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How to Tame a Wild Tongue by Gloria Anzaldua

            In "How to Tame a Wild Tongue," Gloria Anzaldua's thesis explores the formation of her dual Mexican identity through the usage and abuse of her native language as the main guiding force; her structure leans towards a creative and prose style where the thesis or main idea is not directly given in the introduction, but appears in the conclusion. Though she highly emphasized evidence of language silencing, it is just an analogy/factor of dual Mexican identity; language is our identity. Although Anzaldua's chosen structure does not follow the rules of academic essays devoutly, it is highly effective in presenting her argument and is a good example for further speculations on writing styles and the academic arena. .
             Anzaldua hints near the start that language gives people their identity, specifically Mexican, Anglo and Spanish languages and heritage. Anzaldua begins with her memories at the dentist and the metaphor of cutting her tongue--taming it, which iterate the concept of destroying language while assimilating a cultural group. This alludes to the Anglo-American perception of taming barbaric or uncivilized cultures which severs many cultures and its identity, creating mixed ethnic backgrounds or poly-cultural identities. A unifying, mixed language, becomes the mirror of one's identity. .
             "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 tongue but who are not Anglo; for a people who cannot entirely identify with either standard (formal, Castillian) Spanish nor standard English, what recourse is left to them but to create their own language?".
             Anzaldua attempts presenting this idea by giving factors of one's (dual) identity through layers upon layers and leading into her true statement. This defies the academic approach of clear-and-concise writing.

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