Although these essays are considered “identity” essays, I feel like the authors are fighting for the opposite. They do not want to make themselves stand out in society as one being better than the other, rather they want to be considered no different from anyone else. Baldwin and Staples both want to have people stop pointing out their differences and just blend in with everyone else instead of sticking out like a sore thumb. Likewise, Woolf wants women to be able to compose literary works and not have any bias held against them because they are women. Hurston also wants to be viewed as being the same as everyone else. She views herself as actually not having any race at all. This is what Rodriguez talks about when he says when younger people today are asked what they are, they do not say white or black and they often have too many cultures to name because their blood has been mixed so many times (275).
I think Rodriguez brought up a very unconventional way of thinking about identity. He talks about people being identified as one of five main categories which is something I think we use in America not as something to degrade one another, but as a simple, basic way to identify oneself. However, Rodriguez finds this system to be very erroneous, largely because Americans are from so many different cultures. If we were to go back and look at Lincon’s essay, then King’s, Hurston’s, Baldwin’s, and Rodriguez’s respectively, I think we would see a timeline of America’s progress toward integration. Each one of these people were fighting for America to accept all people equally and Rodriguez’s essay shows the final product of how all races here have been mixed together so much that they cannot even be categorized within five basic categories anymore.
Rodriguez suggests that we identify ourselves as what type of culture we were brought up in rather than what our ancestry is. He states that he is Chinese because he was raised in a Chinese city and has grown accustomed to their culture, so much so that when he sees pictures of China he thinks of it as home (274). Even though this does make sense, I think it would be hard for everyone to identify themselves as one thing or another and it would be best to just not categorize at all. However, this idea also reminds me of Hurston’s essay with the brown bag thought. For anyone to be able to recognize someone as a certain race they really have to get to know them, they cannot just look at the outside. It would be very hard for someone to look at Rodriguez and know that he considers himself Chinese just by the way he looks.
I think that Rodriguez’s essay demonstrates that one must really consider logos and ethos in any identity essay. I feel that most of his essay was logos which forced the audience to connect his ideas and think about how they make sense. His ideas all make logical sense so the audience then must question what makes their ideas on the subject any better than his. Rodriguez’s essay has showed me that I do not need to think conventionally when writing my essay, and that it may actually help to think against the ways of society.
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Amanda, you've done an efficient job of crystallizing the themes of our unit. I particularly like your reference to Hurston's brown bag image -- I think it does fit into Rodriguez's vision. And I think you're onto something with your theory that these writers are actually throwing off identity, discounting it, rather than embracing it. Do the rest of you agree?
ReplyDeleteI think all these writers are showing who they are which is expressing their identity, but yes I do think they are still trying to fit in with the fact that they are different and they know it. I feel like this is how it always was and always will be though. When you are treated worse than someone else a person tries to show that they are the same as everyone else to be treated the same way, but if that difference can make you be treated better than the average person why not take advantage of it? I don't feel this is the "right" thing to do but I feel that this is human nature taking over in a person.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your comparison of Rodriguez to the other four authors we read essays form earlier in the week.
ReplyDeleteThere is not one category to fit all of oneself into. If presented the option, I would check the Female, Half Irish, Half English, full American, a smidgen of Native American somewhere down the line, box. Its hard to identify with just one item because of the diversity of our backgrounds.
I think Kelsey has the right idea of the average person in that they "take advantage" of when they are treated better due to a difference. Indeed, I wouldn't be surprised if it's a psychological statistic. But aren't these the ideas that our writers have been trying to change all along? What would keep them writing if nothing worked? How do you think they do achieve a change? I think the idea is that the authors desire to persuade the average person to look away from the status quo because they know that the people won't do it themselves.
ReplyDeleteAmanda, I also agree with your statement regarding Rodriguez's proposal to identify people based on where they were raised: "I think it would be hard for everyone to identify themselves as one thing or another and it would be best to just not categorize at all." The last part intrigues my questioning though. In theory, not categorizing at all might sound alright, but then it creates a paradox. How are you supposed to celebrate or respect your ancestry if you don't categorize yourself as from a particular background? I'm still not saying it's impossible, but it would require some sort of agreement or tweaking of some kind.