Preview

Analyzing Mary Louise Pratt's 'Arts Of The Contact Zone'

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1265 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Analyzing Mary Louise Pratt's 'Arts Of The Contact Zone'
Written Task 1
IB English Language and Literature

Rationale word count:
300 words
Total word count:
932 words

Rationale:
In the first semester of my International Baccalaureate English course, we analyzed Mary Louise Pratt’s “Arts of the Contact Zone”. Pratt discusses the implications of contact zones and transculturation by utilizing Guaman Poma’s example of learning Spanish to successfully write a letter and persuade the King of Spain. In this written task, presented in the form of journal entries written by Andrea, a Mexican girl who dreams of becoming an architect, she will express her experience of transculturation by having to apply English to her everyday life in order to get a better educational opportunity
…show more content…
On a religious trip I went there in which I met girls from around the world. The funny thing was that we all spoke Spanish but differently, at the end all of our accents were mixed up. Oh man! We had a lot of fun. I got to hang out with people that had the same interests as me in the religious field, which is hard to find these days in were people don’t take God seriously. I just want to become a martyr, if I ever have the chance to die for what I believe.
This cannot be happening to me right now! I have just returned from my amazing trip and my mom tells me to unpack my bags and pack again because WE ARE MOVING TO CHULA VISTA, CALIFORNIA!!! The world has come to this were I have to seek another COUNTRY in were they offer better opportunities for me to attend a University, which is a step in order to accomplish my dream of becoming an architect. So, I find myself to accept this change to a different country, in a new school, with new friends, and another living
…show more content…
I just cannot believe how my English used to look! I am now a sophomore in high school taking advanced classes after a long talk with my counselor who had placed me in regular English classes. She assumed I couldn’t handle the type of work given to the “advanced” students, because all she heard when I spoke was my accent, and because based on her prejudice, that I wasn’t an “advanced” student. Although, my English is still not advanced and needs improvements, I have managed to overcome much of my struggles since I recently moved here. The English language has been an issue when I want to fluently communicate my thoughts, I know most of the topics the teachers address, the problem is when I have to write or speak in “formal” English, as I am always required to do

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Julia Alvarez “arrived in the United States at a time in history that was not very welcoming to people who were different.” Alvarez was stereotyped and hurt because of her ethnic background. Her tone emphasized the depressing nature of the situation and the disappointment of losing everything and the treatment receive in the USA. Her tone of depression and disappointment emphasizes the pain she experienced because of the judgment in America. As her essay comes to a close her tone shifts to hopeful and relaxed. Alvarez is accepted into America “through the wide doors of its literature.” Her introduction to literature allowed her to begin to feel accepted into society. Since Alvarez is accepted into society because of her assimilation through literature she becomes hopeful for her new prospect and relaxed to finally be understood. Overall, the tone shift from depressed and disappointed to hopeful and relaxed is significant because it emphasizes the central idea of mistreatment occurring within a new society and leads to acceptance with assimilation.…

    • 514 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Se Habla Espanol by Tanya Barrientos was about a Latina girl who struggled with her identity. She was born in Guatemala but has lived in America since she was three years old. In the beginning she was somewhat embarrassed by her Hispanic heritage. Tanya felt inferior to the white people because of how she looked and because of her last name. The tone of the essay was a serious and desperate cry for help. It seemed she was speaking to anyone who could listen and relate to her. Tanya wrote from her point of view and how she felt like a “gringa” trapped in a Latina girl’s body.…

    • 331 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Richard Rodriguez is an American journalist and essayist who often writes about his life and the obstacles he has faced during so. He has become widely known due to his popular book, The Hunger of Memory. In the excerpt that’s presented, Rodriguez talks about how his life has changed tremendously due to education, and he goes on to describe how he feels “assimilated.” Rodriguez comes from Mexican Origins and is the son of Mexican Immigrants and throughout the excerpt he has an internal fight due to the fact that he feels as if he is now a stranger to his once familiar culture. However, the one thing that has taken Rodriguez as far as he has come is his education.…

