The document discusses the power of language and its impact on personal identity through essays by Amy Tan and Tanya Barrientos. Both authors explore how language can connect individuals to their heritage and culture, while also highlighting the alienation experienced by those who speak in 'broken' forms or are marginalized by stereotypes. Additionally, the document touches on the themes of ambition and personal identity, emphasizing how various influences shape an individual's sense of self, while also addressing societal pressures and personal interests.

1. The Power of Language Essay examples
The Power of Language Language plays an important role in communication by bringing people
together and enriching their relationships. Language can also alienate those who do not speak it
properly, or at all, from those who do. The essays, Mother Tongue, by Amy Tan, best known for
her book, The Joy Luck Club, and Se Habla Espanol, by Tanya Barrientos, delve into the many
powers that language holds. These essays reflect how by not speaking a language in proper form
and by not speaking a language at all, affects the lives of the subjects of the stories. People who can
speak a certain language, but only in 'broken' form, are generally looked down upon by native
language speakers. In her writing, Mother Tongue, Amy Tan writes about her
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However, many Hispanic families were and in some cases, still are viewed as lower–class citizens.
According to Barrientos, "To me, speaking Spanish translated into being poor. It meant waiting
tables and cleaning hotel rooms. It meant being left off the cheerleading squad and receiving a
condescending smile from the guidance counselor when you said you planned on becoming a
lawyer or a doctor" (561). They are not respected in a lot of communities, they live dirty, and they
have bad jobs. These stereotypes are reasons why Barrientos did not want to be called Mexican
and never wanted to learn Spanish. If diversity had been celebrated when Barrientos was a child,
as it is celebrated and honored now, she would have grown up speaking Spanish and being proud of
her heritage. Children are very impressionable and tend to take on others' opinions as their own, but
as they grow older, they develop a greater understanding and perspective of the way things are and
the way they should be. As adults, both Tan and Barrientos learned to accept and embrace the
languages that previously embarrassed them. Barrientos immersed herself in her Mexican heritage
and enrolled in many Spanish classes. With each enrollment, she faced yet another stereotype that
came with being of Mexican ethnicity; her instructors thought she should already know Spanish
since she was Latina. Barrientos is now determined to learn her native language. Tan has learned to
love the way in
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2. Ambition Essay
Ambition
Before I could really start to write about ambition, I had to ask myself what ambition really was.
What causes people to be ambitious, and what are the advantages and disadvantages of being an
ambitious person? At first, I must admit it was fairly difficult to comprehend. But I found it to all
come together when I related it to another kind of person or group of people – dreamers.
When I think of ambitious people I think of dreamers. These are the people with hopes of one day
conquering and ruling the world single handedly, and having everything work out just the way they
want it to. I also feel that an ambitious person is a confident one. And because of this, they feel there
is nothing they cannot accomplish....show more content...
And in order to dream as large, one would have to be ambitious. I then asked my mother a similar
question, but found a great difference not only in the period of time it took for a response, but in
the answer as well. Her answer was more realistic, almost as if she knew her limitations and her
options, and her dreams had both narrowed. This helped me to understand that high ambitions lie in
the youth of the world. And although adults may be ambitious at heart, their minds help them decide
what is and is not realistic.
Through my experiences in dealing with ambitious people (and being one myself) I found that
ambition may cause certain amounts of unnecessary stress. It may even cause you to forget about
the things that hold great importance in your life. An ambitious person tends to only see his or
her objective, and anything that gets in the way of progress is either ignores or looked at as an
advantage. This in return may cause people to dislike you, not because they want to see you fail,
but instead want you to realize that they have to have ambitions and dreams. And from time to
time, they desire some kind of acknowledgement for their goals that they hope to one day
accomplish. Some people may see this as a form of jealousy, but I see it as being human. We all
want things that we do not have, so why should ambitions be any different?
Therefore, ambition can be perceived in many different
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3. My Personal Identity Essay
A person's identity is shaped by many different aspects. Family, culture, friends, personal interests
and surrounding environments are all factors that tend to help shape a person's identity. Some
factors may have more of an influence than others and some may not have any influence at all. As a
person grows up in a family, they are influenced by many aspects of their life. Family and culture
may influence a person's sense of responsibilities, ethics and morals, tastes in music, humor and
sports, and many other aspects of life. Friends and surrounding environments may influence a
person's taste in clothing, music, speech, and social activities. Personal interests are what truly set
individuals apart. An individual is not a puppet...show more content...
Society has had a limited impact on my lifestyle, mostly because I despise trends. The largest trends
I despise are rap and hip–hop and the clothing, attitudes, and type of speech that that type of 'music'
is breeding. I chose to steer away from that crowd, but it may also be because I live my life off of
adrenaline. My high on life is the energy I have when I get my blood pumping, my heart
pounding, and my adrenaline raging. Most aspects of my individuality reflect that very well. I
love hard, aggressive music, and also guns, but my passion in life is extreme sports, whether it be
on a dirt bike, a bmx bike, a snowmobile, or a snowboard. I have a strong set of morals and ethics
that I have partly adopted from my parents, but some are also partly my own. My morals mostly
consist of karma (being kind, caring, helpful, truthful, and considerate to others), not littering
(especially in nature), respecting nature, keeping a clean and welcoming home, success that is
measured with happiness and not possessions, and having strong family ties. I feel that I am very
strongly rounded individual who is going to go far in life. Many people would agree with that,
although some people just think that I am an absolutely crazy person who has a death wish and will
not go anywhere but to the hospital or the morgue. Educational experiences also tend to influence a
person's identity. I have not had too many educational
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4. The Power of Storytelling Essay examples
Story telling is a uniquely human attribute. It is an imaginative process between the composer and
responder that invites us, as the audience to engage vicariously with the experience of others. Stories
or narratives have been shared in all culture as a mean of education, entertainment and also to notify
the audience of the values and belief systems of our culture. The texts of 'Through the tunnel' and
'Green tomatoes at the Whistlestop Cafe' conspicuously highlight the ability of storytelling to
empower the individual and outline storytelling as a device to inform us of values and people's
transmission is able to transcend time. The power of storytelling can create connections between
people and allow individuals to find their inner...show more content...
Even though, jerry wants to be accepted and in control of his life, the harsh reality is Jerry's identity
wants to be with his mother. Further throughout the story the tunnel is shown as the symbol of the
story; letting the reader know that Jerry senses that it is the door to his identity. Additionally, the
chronological structure is effective throughout the story in showing the process of growing up and
an insight into Jerry's transformation. Moreover, the 3rd person omniscient narrator and formal
register presents the character of Jerry and his mother in a distanced way and without a biased
perspective. This suggests the sense of detachment and alienation that Jerry is starting to feel from
his mother as he is growing up and wanting to make his own choices. The story is firstly introduced
with a description of the mother carrying a bright striped purse. It was this and other uses of
describing Jerry's surroundings with the use of bright colours symbolising jerry's childish world and
thoughts. In addition, the thought of jerry's childish thoughts shows his struggle to establish his own
identity. The author writes that Jerry goes swimming "over a region where rocks lay like
discoloured monsters under the surface". The simile shows that even though Jerry wants to be
independent and swim alone in the bay, he's terrified of being alone in the water and not seeing his
mother again. Briefly, Jerry learns that you cannot
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