Thinking and structuring everyday life, the readings that accompany the writing process, is always a challenge. I understand that ordering the thoughts and reflections that arise naturally, but become word and voice, is probably one of the most significant challenges in the intellectual process in human life. Writing is a task of constancy, correction, editing, of infinite attempts that have no limits. Not for a simple stylistic and/or commercial objective, but, above all, it is for the work necessary to move from a private world, where an Inner Self is installed, to a space that can become public. Open to others and for others.
That’s what I thought about when I understood the requirement of this assignment. What extend have I achieved the curse learning objectives this semester?
One of the most significant points that I would like to highlight, within the items to be developed, is the forcefulness, eloquence and clarity with which the texts, all, exposed the value of multilingualism. multilingualism in terms not only of a diverse linguistic practice, but also as an instrument and value of defending linguistic options other than dominant and hegemonic English, imposed, most of the time as “the only and correct mode of communication”
In my final essay on Rhetoric analysis where I worked on the text “Nobody mean more to me than you and the future life of Willie Jordan”, written by June Jordan, I wrote: “Nobody mean more to me than you and the future life of Willie Jordan” is part of the works published in the text: On Call: Political Essays. It is part of the works presents in the text and published in 1985. This rhetorical analysis seeks to establish which are the main elements that Jordan establishes in his text. In a particular way, the analysis will try to respond to how she develops the problem of linguistic dominance, in terms of a silenced linguistic use, the dialect of the Afro-American community (“black English”), how this linguistic mode resists a delegitimizing stereotype in social terms and undervalued in cultural terms and like this reality, the use of language as an instrument of social, cultural and economic resilience is intertwined with the reality of political and electoral discrimination against the Afro-American population.[1]
“Black English is not exactly a linguistic buffalo, but we should understand its status as an endangered species, as a perishing, irreplaceable system of community intelligence, or we should expect its extinction, and, along with that, the extinguishing of much that constitutes our own proud, and singular, identity.”[2]
“In contrast to India, where at least fourteen languages co-exist as legitimate Indian languages, in contrast to Nicaragua, where all citizens are legally entitled to formal school instruction in their regional or tribal languages compulsory education in America compels accommodation to exclusively White forms of “English” “White English”, in America, is “Standard English”[3]
When I did the essay on Mario Benedetti in the context of my Final written about Language & Literacy Narrative Project Writing, I was able to complete different levels of readings that I had already done about the Uruguayan poet. At the time, I reflected, that I had never written them systematically before. To combine the same text that reflection, I mean for me, give light to previous writings, but above all, put in value and perspective the poetic reading to understand everyday life. This intellectual and grammatical exercise was of enormous importance.
“When Benedetti appeared near my face, I understood, even more the meaning of his words, to listen to that warm, delicate, empathic man, who was capable of creating reality from the simplest and turning it into something sublime, is within the points of greater significance in my narrative and literary experience. For a long time, being already in the middle of this giant island, I felt, re-reading their texts that calm returned to my soul and I walked again through the streets of the South (…) With Benedetti I understood that poetry says much and more and that you can have a melodic voice, be a fervent political activist and describe human nature and its most nuclear feelings or describe a social process of change and do both with infinite depth. Both things are not divorced by default. That’s what Benedetti does.
Mario Benedetti always appears drawn between dreams and realities, memories are mixed with dialogues and dialogues, with scenes, literary or real, of his stamp in the Latin American reading process.”[4]
From a methodological point of view I would like to highlight several items. First, for my analytical practice, the detailed analysis formats that were delivered at each stage of the semester were of enormous significance. The scheme of direct questions that they required and introduced in a detailed analysis of the texts, allowed and allowed me, at the end of the exercise, to have a complete overview of the main elements, not as generalities, but as instruments of reflection and learning. Close reading makes a difference. Not only because of the level of understanding of a certain text, but also because it allows and allowed us to make other analyzes, other conjugations, other approaches to complementary and different texts from that point.
Example:
Rhetorical Situation Worksheet
Your name:
| Maricarmen Canales-Moreno |
Completing this worksheet may take more time than you think. It’s worth the time. The information you gather will help you later when writing up assignments. But more importantly, the process of addressing each of the questions below will slowly work to change how you read texts. Keep in mind that some answers will not be obvious or even observable in the text, and so you may have to do some critical thinking and, at times, even some online research. Use full sentences. Take as much space as you need.