    • 172 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    This essay can relate best with reader from a Hispanic background, being that they come from a different country and they are not fluent English speakers. They can also relate to Cisneros’s family experiences. In contrast, Tan’s audience is Asian-Americans, because they can identify to the type of speech or fragmented or “broken language” like Tan mentions in “Mother Tongue.” The simplification of certain concepts that Tan practices in her writing allows her writing to be grasped by a wide range of readers. However, both pieces of writing deal with two female writers that are writing to immigrants from whom English is a second…

    • 1111 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In Mary Louise Pratt’s essay, “Arts of the Contact Zone,” we are introduced to the idea…

    • 2167 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    His essay, “Aria,” depicts the struggles a bilingual person will undergo as they attempt to both assimilate into the American culture, and attempt to simultaneously preserve their culture. The concepts that are emphasized within his essay include: the struggles of minorities in adjusting to the American culture and lifestyle, the revamp of certain educational aspects that are meant to benefit students, but in the long run, damage the students, and the struggle of preserving cultures, all of which are applicable in modern…

    • 1166 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    El Otro Lado Analysis

    • 2247 Words
    • 9 Pages

    In the book, El Otro Lado by Julia Alvarez, describes the author’s experience of leaving the dominican republic and moving to the united states. This is more than just her moving though, it’s about her transition through things like her culture, her behavior, her personality and her childhood into a world of emotions filled with insecurity, love, hurt. Alvarez’s use of Spanish that is mixed into the English she writes her poems also describe stories of her life along with the struggle of emigrating to a new country and what it’s like living in a country that isn’t 1st world or most advanced, revealing feelings from situations that most immigrants face coming to the United States. Alvarez also reveals her own personal…

    • 2247 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Laura, a Mexican immigrant and student in Rose’s remedial English class, has a completely different frame of reference than California born UCLA students she finds herself in class with. She remembers in detail how her father made a meager living as a “food vendor” in Tijuana. The types of food, the smells and the other items he sold are cannot be forgotten by Laura. She emigrated, with her parents, to the United States at the age of six (Rose 1). These memories keep her connected to Mexico.…

    • 1076 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    udwig Wittgenstein once said in his book Logico Tractatus Philosophicus ,“The limits of my language means the limits of my world.” This quotation means language has no limit, it’s something that can be translated into a wide variety. Both Amy Tan in the essay, “Mother Tongue” and Richard Rodriguez in the essay, “Aria: Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood” write about their struggle with their identities not only because of their race, but also the language there families speak. Amy Tan and Richard Rodriguez both struggled with there families language conflicting with the need to speak the language of society. While children they share similarities with their struggles, and they differ in their perception of the importance of maintaining their families…

    • 555 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    As a young girl growing up in Haiti, I experienced first hand that the path my parents chose for themselves was not the life that I wanted for myself. I was able to relate closely to Richard Rodriguez in “The Achievement Desire” because he faced many struggles that I too faced as a young girl. My parents always pressured me to work hard at school, I was always suppose to have my homework for Monday done by Friday night, which made me so mad at my parents. Just like Rodriguez was furious at his parents for forcing him into English classes, which started his separation from his parents. “The Achievement Desire” written by Richard Rodriguez is a story of a man who found himself through education. His whole life he was eager to read books and learn more . He was the kid in class who always raised his hand, and would always be caught reading a book at home all by himself. He came from a middle class Mexican family that had struggled to make it to where they were. His parents were somewhat educated, but worked hard to make a living, similar to mine. His siblings were also smart, but Richard always felt like he was by himself. He had great parents but hints that there was never that special bond between them. His family and school were two different worlds that he had to learn to live with. His values of family and education, which I am also able to relate to along with his inner struggle to separate from the life led by his parents. throughout the essay, I will be discussing the similarities and differences Rodriguez and I shared, such as, our immigrants parents, the language barrier between ourselves and our parents, and wanting a better life for ourselves…

