Identity Essay (Final Draft)

Massimo Sarracino

9/12/14

Professor Young

Engw 1100

"Is identity important and if so, what is it?”

What does the word "identity" mean to you? The word identity means a lot to me. It explains who you are and what you are about. Your identity can express anything about your self. A great way to express your identity is through your language. For example, I am Italian and I speak Italian so that is a good way for me to express my identity to people around me. In “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” Gloria Anzaldua explains how she struggled with her identity and her daughters teacher thinking she is not culturally diverse enough. I can relate with her because when I was younger I went into kindergarten not knowing a word of english. It was difficult for me to adjust and people were not as accepting as you think they would be. I can relate to what she is feeling. Also, James McBride speaks of his and his mother's struggles with their own cultural identities in “Black Power” as well. Both my language and my nationality have proven my identity. They have helped mold me into the person that I am today.

Identity can be defined and expressed in many different ways. Some people may express their identity through the clothes they wear, the music they listen to, or even simply their language. Everybody will choose their very own way of expressing themselves. I personally chose to use my language to express myself. It is a part of me that I am proud of and nobody can take away. I have the right to express my cultural identity any way that I please. I can wear clothes that represent my identity, listen to music that expresses my identity, or use my background language as I do now, these are all ways that I can choose to show my identity. I believe that it is important to express your identity in some way because it shows who you are. Your identity gives you a sense of meaning it sets you apart from everybody else around you.

To begin, Gloria Anzaldua speaks of how she struggled with her freedom to express her identity. Anzaldua describes how when she was in school she would get in trouble for speaking spanish at recess. This made her upset because she was unable to express herself the way that she chose to. In her essay Gloria says, “But for a language to remain alive it must be used.” I absolutely agree with her, anything must be used to remain alive. If she is being punished for expressing her identity then how is she supposed to stand out? Identity is one thing that we are all allowed to express and it helps us to be different from any other normal person. Gloria Anzaldua should be judged no less than an american speaking english because your Identity is freedom and should be expressed by everybody.

James McBride relates his identity crisis to his childhood. He faces many problems and struggles as a young child. He lived in a home with twelve other adopted black children and a white foster mother. James explains how his mother would have people yelling rude comments at her for no reason except for the fact that she was raising twelve black children on her own. His mother was a very strong woman and did not act out on the people making comments at her. He was faced with many questions at even a very young age. When James was younger he wondered why his mother was white and he was dark. His mother told him that she is just light skinned to keep his questions to a minimum. His identity was shown through the color of his skin. The many problems that he faced were because of his culturally diverse family. The thing people need to realize is that the color of skin does not define who a person is or what a person does. Everybody has a different identity and they will choose to express that identity in the way that they feel most comfortable.

In conclusion, both James McBride and Gloria Anzaldua struggle with their identities in which they are both faced with people judging them because of the identity that they choose to express. Gloria is faced with the problem of people judging her for expressing her identity by speaking spanish while living in America. Also, James is having to deal with his mother getting verbally and physically abused because she is raising twelve black children. These two stories relate in  the sense that both authors being judged for expressing their identity while trying to find out who they really are and what they believe they are. I can some what relate to both stories because of the struggle that I faced when growing up in america not speaking english. Identity is something very important and I encourage everybody to express their own identity in some way, sometime in their life.

Works Cited

Anzaldua, Gloria. How to Tame a Wild Tongue. The North Anthology of American Literature. 7th edition, vol E. Eds. Jerome Klinkowitz and Patricia B. Luallace. New York: Norton, 2007. Print.

McBride, James. The Color of Water. New York: Penguin Group, 2006. Print.

Essay 3 Rough Draft

Massimo Sarracino

Professor Young

11/4/14

Engw 1100

Benefits of Beauty Construction

Beauty can be defined as a combination of qualities, such as shape, color, or form that pleases the aesthetic senses, especially the sight. While many people today think of beauty to be all-natural, most people have different ways of constructing their beauty. Cameron Russell believes that beauty can be constructed, but in the modeling industry, these constructions can create illusions of beauty and of the model. Differently, Aimee Mullins explains that there are benefits to the construction of beauty that empowers the individual.  Also, Denis Dutton discusses that beauty is timeless and can be seen as anything done well. Constructing one self’s beauty has its benefits; it can make you feel more confident, give you a purpose, or even attract you to the world around us. Cameron, Aimee, and Denis  believe that constructing your beauty could be used to give you confidence, give you a purpose, or even attract you to the world around you.