Context & Exigence: What topic/conversation is this text responding to? What year is the text published? What is the exigence–that is, what motivating occasion/issue/concern prompted the writing? The motivating occasion could be a current or historical event, a crisis, pending legislation, a recently published alternative view, or another ongoing problem.
| El texto es desde un primer momento, una ventana a la reflexión. La autora, Amy Tan, escribe desde la memoria, desde la reflexión, desde el entendimiento que su experiencia es un punto común, para miles de otras personas que llegan a U.S. Ella lo hace, desde la particular mirada de una hija de inmigrantes chinos, pero la dinámica de exclusión, prejuicio, discriminación, sufrimiento, diría yo, en el proceso de la integración, cuando se tiene un “Ingles limitado” es un punto común, para todos aquellos que hemos y seguimos estando en esa situación. La experiencia es compartida por todas las comunidades inmigrantes, algunas logran con mayor éxito, cruzar los niveles mas duros de esa oscuridad, otras, no logran nunca, superar esa etapa y poder mirarse a si mismo de manera completa e integral, no obstante, no hablen ingles. El texto es sobrecogedor, uno lo lee, como algo fácil de digerir, de entender. Ella lo llena de vida. Probablemente uno de los motivos fue dotar de herramientas de reflexión sobre el tema de “diferentes mundos linguísticos” y “la integración real y necesaria en todos los niveles de la sociedad”. Tan explica, con eficaz elocuencia como se vive el proceso de auto-disminución, la propia definición de “no puedo”. Amy Tan señala, desde un comienzo que el texto surge de manera casi natural y que la escritura la ha acompañado toda la vida. Escribir, para ella, fue desde siempre la manera de ver y entender el mundo. El texto fue publicado por primera vez en Threepenny Review en 1990. |
Author: Who is the author of this text? What are the author’s credentials and what is their investment in the issue?
| Amy Tan, ella es una autora americana, de origen asiático. Tan posee un Bachelor y Master con doble especialización: Ingles y Lingüística, de la Universidad de San José, California. Ella escribe desde su propia memoria en términos de su experiencia con un doble lenguaje y desde la relación que tiene, en esa perspectiva, con su madre. Quien para el mundo americano estándar “no hablada ingles fluido.” El texto surge desde la memoria y como esta, se instala en el ejercicio de la imaginación y reflexión. |
Text: What can you find out about the publication? What is the genre of the text (e.g., poem, personal essay, essay, news/academic article, blog, textbook chapter, etc.)? How do the conventions of that genre help determine the depth, complexity, and even appearance of the argument? What information about the publication or source (magazine, newspaper, advocacy Web site) helps explain the writer’s perspective or the structure and style of the argument?
| Mother Tongue es una historia corta. El texto fue publicado por primera vez en Threepenny Review en 1990. Antes de esto la autora ya había terminado y publicado una de sus novelas de mayor éxito, The Joy Luck Club (1989). Probablemente la realización de ensayos cortos, que no alcanzan la dimensión de una novela, son de enorme utilidad para desarrollar un tema de manera de manera completa, simple y que logra motivar a la reflexión y acción. |
Audience: Who is the author’s intended audience? What can you infer about the audience (think about beliefs and political association but also age, class, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, profession, education, geographic location, religion, etc.)? Look for clues from the text (especially the original publication) to support your inference.
| No creo que exista un único destinatario. Pienso mas bien que el texto esta escrito, como un material de reflexión y discusión, que pone en la mesa una realidad, desafortunadamente constante y muchas veces silenciada. Me inclino a pensar que el publico, es una audiencia global. Pero al mismo tiempo, es un texto que puede servir mucho en las escuelas, para la formación de profesores, sobre todo en los niveles primarios y secundarios. Las organizaciones que trabajan con inmigrantes, en servicios sociales, dentro de los diferentes espacios comunitarios, políticos, sociales, en actividades de voluntariado, de comedores comunitarios, de actividades físicas. |
Purpose: What is the author trying to accomplish? To persuade, entertain, inform, educate, call to action, shock? How do you know?
| El autor escribe, ese es su primer objetivo. Escribe, pues esa es la forma en la que “habla” y “actúa” en e mundo. Yo entiendo que ese es el primer nivel. Estamos frente a una obra que nace desde la reflexión, la experiencia, la imaginación, que cruza distintos niveles del proceso humano. Después de eso, probablemente lo que puede entenderse como propósito es transmitir una experiencia que sirva a otros, en la forma y fondo. Amy Tan sabe que es una experiencia compartida, un punto común en muchos y en esa medida su reflexión ayuda a entender, asimilar y superar barreras. |
Argument: What do you believe is the main claim/idea/argument that the author is trying to communicate? What stance does s/he take?
| Uno de los puntos principales del relato es entender que aquellos que no hablamos Ingles de manera absolutamente fluida o correcta, no somos personas de segunda categoría. Amy tan pone en este lugar a su madre. La historia se construye con ella como background, todo nace desde la experiencia materna y su memoria infantil y juvenil de sus días con su madre y su mayor o menor habilidad de comunicarse en ingles. La autora expone de manera elocuente la siguiente idea: aquellas personas que no hablan Inglés, no son por ello, menos inteligentes, menos formadas, menos capaces de reflexionar. El mundo linguístico es tan amplio como las personas, casi infinito, hay una capacidad creadora permanente en múltiples lenguajes y formas. |
Evidence: How is the argument supported? Types of support include reasons and logical explanations as well as evidence. Types of evidence include anecdotes, examples, hypothetical situations, (expert) testimony, quotes, citing sources, statistics, charts/graphs, research the author or another source conducts, scientific or other facts, general knowledge, historical references, metaphors/analogies, etc.
