Blog #3

Language is crucial in forming identity in both Sherman Alexie's "The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me" and Julia Alvarez's "Names/Nombres." Despite their diverse cultural origins, these authors all convey the same idea: language has a significant influence on our identity and the person we choose to be. I've discovered how writers utilize narrative to express their identities and defy the roles that society attempts to force upon them by examining their rhetorical decisions and the contexts in which they wrote.

First, while the two pieces' rhetorical situations have different audiences and contexts, their goals are similar. Having a name that people frequently mispronounce, Alvarez writes as a Dominican American about her experiences growing up in the US. She writes in the genre of humorous, introspective autobiographical narrative. Anyone who has experienced cultural ambivalence or miscommunication is part of her wide-ranging audience. Her intention is to demonstrate how her relationship with her name enabled her to accept belonging in multiple cultural contexts and live authentically.

Although Alexie too shares a personal story, his writing is more urgent and straightforward. Students, teachers, and particularly young Native Americans make up his audience. His goal is to demonstrate how resistance and empowerment can be achieved through reading. By demonstrating how reading "saved" him, Alexie challenges the expectations placed on Native American pupils in his society, who were supposed to fail. Alexie portrays identity as something battled for, but Alvarez emphasizes identity and belonging as things that are gradually discovered.

Both authors primarily use personal storytelling as a rhetorical device, despite the fact that their approaches to it differ. Alvarez uses humor and everyday situations, such as pupils creating nicknames and teachers mispronouncing her name, to show how identity may be developed gradually through small encounters rather than all at once. Her gentle, almost humorous tone allows her to express her message of cultural pride without conflict or animosity. However, Alexie uses powerful, expressive language to highlight the seriousness of his situation. When he states, "I was trying to save my life," the reader is aware that literacy was a survival strategy rather than merely a subject of study. He spoke with greater intensity because the stakes were higher.

Both authors question the notion that identity is determined by others, despite their varied rhetorical approaches. Alvarez discovers that just because someone mispronounces her name, it still has meaning. She understands that she doesn't have to give up any culture to be a part of both. Alexie discovers that the stereotype of the "silent Indian boy" is not something he must embrace. He was able to shape his own destiny through reading. Identity is something that is openly claimed in both works.

Reading these two pieces together made it clearer to me that language is linked to identity, belonging, and power and is more than just a means of communication. Our ability to read, write, talk, and even pronounce names can either aid or hinder our ability to overcome limitations. Finding your voice, whether by literacy or adopting your cultural name, is a potent act of self-definition, as demonstrated by Alvarez and Alexie.

In conclusion, I learned by combining these two texts that authors need to choose rhetorical devices that suit their audience and goal, and that these decisions affect how well their message is understood. More significantly, I discovered that language is a means by which we may assert our identities. Alvarez and Alexie serve as a reminder that we define our own identities, not those of others.