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Sierra Mixer
Anya Connelly
ENG 1
9 October 2016
Feeling Inspired
How to Tame a Wild Tongue, by Gloria Anzaldua, gives readers the eye opening and jaw
shocking experience reading her firsthand experiences with language barriers starting as a child.
Within the first few lines she gives the allusion as being at the dentist and her tongue is blocking
the dentist from doing his job, resulting in him harshly telling her to tame her tongue. This opens
up the stage for her childhood story, and having to literally and figuratively tame her tongue, or
in this case her language. One starts to ask, whats wrong with speaking two language? Lots of
people do today, and one can be considered a culturally rounded person. Anzaldua describes to
us the horror of being confined to one language, one not reflecting her abilities to the best. She
elaborates on the pain, the embarrassment, struggles, and barriers of this punishment which
others thought was helping her adapt. One admiral aspect of her paper is not only her
criticizing of the unjust people, but those speaking her own language, more specifically the male
dominance within. She feels time has shifted the control of language over to the men, We are
robbed of our female being by the masculine plural. Language is a male discourse (33).
In How to Tame a Wild Tongue, ethos, logos, and pathos are used very effectively
towards the audience. Logos, the persuasion through reasoning and backing up claims, is
introduced right off the bat. Anzaldua immediately is able to convince the readers behind her
language by presenting, For a people who are neither Spanish nor live in a country in which
Spanish is the first language; for a people who live in a country in which English is the reigning

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tongue but who are not Anglo; for a people who cannot entirely identify with either standard
(formal, Castilian) Spanish nor standard English, what recourse is left to them but to create their
own language? (Anzaldua 33). The audience ponders this question, applying to both spanish
and english speakers, and satisfies the argument with a solution the entire audience can agree
upon. Ethos, or credibility of the author, is critical because readers judge writing based off the
author. Subconsciously, one may agree or disagree with an article simply knowing the author and
who they stand for, before even properly analyzing the text. Anzaldua has an enormous amount
of credibility and proves through text by demanding, Until I can take pride in my language, I
cannot take pride in myself. Until I can accept as legitimate Chicano Texas, Tex-Mex, and all the
other languages I speak, I cannot accept the legitimacy of myself. Until I am free to write
bilingually and to switch codes without having always to translate, while I still have to speak
English or Spanish when I would rather speak Spanglish, and as long as I have to accommodate
the English speakers rather than having them accommodate me, my tongue will be illegitimate.
(Anzaldua 38). Showing how many languages she is able to speak, besides her native tongue, she
wins over the audience with her knowledge and makes her claims seem more valid. Pathos, the
use of emotion, is also shown in the article. Anzaldua describes her language as rebellion,
showing the audience how she takes a firm stand for her beliefs. This can strike an inner fire in
audience, desiring to take a stand for their own personal situations for now they feel as if they
can relate. These three tactics are key in winning over the audience and Anzaldua incorporated
all three beautifully into her writing, definitely a persuasion factor in this article.
Anzaldua's purpose in this paper is to show the audience the struggles of divided cultures
as a child and the importance of being able to simply be who you are. She wants the readers to be
aware of the struggles of being confined, almost in a way caged, to a way of life not natural for

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her. She is forced to perform an action which she does not fully understand nor does it bring out
her qualities. By being forced to speak in a language that is not her native tongue, it sets up a
barrier wall, causing everyone around her to misjudge her and her capabilities. She feels If a
person, Chicana or Latina, has a low estimation of my native tongue, she also has a low
estimation of me (Anzaldua 58). She believes language is a persons identity, creating who they
are and how they develop relations with others. She is embarrassed and most hurt when someone
criticizes her language. Her statement to haters is So, if you want to really hurt me, talk badly
about my language. Ethnic identity is twin skin to linguistic identity (Anzaldua 59). The
purpose of allowing a person to completely be themselves and speak in their tongue is
emphasized on every page.
Her persona shines through in the article. In the beginning, shown as a little girl, one feels
emotionally attached and protective. She seems to have to no hope of showing off true potential
because of a language barrier between her and her teachers. In the article, some sections are
solely spanish causing the reader to have a glimpse of her struggle through many years. As she
grows through the paper, she grows a confidence and the reader feels as if they grow with her.
Towards the end she states I will no longer be made to feel ashamed of existing. I will have my
voice: Indian, Spanish, white. I will have my serpents tongue- my womans voice, my sexual
voice, my poets voice. I will overcome the tradition of silence (Anzaldua 59). At the end of the
article, the reader is left feeling like they can make a difference in the world simply by being
themself. Anzalduas persona not only persuades them to agree with her story, but also give
credibility to their own sense of pride.
The audience is who everyone wants to win over with whatever subject is being
presented. Therefore your argument needs purpose and the author has to have a great persona. If

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these two factors are solid, there is a high percentage of your audience being won over. She does
a fabulous job of persuading and encouraging the reader, at the same time, almost with the reader
unaware it is taking place. Besides addressing just the Chicano and their language, she also
makes reference to the power of women. Chicano language does not have female pronouns, but
she overheard two ladies say chicana instead of chicano (Anzaldua 58). A startled Anzaldua,
felt extremely proud and felt a step in the right direction had been taken, and she continues to
encourage women. At the end, the audience is ready to fight for their own unique traits, or
language, or talent. The goal was to persuade the audience their identity is valuable and worth
keeping. Our audience finishes reading, feeling inspired and ready to go and expose their
identity.
In conclusion, Anzaldua uses rhetorical devices fluently and seemingly effortlessly. She
ties all her problems, experiences, quotes, and connection to the audience smoothly. The
audience is presented with a compelling case and left with little to none of a counter argument or
complaint. How to Tame a Wild Tongue is a beautiful example of what writers should be striving
to create. One can use her work as a reference example or comparison when critiquing or writing
papers. There was a use of logos, pathos, ethos, purpose, persona, and leaving the audience won
over. This was definitely one of the more interesting pieces to have been read and annotated in
class. Hopefully more articles like this can be analyzed and broken down in class for discussion.
Revision Plan
My partner gave great feedback that really gave insight to what my paper was missing. I
feel I can really improve my paper and make it be to the best of its abilities. We verbally
discussed what could be better plus his comments on my paper. I need to make sure all my
quotes are in sandwich style. Also I need to highlight my thesis to make it pop until I have it

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fully developed and is identifiable on its own. He also thinks descriptive language would help the
essay really get off the ground and make it enjoyable to read. He says I just need to focus on the
main point of the paper and keep it in mind as my goal. After that, it for sure will be much
stronger and be a great essay.
I plan to do to all the things he mentioned and follow the annotations he left on my paper.
I want to be more descriptive with my paper to make sure to keep the audience interested. I also
may have him look at it later just to make sure my paper is still going in the correct direction and
does not stray off topic. I also really want to strengthen my thesis. Afterall, whats a good paper
with a rotten thesis? I feel like this can be a really strong essay, that is fairly easy to write, if I
just apply myself to my work. I think my biggest issue right now is simply finishing the paper.
Once I put down all the ideas onto paper, it normally flows smoother and I can see how
everything should fall into place. I just need to find the motivation to get in and do it.