    • 2095 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Gloria Anzaldua in How to Tame a Wild Tongue and Amy Tan in Mother Tongue both share a similar message in their essays, they argue that every single culture faces different language obstacles when learning the english language. Both struggle to develop the correct form of english, the one considered acceptable by society. Both Tan and Anzaldua teach us about their ethnic backgrounds, in an effort to better help us learn of their struggles. Amy Tan, is of asian descent, and tells us how growing up with a mother who spoke “broken english” influenced the person she became and how she approached the world. Gloria Anzaldua, considered herself a Mexican American but mainly Chicana, and she tells us of her struggle to accept her roots and to find a place where she belonged. Ultimately, this also influenced who Anzaldua came to be. The…

    • 554 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The last day of school came quickly and I had to say goodbye to everybody. This was pretty sad for me because of how long I knew everybody at school(I’ve spent at least a thousand hours at school) and this made me be bonded to a few people at school. The whole experience was sad but it wasn't nearly the hardest part of the transition of countries. The last weeks Me and my family went to chicago for one last time. It was around this time that I started to get anxious about my move to Poland. I would sit in my room and think to myself What if I don’t like Poland? What if I can’t learn the language there? What if the school there isn't nice? What if it will be a bad place to live? Looking back on it I think that the reason that I had much more anxiety moving to Poland then I did when Moving to Chicago was partly caused by the fact that I had grown up a bit in the two years that we were in Park…

    • 1711 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Growing up in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, one would notice that the two dominant races that occupied the city were the blacks and the whites. Being a part of the black community, I had always thought it was a very close knit one. In elementary school, all my friends were black, I wanted to marry a black man, and have black kids. I talked black, acted black, even dressed black. I didn’t have a problem with white people, I just figured that I had nothing in common with them. I was raised one way, and they were raised another. I spoke one way, and they spoke completely different. Being black has always been important to me because I saw us…

    • 1466 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    ichard Rodriguez, in his essay "Aria: A Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood," wants reader to understand that bilingual education is not needed due to the fact that one can still keep their cultural identity. As he also brings about the point that intimacy is not about language you speak, but much rather about the people you are surrounded by. He points out the obstacles he faced as growing up a Hispanic American growing up in an American society. Many of those struggles he faced were in his early childhood as he battled to understand and learn english. As Rodriguez struggled to grasp the english language, he also found that he was losing the comfort he found in Spanish.…

    • 212 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    During the Japanese occupation, Filipino literature was given a break, as writing in English was consigned to limbo. Philippine literature in English came to a halt because of the strict prohibitions of the Japanese. Almost all newspapers in English were stopped except for “Tribune” and “the Philippine Review”; even American films were closed too. The drama experienced a lull during the Japanese period and the big movie houses were just made to show stage shows. After the tyranny of the Japanese, the Americans took over once again in 1945 and on July 4, 1946, the Philippines regained freedom and the Philippine flag waved joyously alone. During the rebirth of freedom, the early post-liberation period was marked by a kind of “struggle of mind and spirit” posed by the sudden emancipation from the enemy, and the wild desire to see print. Filipinos had, by this time, learned to express themselves more confidently but post-war problems beyond language and print-like economic stability, the threat of new ideas and mortality –had to be grappled with side by side. In 1970-1972 the youth activism was due to domestic and worldwide causes, this was according to Pociano Pineda. Activism is connected with the history of our Filipino youth. The seeds of activism resulted in the declaration of Martial Law in 1972. Pineda also said that this was the time when the youth once more proved that it is not the constant evasion that shapes our race and nationalism; this was in the period of the Bloody Placards. The youth became completely rebellious during the Literary Revolution. This was proven not only in the bloody demonstrations and in the sidewalk expressions but also in literature. Campus newspapers showed rebellious emotions. The once aristocratic writers developed awareness for society. They held pens and wrote on placards…

    • 2022 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays