Jack O’Donnell
Mrs. Sovde
Senior English
2/5/15

“Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life, but define yourself” (Harvey Fierstein). Societal expectations are something that everyone deals with and can cause great harm if you do not know how to react or adapt to them. They Shut me up in Prose by Emily Dickinson, How to Tame a Wild Tongue by Gloria Anzaldua, The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan all explain how societies expectation cannot govern an individual. When individuals are shunned out by society, the individuals’ true identity is shown. How to Tame a Wild Tongue by Gloria Anzaldua a feminist Chicano who grew up in southern Texas as a poor farm hand argues how those who have the ability to change and evolve will survive longer than those who are not. Gloria describes her life as Mexican- American. She is ridiculed for her Americanized character by her family and friends while, at the same time her American schooling dislikes her Hispanic accent. Associated with two different cultures, she is rejected from each. Among many others who experienced the same rejection, without an identity they created their own; the Chicanos. The Chicanos are mainly grouped by the language that they speak “a language with terms that are neither espanol ni ingles but both”. As a people they have decided that instead of trying to fit in either American culture or Mexican culture they have decided to make they own which shows