- Anzaldua disagrees that there are firm lines between different languages because of how she communicates with other people. She speaks a different type of Spanish, and she feels that if she can describe the other languages then there’s no such thing as other universes. If she felt this existed, she wouldn’t be able to speak on the several ways she communicates with people. In the text it states, “I may switch back and forth from English to Spanish in the same sentence and the same word” when speaking to different people (72 JTC)”. She also mentions something about “pachuco” with people around her age and “Tex-Mex” with her siblings. This further proves the idea that there’s no such thing as different universes between languages.
- Anzaldua’s style is confusion to fluency. You can see this because in the beginning of her essay she seems shameful of her Spanish because it may not be as good as everyone else’s. At the end of her writing, she no longer feels that way and she is proud of who she is. In the text she says, “I will no longer feel ashamed of existing. I will have my woman’s voice, my sexual voice, my poet’s voice. I will overcome the tradition of silence.”
- Liao’s convention of change is most apparent in Sedaris’s essay. It is most apparent because in the beginning of the essay Sedaris feels lost and confused. He doesn’t understand much French and only knows what he took in a course in New York. He feels stuck often finds himself avoiding everything around him because of his fear of unfamiliarity. He ducks people, tries not to speak verbally, and dreads it when he must talk. Toward the end of essay, you start to see his evolution and confidence he builds from trying to beat adversity. He studies harder and eventually he understand the professor and what she is saying and is intrigued to hear more because the “world” around him is finally clear. Liao’s convention of discourse community is least apparent in contrast to change because unlike David who was timid and lost, the community around him spoke with confidence and in their language. David could not relate to them therefore prevent him from being apart of the discourse community around him.
- Manson does not feel the same way at the end of her essay as she did at the beginning. In the beginning she did not understand her language and how to turn her language into one that people understood. That language was the voice in her mind that she understood but could not decipher. Throughout the essay you see progression in her character and how she improves by accepting there is something wrong and trying fix it. She starts making metaphors that have many meanings to describe what she feels since she is not able to directly say how she feels. At the end of the essay, you can the progress she has made. “I said my thoughts, even though they were incomplete. I felt more than that. I always will. But I said what I could, and that was enough.” (Manson 88). Although she has not completely solved her issue, she is definitely not where she started.
ENG 2100: Writing 1 with Jay Thompson
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