Chicano Essay

AP Language

How To Tame A Wild Tongue Analytical Essay

    A tongue can not be tamed if it is wild and let loose. Anzaldua leaves very little for argument. She does not find the need to follow all the rules to speak "proper Spanish." Chicanos such as herself have found the strength to accept and become one with their tongue (language and their tongue). Throughout history, Mexicans have been oppressed and demeaned, causing them to even have slight shame of their culture and roots. Unlike some who might be ashamed and have become more "Americanized", the author truly depicts the other side of the story, in which, Chicanos and others, whom are enriched with diverse cultures, are at ease with their origins. They have embraced their culture with passion and have not bitten their tongue because of the disrespect received by those who disagree about their tongues.

    Anzaldua's perspective on the debate whether a tongue should be tamed or not in is quite clear. She emphasizes the need for acceptance of their heritage and traditions. Their tongue is not proper Spanish, but that does not mean it should be punished like said in paragraph four. The diction used throughout the easy helps depict her morals and thoughts, she is very unhappy with the assumptions and neglect received by Chicanos and Mexicans. Not only is she unhappy, but furious. She does not want to be categorized nor socially unified with people she is not associated with, in the sense of uneducated people, just because her Spanish used with friends and close family members is not proper.

    Despite her stating that her Chicano Spanish is a language and continuing on to say that she speaks seven languages, and that those who disagree are only insulting her, I still have to disagree. I would not necessarily say she speaks seven languages, on the contrary, she speaks different dialects of a language that derive from different regions. This adds another card into the game because in reality she speaks dialects. Not only is the classification a problem to the author, but the misogyny is also.

    The author's usage of repetition of ideas, such as the neglect and belittling of Chicanos, allows the excerpt to be more cohesive. The story uses this idea to build up and create a uniformed story. Anzaldua also uses understatements to make her arguments more precise and valid. An example is, "We needed a language with which we could communicate ourselves with, a secret language." She does not literally mean to have a secret language, but more like a dialect which not everyone would understand. The “language has just enough differences to allow those whom know it to understand. The author also used rhetorical questions such as, " How do you tame a wild tongue, train it to be quiet, how do you bridle it and saddle it. How do you make it lie down?" Anzaldua is not looking for an answer, since she states it herself in the last paragraph and previous paragraphs. "I will no longer be made to feel ashamed of existing. I will have my voice...”

    The story told can be seen in two opposite perspectives, but the one you decide to see from is often the one you can relate to most. Not being a Chicana, nor a Mexican, I would not know what it is like for them specifically, but because I am in fact Hispanic/Latina, whichever, I do know what it is like to be classified automatically and assumed to have no knowledge. Of course, the more, the better, but we are not completely clueless either.