Kaitlyn Affum

English 1010
4/25/2016
Wild Tongue by Gloria Anzuldua
Unit 2 Rhetorical Analysis

Gloria suppressed in her ability to express herself, finds how to express

herself in the same culture that suppressed her.
Gloria Anzuldua wrote this piece in 1987 from the chapter of the book
Border-lines. She was born in Mexico and moved when she was a child to
America, and uses those experiences to educate us about what it was like to
learn the language and acclimate to the culture without losing her own.
When I take a look at this article I believe this was written for women in the
American culture but more so Mexican- Chicano heritage. It is clear as you
read this article that it is mostly for women who may relate to her
experiences as a Mexican women living in America. I believe that she uses
three pieces of rhetoric to help us understand her life and they experience
she had that lead her to the place she is at now. Those three pieces of
rhetoric are her Identity, her Education and lastly Culture. I believe that her
argument in this piece is that she believes that even though you have
everyone telling who you are and what you should be. You can always rise
above and be what you want to be. She is a prime example of that she has a

PH.D. Showing us that even though all of her persecution she was able to
rise.

First is her Identity, Gloria allows us to see that even as a young child
there were always people there to tell her who she was instead of allowing
her to find that herself. She starts off sharing with us an example of this
when she was just in grade school a teacher stated to her If you want to
speak Mexican go back to Mexico. Making her aware that she must learn the
language, but more so that any part of her old culture would not be
supported by those close to her, she must truly allow herself to forget her
Mexican culture while attending that school. Her time while at school and
while at home were very different, her teachers told her to learn English, but
at home she was still immersed in her culture; with parents who were not
interested in helping her become more English (that everyone outside the
house was making her feel like to she had to be) but instead teaching her to
be quite and a meek individual to those that are deemed more important in
her culture. They would use phrases like Flies dont enter an open mouth
meaning that it is more expectable to keep your mouth shut and your
opinions to yourself, never truly allowing her to express how she really feels.
Another example of things that her parents would say to her was Well-bred
girls dont answer back. Letting her understand her place in the family,
never allowing her to feel like what she had to say was important to those
most important to her. Although she had lots of negative experiences she

later learns in life who she is and what means the most to her. She stats that
she felt that it took her any years but later understood what was meant in
teaching her those lessons, and how it taught her to become the stronger
individual that she is today. I believe her logic in explain her identity was
important to those reading the article, to help us understand how far she had
to come to have voice of her own, and to be allowed to actual identify
herself. In the article she shares an example of How she learns that she can
use the word Nostoras with the feminine A. For the first time in her life she
understands that there is a feminine side and that she can relate to that. She
feels that for the first time she is really seeing that her culture has a feminine
side to it as well. One that she can relate too, this helps her feel closer to her
culture and identify with it in a whole new way. I believe that she is
suppressed in her identity and here are a few examples. When she was a
little girl she was told by her teachers too become more English. This proves
that they were not interested in helping her keep her identity, but in
changing it. Letting us know that from early on she was told she had to
change by everyone around her. Never allowing her to find herself until later
in life. I believe another example was a quote that she was told often as a
child which is flies dont enter a closed mouth. Which insinuates that her
role is to keep her thoughts to herself. Why I believe this is an example is
because if you are taught to never speak your mind how do you really ever
understand how to find your voice. These are prime examples of someone

who is suppressed my language. Without a voice what short of language is

there?
Secondly, there is language. I believe that Gloria felt like to was
pushed and pushed to find her language from an early part in her life. Her
language wasnt something that she used to identify with at an early age,
that was done for her. She found herself searching for a better understanding
of the Chicana language and what it meant to her. She stats in the article
that it was a distinct way for them to identify themselves the best way they
know how. She then stats that she herself speaks many languages for
example she speaks: Standard English, Working class and slang English,
Standard Spanish and Standard Mexican Spanish, North Mexican Spanish
Dialect, Chicano Spanish, Tex-Mex, and lastly Pacheco. With all of these
languages and those around you forcing you how lean toward one, can make
you a very confused and frustrated individual. She explains to us where and
when she uses these languages. For example, she stats I picked up Pachuco
from kids and people my own age, it is a language of rebellion. Both against
Standard Spanish and Standard English. It is a secret language. Sometimes
having your own language that some might understand is the best way to
identify yourself without having a certain expectation towards those around
you. There is a quote that she uses in the article that I felt was the essence
of what identity is. The experiences we have are what makes us the induvial
we are. Here is the quote Identity is the essential core of who we are as
individuals, the conscious experience of the self-inside. I believe that she

uses this part of her life to logically explain to us, how many different
languages were in her actual culture, but to give us a better understanding
of how she came to labeling herself as a Chicano, and understanding which
language she belonged too. There are many examples to prove that she was
suppressed by her identity the first example I would use is when she states
the first time two Puerto Rican say the word nosotras she was shocked. She
felt that the whole Mexican culture was very male. She states that she felt
robbed of the female being by masculine plural. How do you identify with a
culture if you are female and you feel like the whole language is based on
male pronouns? This is a prime example of identity, I would never really feel
like I could identify with a culture if I felt it was only for male. Where do I fit
in? How am I supposed to be engulfed in this culture and identify with it, if it
is only for males? She explains that she finally finds her identity in the
moment others show her that there is a feminine side to the language.
Lastly, culture leading us to understand that she herself has labeled
herself as a Chicano. Which came from the need of the Mexican culture to
identify themselves. She shares with us in the article that Chicanas who grew
up speaking the language believed that we speak poor Spanish. That the use
the language difference against each other. She felt that in the Chicano
culture that women are not part of the language that she feels that are
words that are meant derogatory against women but never men. The
feminist part of her never really felt that the language and culture itself
embraces women, this is why I felt that she wanted us to know that she rose

above and from the start she had those that were there to push her down,
but in the end. She allows us to see another side of her letting us know that
while getting her PH.D she argues for the Chicano culture to allow it to be
taught. She explains to us that her culture id what framed her to be the
person she is. Once she was able to understand the culture, she was able to
understand herself as well. She uses many examples of the people in her
culture, and how they expressed themselves. I believe that through these
experience she learned how to defy the haters and truly learn how to express
herself in the same culture that worked so hard to suppress her. For example,
she talks about when she truly read the first novel the city of night she felt
for the first time that her culture was finally being praised, with the work
being published. She states that a flash of joy rushed through her. In this
phrase you understand how much her culture means to her.
Gloria Anzuldua, is very good and bringing out the emotion in all
us to persuade us to see her points. Whether its lake of feminism in her
language or the examples of people pushing her to be something that she is
day after day. She allows us to walk the path with her and she finds herself
through the culture that she felt she was forced to not feel welcome in. She
uses the information to learn more about herself and who she is even though
there are obstacles. She allows us to see who she is at her lowest and then
shows us what she became at her highest and what she chose to do with
that power. She persuades us with a tone of melancholy women who then
turns into the power women. Her article is a direct representation of who we

are as individuals and how to figure that out. Here is a direct quote from the
article. Identity is the essential core of who we are as individuals, the
conscious experience of the self-inside. I believe that Gloria uses many
tones throughout this piece one of the tone I believe she uses is sadness, to
uses this emotion to express her lack of speech and her inability to use her
speech the way that she feels necessary.
Gloria suppressed in her ability to express herself, finds how to express
herself in the same culture that suppressed her.