Anzaldua’s opinion: America has hurt
Mexico by “the devaluation of the peso” and “half the Mexican people are
unemployed” (326) however, America has also helped Mexico in a profound manner,
which must be validated as well.
Americans have helped my dad to
be who he is today. Everything that he
has for himself and has provided for me was a direct result of his hard work in
America and his dedication to succeed.
Today my dad owns over fifteen properties in the Silicon Valley, owns
his own business, has built my family a home, sent his children through twelve
years of private school and at the same time manages to take time for himself
by going on a vacation every summer and periodically go to the lake with his
boat and motor home. My family is
better off than I think my dad had ever imagined and he is very proud of
that. Yet, he does not let his proud
attitude get in the way of keeping his down to earth and genuine attitude. Anzaldua talks about how her mother was
proud of what she had to offer the Americans.
“How proud my mother was to have her recipe for enchiladas coloradas in
a book” (325). Even though a recipe is
something so minuscule, what Anzaldua’s mother had to offer Americans was
something of her own culture. She was
able to offer a piece of herself to a country that created her and a country
that allowed her to flourish. My father
also offers what he learned in Portugal and was honored that those in America
accepted what he had to provide.
On the outside, one may think
that my family is rich and that we get whatever we want, whenever we want. However, in actuality that is not true and
unless you have heard my story then you would not know that. Through all of this, my dad has continued to
keep in contact with his Portuguese “side.”
He knows that if he had not come to America, then he would not have been
able to be as successful as he was, so he does thank America for giving him the
opportunity to do as well as he did.
However, at the same time if it were not for the Portuguese community
and family that believed and supported him he would not have made it. Because of this, he must not only represent
his “American” side, he must also represent his “Portuguese” pride. My dad’s heart lies within the Portuguese
community; he goes to Portuguese events every weekend and has a very close bond
with the Portuguese population. Being
his daughter, I did not struggle as much as he, yet I understand him and I,
too, have pride for the Portuguese part of me and at the same time love the
fact that I have the opportunity to live in America. Like Anzaldua, I, too, feel like I am stuck in the middle. I do not feel as stuck as I would imagine my
dad or even Anzaldua is, but I feel the pressure and can relate in small
ways. I, like my father, attend Portuguese
events almost every weekend; I am also involved in the youth Portuguese
Fraternal Federation in California. For
as long as I can remember, I have been a part of the Portuguese parades and the
youth Portuguese dance performances. I
have gone to the Portuguese bullfights and dances and have gotten to know many
people like myself. At the same time, I
went to a school where almost everyone was very well off and was handed
anything and everything that they wanted.
I remember one girl in my sophomore class who got a brand new BMW for
her sixteenth birthday. Two weeks
later, she got in a car accident; while her car was in the shop, her father
went out and bought her another BMW. If
you are shocked that this happened, you are feeling as astonished and stunned
as I was when I heard of this. It was
not just one person who was like that; it was a vast majority of my
friends. Though most of them did not
get that much, they did get much more than the average person. Their closets were packed with clothes, yet
they wore a uniform to school, they would complain to their parents when they
were not allowed to buy a seventy-five dollar shirt, and I never heard them
once say “thank you” or offer their help to their parents. I saw this everyday for many years; and
everyday I would ask myself how they could be like that and I hope that I am
not that way. Many people saw me as a
person who had a lot but like my best friend once told me, they all know that I
am down to earth and definitely not spoiled.
None of my friends ever talked to me about why I would volunteer at the
family shelter or instead of going shopping why I would spend a Saturday with
my family, they just knew “that’s how Melissa is.” I pride myself in knowing that my family is my first priority and
I am not a spoiled child. I think that
I am like that because of my dad and because of my Portuguese background. Whenever I went to the Portuguese functions
and socialized with my Portuguese friends, I knew that most of them did not
understand me either. They were like me
in that they knew the value of a dollar and they were genuine people, but they
did not deal with what I did everyday at school. The lives of my Portuguese friends differed in one major way;
they went to public school. The major
difference was the fact that the children were from a variety of different
backgrounds and most families were not as well off as those from my school.
I have always felt that I was in
the middle; I am part American but I am also Portuguese. I was faced with many different challenges
because of this. One that sticks out in
my mind is when people ask me what nationality I am or when I have to fill in
the little bubble on a scantron for a standardized test. When asked I always say Portuguese,
sometimes people question but most of the time they do not. The hardest is when I have to fill in the
bubble on standardized tests. I do not
consider myself white or Caucasian but I also do not consider myself Spanish or
Mexican. I guess that Portuguese is
like Spanish since the two countries are right next to each other. In addition, Spanish is like Mexican so it
might be far fetched but I could mark that box, yet I just do not feel
comfortable. My only other option is
“other.” It is awkward marking “other”
but I think that it represents me best.
When I see “other,” I see it as Portuguese but also recognizing that I
am American as well; and that is what I classify myself as. I cannot define myself as one or the other;
because I am not, I am both.
Anzaldua is
also both; both Mexican and American.
Anzaldua is Mexican and was teased by the Americans but at the same time
she was grateful and proud of the American culture. She recognizes both cultures and feels as if she is a part of
both, yet she wants others to understand her point of view. I, like Anzaldua, feel that I am of two
different cultures and traditions.
Though I recognize them both it is difficult to be a part of both. It is hard for others to understand our
story unless they take the time to listen or read of them. I do not shun those who do not understand my
story but at the same time, I do not force my story on them. If they wish to hear, they will and at the
same time, they will open themselves up to a new perspective on life. By reading The Homeland not only have
I found a story that relates with me, I have found a story that has opened my
mind to a new perspective of other cultures and ways of life.
Works
Cited
Anzaldua,
Gloria. “The Homeland, Aztlan/ El Otro Mexico.” Writing As Re-vision.
Eds. Beth Alvarado and Barbara Cully.
Needham Heights, MA: Pearson Custom Publishing. 1998. 319.
Comments from the Writer
I can
honestly say that this is the first essay that I ever actually enjoyed
writing. It is a very personal essay
and I liked the fact that I was able to put so much of my own life into it. It took many hours of thinking and talking
with others to figure out what exactly I was going to write about. Once I began
writing, ideas began to flow. Once I
had a completed rough draft, I went to my instructor and she helped me to sharpen
up certain points. As a class, we did a
presentation on our papers before turning them in. Listening to others presentations helped me gather more ideas
that I tied into my paper. This paper
not only helped me in improving my writing, but it helped me question myself
about things that I have never considered before.
As I stated before, this paper
is very personal. In high school, I
never enjoyed writing. It has never
been my forte. Yet, I have also never
had the opportunity to write about a personal experience, this opportunity has made
me enjoy writing and has taught me that there are many things that I would be
interested in writing about. I think
that this type of paper is an excellent way of starting the fall semester for
all college students.