| Quotes “I am a writer. And by that definition, I am some who has always loved language. I am fascinated by language in daily life. “ “Language is the tool of my trade. And I use them all – all the Englishes I grew up with” “The intersection of memory upon imagination” “I have been thinking about all this lately, about my mother’s English, about achievement test” “That was my mental quandary in its nascent state” |
Rhetorical Strategies: What aspects of this text stand out for you as a rhetorical reader? In other words, what do you observe about what the author strategically does (consciously or not) in hopes of appealing to their audience? List here as many observations as you can make about what the text does.
| La autora relata desde su propia experiencia. Es participe de la narración. Construye el relato desde sus memoria-ficción. Eso es un punto de credibilidad y conexión con su audiencia de la mayor importancia. En segundo lugar, ella utiliza un lenguaje empático, emotivo, vinculante con el lector. Reconstruye la historia desde la mirada de quien sufre por algo y solo anos después logra entenderlo y hablarlo, desde la perspectiva de un adulto. |
Citation: Add the correct MLA or APA bibliographic entry for this text. Use easybib.com if you prefer.
| Amy Tan, Mother Tongue. https://www.livingston.org/cms/lib4/NJ01000562/Centricity/Domain/1248/Mother%20Tongue.pdf |
Second, the work done in the workshops was relevant. The exercise of sharing what was written by one, in the eyes of classmates, gave, most of the time, lights on points that in a solitary reading are not always visible. That was significant, for at least two different reasons, first: to reduce the fear of reading with other private jobs; second, to be able to work in a team, integrating different background, stories, languages, experiences, affinities. The results were extremely positive.
Third, the constant exercise of incorporating sources linked to audiovisuals, social networks, propaganda or any other type of digital technology allowed, analytically linking other modes of communication and approaching multiple audiences. That, in the specific challenge of writing and developing appropriate writing to be an effective tool for information, integration and access to knowledge, is of vital importance; as it shows that it is possible to level technological means, content, audiences and communication strategies in different ways and times.
For my final points I would like to refer to my last analysis work, my Research Analysis which focuses on the current value of the Female VOICE, Voice, in the sense of the word, vision, perspective, social and political subject, regardless of an element or male subject as “giver of space”. There I concentrated the final part of this learning, synthesis, thesis, conclusion and above all the work of interconnecting different sources of analysis and bibliography to support a point of view.[5]
The title of my work was: “Mr. Vice President, I am Speaking”. Kamala Harris, Vice President Elect, United States 2020.
“My work is based on the objective of looking at and understanding how the FEMALE VOICE has been structured and how it has been possible to change its original positions of disability or nonexistence. How much in that gaze there is a patriarchal stereotype and how over centuries there has been an attempt to combat and establish a different gaze.”
“The objective of the analysis will be to review the central elements of this social change and establish the main points to understand how the “only valid linguistic model”, understood, the one developed by men, has ceased to be, really the only one and has been deconstructed to the light of reality, consolidating today, in a role equivalent to that of female voices.”
“Reality is built a pulse. The reality is transformed step by step. Women have come a long travel, since the beginning of time. The successes achieved are not gifts from generous men, they are the fruit of hard work and perseverance, inexhaustible faith that having a voice is a point for which it is worth working.”
The end result was highly satisfactory for me. I have reread the text and the comments several times, I have returned to work on it incorporating new elements and preparing the final version for the Portfolio. There is the great merit of the learning process, being a captivating tool, which always allows you to go back and redo, as many times as you redo yourself.
[1] Canales, Maricarmen. Rhetorical Analysis Essay, Final. “Nobody mean more to me than you and the future life of Willie Jordan”. Assignment October 20, 2020.
[2] Jordan, June. “Nobody mean more to me than you and the future life of Willie Jordan” in Reading Culture: Context for critical Reading and Writing, eds. George, Diana and John Trimbur, New York: Pearson/Longman, 2007.
[3] Jordan, “Nobody mean more to me than you and the future life of Willie Jordan”.
[4] Canales, Maricarmen. WLLR Final Essay. Walking with Benedetti. Assignment September 28, 2020.
[5] Gertrude Stein, The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas, (New York, Penguin Press, 2020), 320; Katherine Mills Williams, “Sometime There is Breath”: Gertrude Stein’s Tender Buttons as Maternal Lexicon. Thesis. December 2013; Mary Morris, Margaret Atwood, The Art of Fiction, the Paris Review, No. 121, Issue 117, Winter 1990 https://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/2262/the-art-of-fiction-no-121-margaret-atwood ; Nina Renata Aron, “That time Norman Mailer brought his sexism to a debate and enraged women writers everywhere”, TimeLine, March 22, 2018. https://timeline.com/that-time-norman-mailer-was-being-sexist-f9f53f3de107; Matt Viser, “Trump, Biden and masculinity in the age of coronavirus”, Washington Post, Oct. 15, 2020 at 11:45 p.m. EDT. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/masculinity-trump-biden/2020/10/15/e0646bf0-ff6d-11ea-9ceb-061d646d9c67_story.html; Simone de Beauvior, The Second Sex, (New York, Vintage Books), 2011; Sonia Montecinos, Palabra Dicha. “Escritos sobre genero, identidades, mestizajes”. (Santiago, Coleccion de Libros Electronicos, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales, Universidad de Chile, 1997).
