The Importance of Identity

The Importance of Identity

            From a young age we define our identities and if someone was to make an attempt at taking a piece of our identity away we should fight back no matter what. Gloria Anzaldua did exactly this when scolded by her teachers at school for actively professing her identity. The punishment for Gloria speaking her native language, Spanish, was that since she lives in America she should speak English. The only effect this had on her was to provide inspiration for her to be proud of her nationality. I disagree with the rational of the teachers because even though she may be living in the United States she doesn’t only have to speak English. Millions of people live in the United States and they do not all speak only English either so there was no reason for Gloria’s reprimanding. For Gloria, her identity relates to her Spanish language because it is uniquely and entirely part of her personal life, as well as Spanish Culture. Therefore, Gloria fights back and does not stop speaking her home language whether it be at home, with her friends, family, or at school. This piece is a chapter of Gloria’s book, “Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza,” which depicts Gloria’s life at a young age and follows through adulthood. It also explains how her identity remained with her and how she applied it to everyday life. She understands that America is a melting pot of different identities which adds to the American culture. Everyone in the world has a different identity no matter where they are located on the globe.

An identity is not simply just a language; it consists of much more. An identity can be made up of multiple features such as language, morals, personality, nationality, family, friend’s, culture and education. Identity is how one goes about their life. For example, Gloria identifies Spanish as her primary language. She speaks it at home with her family and at school with her friends. Anzaldua also writes in her book not in just English, but in Spanish as well. Gloria writes about her personality identity stating, “Stubborn, persevering, impenetrable as stone, yet possessing a malleability that renders us unbreakable…” This is significant because it states how her personality is strong minded and persevering as she didn’t back down when faced with the intimidation and the punishments by her teachers at school. Her experiences as a child strengthened her and she applied the lessons she learned to her life and developed a strong will. Language, family and personality are the main themes discussed in Anzaldua’s, “How to Tame a Wild Tongue,” but that is not all an identity consists of.

Identity consists of education and environment. Education can be part of someone’s identity because if one is not well educated they may speak with slang using improper grammar or sentence structure. Education is also how one obtains a job in the future, so if one isn’t properly educated they will not have a decent high paying job. Identity is made up of family life as well because one may look up to one or more family members such as a mother or a father. A family tragedy also can also change a person but it also can strengthen them too such as a child who lost a father and they must now take care of their mother. Having an identity is important since it affects someone in every aspect of their life.

We should all remember that your identity is important because your identity is who you are as a person. Your identity is how others see you and how you will be remembered as. We should stand up for ourselves if someone is trying to bring us down and not let them negatively affect how we truly are as a person. Just like in Gloria’s situation she did not back down when the teachers told her to stop speaking Spanish just because she lived in America. Her identity is her Spanish language and the culture surrounding her. Our identities may be made up of many parts but as a whole that is who we are as an individual and are what makes us unique from any other person in the world.