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Ane Tupea
Prof. Bown
ENG 1050-401
February 7, 2015
Perspectives on Diversity and Othering
As a reader in this course, we have learned through reading about the author’s
different situations and their thoughts in regards to immigration and the different
generations of Americans. After reading several essays from various authors, the topics
range from immigration, to language barriers, to slavery and finally the abolitionist
movements. As I have read these entries, I can’t help but think about and compare my
own challenges to theirs. I have come to the realization that “othering” is something that
we have all experienced at one time or another. In my own life I find it still occurs and
that I barely notice it happening. In relation to the textbook, the subjects of the essays
have had “othering” experiences. I will explain how this topic relates to the essays we
have read.
The first example that relates to othering is found in Min-Zhan Lu’s
autobiography, “From Silence to Words: Writing as struggle”. Lu confirms the othering
issues at school and how her educators viewed her differently than her peers, she states,
“As school began to define me as a political subject, my parents tried to build up my
resistance to the “communist poisoning” by exposing me to the “great books”. (151) Lu
clearly dealt with othering, due to her ability to speak English fluently and her family
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being a higher class than most of her peers. As we read along she continues to share her
struggles with her home language and her school language, it seems the othering
struggles seemed to interfere with her own thoughts. (154)
Additionally, we read an article written by Gloria Anzalua, a Latina American
shared her experiences in our textbook. Anzalua compiled an article entitled, “How to
Tame a Wild Tongue”. Throughout reading this section, I couldn’t help but try to
compare my life experiences with speaking my own native tongue growing up and how
sometimes I would receive critiques of my accent when speaking, I always seemed to
comments that referred to the way I spoke that I sounded too American. Similarly,
Anzalua explains how she felt she was robbed of her language throughout her life. I too
feel that I could never completely establish my own language identity so I stuck with
what felt comfortable. According to Anzalua, she feels a connection to other Latinos that
are second generation Americans, one harsh recollection she had of her teacher speaking
to her was when her teacher stated, “If you want to be an American, speak American. If
you don’t like it, go back to Mexico where you belong”. (521)
Furthermore, Anzalua continues to share the expectations that she dealt with from
being raised in America and speaking two languages. She seemed to have a somewhat
disconnected association with both cultures. And as most people who are from immigrant
families can vouch for this, the difficulty of balancing out the two identities and cultural
ties can be challenging.
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Another example of “othering”, which was the most interesting to me was written
by abolitionist and former slave, Frederick Douglass entitled, “What to the Slave is the
Fourth of July” in this great speech Douglass, begins by noting the celebration of the
Fourth of July to the average American (Caucasian). He simply states that his life as a
freed slave remains the same. Although Americans celebrated their freedom on July
fourth, he didn’t feel that there was much to celebrate. Douglass’ main objective was to
broaden the perspective of the audience. Douglass’ wanted to communicate to his
audience, the fact that not all who reside in America are free to enjoy their lives, as other
Americans were able to. Douglas stated, “What have I of those I represent to do with
your national independence?” (465). This was quite thought provoking for his audience,
in fact, his speech was quite lengthy, but he captivated his audience and helped them to
see his perspective and other African American’s perspectives too.
In summary, the point Douglass was trying to make in his speech was that it’s
quite ironic that on that day of his speech, those who were present at this event were
gathered to celebrate freedom of our great nation, not all Americans had equal
privileges/freedom to partake in such a blessed event. This specific section truly had me
pondering and made me feel such a solemn respect for those who have paved the way for
equality. My final thought is that although we currently all have equal rights as a nation
today, some of us who are in younger generations aren’t always aware of how thankful
we should be for those who have sacrificed so much for us to have the opportunity to
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experience the freedoms that we all enjoy in our daily lives. Sometimes we dwell too
much on materialistic things to actually take the time to reflect upon our rights, freedom.
The last author that I’ll share about is Margret Mead she wrote an article titled,
“We Are All Third Generation,” in this article she discusses that educators seem to overly
state that as a nation we have a tendency to be a proud people and we tend to be over
protective of our children’s progress. (97). Mead continues to share that our society as
Americans seems to live in unrealistic lifestyle our morals have changed over time and
this is something I agree with. Diversity is a good thing to embrace, loss of morals and a
sense of brotherhood is not a good thing.
As I conclude this essay, I will share my rhetorical analysis about one of our
assigned reading topics. This analysis will cover the article written by Mary Gordon,
which is called, “More Than Just a Shrine”. Gordon composes a reflective article about
her connection with Ellis Island. She discusses in detail her visit to the immigration
center on Ellis Island and describes her feelings connected to the landmark. Her
connection to her ancestors and her own personal relationship to them helps to establish
credibility. The information she shares about her immigrant grandparents’ experiences
initially upon entering America. She shares the difficulties that many immigrants faced in
migrating to the United States of America. (433)
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Throughout the experiences which we read that Gordon was able to absorb as
much of the experiences of her ancestors, from hearing about the family’s history,
specifically about their journey to America. Such great difficulties they faced as they
struggled through making America their new home. Gordon’s family history
unquestionably made such a profound impact on her life that she felt inspired to share
their story with her audience. She establishes the emotional appeal for her audience and
shares facts that help to ensure her credibility and provide more informative details for
her audience.
In our recent class discussions, a classmate of mine named Lisa Johnson
mentioned some remarks that help to further indicate Gordon’s experiences in regard to
her ancestor’s immigration. I am referring to her comments in week two of our discussion
board. Lisa stated something that goes along with my own thoughts, in response to Mary
Gordon’s article, “I could almost feel her disappointment. It was as if she was trying to
convey that she felt the discrimination so personally that I had to remind myself that she
was referring to her family and she was not actually there.”
Often times I find an article online through different media sources that celebrate
individuals who, despite difficult circumstances, were able to overcome adverse
situations. Whether we are related by blood to those who have faced these various
challenges in diversity, it is important to realize that their stories are our stories. After all,
we are citizens of this united country. It is important to always remember those who have
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helped create a stronger America so that when we are faced with uncertain events, we are
able to stand tall and persevere to the best of our ability.
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Works Cited
Lu, Min-Zhan. “From Silence to Words: Writing as Struggle.” George, Diana, and John
Trimbur.Reading Culture. White Plains, NY: Longman, 2011. 151, 1George, Diana, and
John Trimbur.
Douglass, Frederick. "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July." George, Diana and John
Trimbur. Reading Culture. Eighth Edition. 460-475.Culture. White Plains, NY:
Longman, 2011. 151-54. Print.54. Print.
Gloria Anzaldua “How to tame a wild tongue” George, Diana and John Trimbur. Reading
Culture 8th Edition. Boston: Pearson, 2012. 521-527
Mead, Margaret. "We Are All Third Generation." George, Diana and John Trimbur.
Reading Culture. Eighth Edition. 94-101.
Gordon, Mary. "More than Just a Shrine: Paying Homage to the Ghosts of Ellis Island."
George, Diana and John Trimbur. 2012. 430-435.