Essays: Spanish Language

Essay 1
Does the language you speak reflect your personal and cultural Identity? The United States of America is one of the most diverse countries in the world and for that reason there are many different languages spoken. Most people who move to this land of opportunities are required to learn the primary language, English. By learning the language of the new world they have entered, they are slowly giving up the culture and language from which they came from. People who have trouble learning English and changing according to the American culture are often looked down upon. In Richard Rodriguez's, "Aria: A Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood" we see how the author struggles to find his public identity and in Gloria Anzaldúa's, " How to Tame a Wild Tongue" we see how the writer shows that a person should not be viewed any less of because of the language they speak. In the end, a bilingual person often loses part of their identity when coming to a new country because they are slowly losing their form of communication
Often the language you speak can bring people together. Rodriguez, in his essay, talks about how speaking Spanish made him feel like an important and included part of his family. We can see the author struggle with his private identity, Spanish and his public identity which is English. In the beginning of the essay we see how Rodriguez has problems fitting in with other people and sees himself as "socially disadvantaged." The author describes how his parents felt the people of the public to be very distant from his family and slowly he associated English with the people he saw in public. In one part Rodriguez describes the sounds of the middle class American people to be a high, nasal sound. So here we can see that he is judging the people around him by the way that they speak.
When hearing his parents English, Rodriguez lost trust in his parents ability take care of him but when they speak in Spanish that trust is restored. The language his parents

Cited: Anzaldúa, Gloria. “How to Tame a Wild Tongue.” 50 Essays: A Portable Anthology. Ed. Samuel Cohen. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2004. 22-34. PDF file. Rodriguez, Richard. “Aria: A Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood.” American Scholar 50 (1981): 25-42. PDF file. . Essay 2 In Michael Levin 's, "The Case for Torture" he argues that torture, where it can save the lives of many innocent people, is justifiable. He is trying to convince his readers that violating the constitutional rights of terrible people is okay, if they have put innocent people in danger. Levin is able to present his argument by using emotional appeal in his essay. It is interesting how Levin wrote this essay before any of the terrorist attacks had happen in America. At the time this was written having a atomic bomb go off in Manhattan was an unimaginable scenario so he picked every detail he wrote, carefully. 4th of July is a holiday representing our country 's freedom and is a day where everyone is celebrating with their family. Innocent children will be playing and people will be cooking and having a good time. A bomb going off in that moment would be completely unexpected and while a reader is reading this they will think about all the children killed and all the families torn apart. Levin writing this indirectly paints a picture in the readers mind of people dying agonizing deaths, invoking real emotion in them. He also mentions a 'informal study ' where four mothers were asked if their baby was kidnapped by a terrorist, whether they would approve of torture to get their newborn back. All mothers said they would. We have to think of why Levin picked a newborn baby instead of a older child. A newborn is innocent and has done no wrong yet. They still have their entire life ahead of them and the thought of cutting it short brings about strong emotions in people. The bond between a baby and mother is like no other and the thought of one 's child being hurt is unbearable, making readers who are parents feel that Levin 's argument is a just one. Levin 's comparison of assassinating Hitler and torturing terrorists was smart because he made a connection between the two and the public had a undeniable hatred towards Hitler which brought about strong negative emotions towards terrorists too. He specifically says that all the victims are innocent, but that need not be the case. By saying this he is making the reader feel sad and want to do anything to save these 'innocent ' people. I think Levin 's target audience when writing this essay was woman and people with families. Mainly because these people would do anything to keep their families safe.