Gloria Anzaldua

Entering the Serpent

This one was a little bit of a surprise. I have to admit that I wasn’t really prepared for the twists and turns Gloria Anzaldua takes in her writing. I really felt like the beginning of this reading was rather tedious and I constantly felt like a weight was pulling me down further and further into the depths as I read. The History of her people was interesting and deserves the attention she gives it, but I could barely hang on. Until I came to the end and realized she wasn’t talking just about her history, but rather her belief. Gloria has a great perception of the “Spirit World.” When she began to write about our ability to perceive this world in everything, but we continually tell ourselves otherwise because of the society we live in, that teaches us that such things cannot possibly exist. I can attest to, in my own life, something similar. There’s a feeling you get when you know you’re connecting to something outside yourself, and I refuse to ignore that. There is something more than this mundane ,working-world mentality. I have a human brain and with that impossible only means just hasn’t happened yet.

How to Tame a wild Tongue

I felt lost. Like I couldn’t identify. Then I thought, am I supposed to feel this way? Gloria Anzaldua writes in such a way that really paints the picture of what she is trying to say. You can really feel what it’s like to be so different that even the closest ones around you can still make you feel like an alien. It breaks my heart to read that she was punished for speaking her own language. It makes me ashamed that my own people would be so narrow minded as to forget the beauty of culture. I think we as humans have a responsibility not to just humanity, but to ourselves. We need to realize that there is not one way to approach things, but many way in which to see something. Your perception can change if you step outside yourself and dare to see the things you fear.