Final Revision, Essay 1

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 Catholic teachers at school for actively professing her identity. Gloria was punished for speaking her native language, Spanish. “If you want to be American, speak ‘American.’” That is what the teacher said to Gloria. 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 Catholic 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. Therefore you do not only need to speak English to be American, so there was no reason for Anzaldua’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, Anzaldua 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 Anzaldua’s book, “Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza,” which depicts Anzaldua’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, Anzaldua 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 as, “Stubborn, persevering, impenetrable as stone, yet possessing a malleability that renders us unbreakable…” (Anzaldua). This is significant because it states how her personality is strong minded and persevering. She did not back down when faced with the being sent to the corner of the classroom by her teachers at school. Her experiences as a child shaped her identity. After she was told she was not American she was strengthened. Anzaldua then applied the lessons she learned from that incident and matured. This shows how identity is important as ones strong beliefs in their identity can help someone grow and mature to be a resilient individual.

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 identity is important because your identity is who you are as a person. That is why even though Anzaldua might have been living in America she did not have to speak ‘American’ just to be considered an American. Your identity is how others see you and how you will be remembered. 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. Anzaldua’s identity is her Spanish language and the Hispanic culture surrounding her. Our identities may be made up of many parts but as a whole that is who we are as an individual. No one should be judged for being professing their individualism for that is what makes up their identity.