Ariele Silva
English 1100
September 2, 2015
Prof. Young
Gloria Anzaldua Response Essay
What does identity mean to me? When I think of the word identity itself, I think of a person’s
background, heritage, culture, religion, language and ethnicity. I think of all those things because
those are all the things I use to identify myself. I’m very proud to be Ecuadorian, and I identify
myself as such; just like how Anzaldua identifies herself as Chicana. I really related to “How to
Tame a Wild Tongue” because as a Spanish speaker, I knew exactly what Anzaldua was going
through. Coming into this country, I never knew how narrow minded people were when it came to
them having to face the unknown, when facing another ethnicity. A prime example of people’s
narrow mindedness would when Anzaldua’s teacher rudely said “If you want to be American, speak
‘American.’ If you don’t like it, go back to Mexico where you belong.” (Anzaldua 256). Firstly, no
one can speak “American”, what they spoke was English, not American, and secondly America is
supposed to be a “melting pot” where all different cultures come together in one country. Instead of
scolding Anzaldua’s for her accent and shaming her for her language, they should have her embrace
it, encourage it and be proud. Anzaldua is Chicana. That’s who she is, and her identity and nothing
will change that. Just as Anzaldua had said “Stubborn, persevering, impenetrable as stone, yet
possessing a malleability that renders us unbreakable, we, the mestizas and mestizos, will remain.”
(Anzaldua 264) no matter how they might try to beat us down or break us, we won’t falter in our
pride for who we are, our identity. This is what identity means to me. To be able to fight for who you
are, what you believe in and to stay true to yourself.
Works Cited
Anzaldua, Gloria. "How to Tame a Wild Tongue". Teaching Developmental Writing. Ed. Susan Naomi Bernstein. Fourth ed. New York : Bedford/St. Martin's, 2013. 245 - 255. Print.
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