2Youngins2Oldheads

  Dorothy Allison’s “Context” (1994) is a personal essay that demonstrates how people relationships can feel insecure when they do not know or understand different aspects of each other. Truly knowing someone is to understand and accept all aspects of their lives including their family, background, and upbringing. Allison uses a combination of flashbacks and imagery to express her feelings on judgement and perspective. Her writing style helps the reader acquire a better sense of her perspective and visualize various events in her life that explains why she has these insecurities. This short narrative would be a great read for the general population but especially those in a relationship.  After reading her essay, we believe Allison felt like most people when their significant other meets their family for the first time. If Allison’s lover had rejected her family, she would feel rejected as well. Family and upbringing play an important role in who we are as adults. Mannerisms...

     Gloria Anzaldua’s “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” (1987) is a narrative essay that blends the author’s personal experience, history, and poems in a fascinating way to show how the Spanish language has evolved and transformed into many sub-languages based on the area one grew up in. The author vividly expressed through personal anecdotes and history how many Spanish-speaking people feel ostracized by both their own peers as well as English-speaking Americans. Anzaldua’s purpose for this essay is to depict how one can feel when they don’t culturally fit into either group, which can lead to an identity crisis. The audience who would gain the most insight from this passage would be Spanish and English-speaking people of all ages, so they can understand both sides to being of Latin or Mexican descent in America and hopefully change the way they treat each other.             After reading this essay, we were able to learn ...

                 Tiffany Hendrickson’s “Talking in Color: Collision of Cultures” (2013), is a narrative essay about growing up with insecurities due to judgement of how one speaks. As a white child with a deaf mother, under-educated father, living in a predominantly black neighborhood, the author recounts her own personal struggle of growing up in a household and neighborhood that she couldn’t fully relate to.   Hendrickson eloquently describes linguistic gaps between cultures and how classism and discrimination can negatively affect one's childhood. The author’s message in this essay pleads to not judge a book by its cover, or in this case, you should not judge a person by the way they talk. Just because one sounds a certain way, doesn't mean they lack education, intelligence, or is acting a certain race or color. We as a group were very intrigued reading about Hendrickson’s childhood and incidences of her being judged and typecast du...