First off, there are many ways that beauty can be constructed.  Cameroon mentions, “They are constructions, and they are constructions by a group of professionals, by hairstylists and makeup artists and photographers and stylists and all of their assistants and pre-production and post-production, and they build this. That's not me.” (5:26). Beauty can be constructed by stylists, makeup, clothes, implants, Botox, etc. Models especially have their beauty constructed every day. Cameron Russell mentions in her perception of beauty talk video that image is powerful but image is superficial. A terrible habit that the media has instilled into woman and even young girls is to make them feel the need to construct their beauty in order to be noticed. True beauty is natural and does not need to be masked by makeup or plastic surgery.

        In general, Cameron Russell explains how beauty is constructed in the modeling industry. She tells us how the worlds view of beauty is constructed by stylists, makeup, clothes, implants, Botox, etc. In her video Cameron says that image is powerful but it is also superficial. What Cameron means by this is, even though it is important to have a good image, it should not be the only thing that the world sees you for. You shouldn’t be defined by the way you look or by the beauty that has been constructed.

        In addition, today’s society judges women by the way that they look before anything else. If our society would take a second and look at someone for what they are instead of what they look like, women would be more comfortable with themselves as they are. It is because magazines and media portray women and even young girls as sexy or beautiful with makeup on or plastic surgery done. That makes every other girl feel not good enough if they do not construct their own beauty.

Secondly, Aimee Mullins discusses how beauty and the body can be constructed in many different ways ranging from something as simple as makeup, to something more dramatic such as plastic surgery. Your body can be constructed for different purposes as well. You can construct it to be appealing to the outside world, or for your own confidence. Aimee Mullins says, “It’s a conversation about potential” (8:04).

Aimee Mullins talks about her 12 pairs of prosthetic legs and how they transform her from being disabled to a woman with much more potential than she had. Aimee Mullins discusses how her prosthetic legs have changed her life and how they have allowed her to do things she would have normally not been able to have done. Her legs grant her the ability to have speed, beauty, and even add an extra six inches of height if she wanted to. She talks about how different people construct themselves for different reasons. The reason Aimee does it is to give her power and self-confidence that she did not have before.

          Moreover, constructing yourself or your beauty can be done for a variety of different reasons. Some people construct their beauty to be more appealing to others or for self-confidence. However, what we don’t see often is people like Aimee that need to construct themselves to have a normal life. She now has the ability with her prosthetic legs to be whoever she wants to be. They give her confidence and opportunity. Your body can be constructed for different purposes also; you can construct it to be appealing to the outside world or to better your confidence. Overall, Aimee agrees that constructing beauty is good when used for giving potential.

        Finally, Denis Dutton discusses the human perception of all things beautiful. All from human beings, natural land forms, works of art, and even skilled human actions. Humans perceive these things as beautiful because of the way we have adapted to them. Dutton says that beauty is not in the eye of the beholder; it is deep in our minds and is passed down from our ancient ancestors. They were attracted to the skills used to construct beauty mainly because they did not have a way of communication or a set language. We see beauty the same way our ancient ancestors did and that is why we see skills and things that are done well as beautiful.

Furthermore, as humans we perceive almost anything that catches our eye as beautiful. Weather it be a human being, natural land forms, works of art, and even skilled human actions. Dutton says, “Now, I personally have no doubt whatsoever that the experience of beauty, with its emotional intensity and pleasure, belongs to our evolved human psychology” (4:03). Dutton believes that these perceptions of beauty come from deep in our minds and are passed down from our ancient ancestors. This would surely explain why we see natural landscapes, similar to the ones that our ancient ancestors lived in, as beautiful. Also, our ancient ancestors did not have a set language or a way to communicate with one another. This made them more attracted to physical skills and intelligence. That is why humans today see things such as a last play, game saving win or a physical human talent as beautiful.

       In conclusion, the world has portrayed the construction of beauty as a bad thing because it is changing who you are, but we need to move farther past that. The construction of beauty can be used in many different scenarios. Cameron, Aimee, and Denis believe that constructing your beauty could be used to give you confidence, give you a purpose, or even attract you to the world around you. Cameron Russell believes that beauty can be constructed, but in the modeling industry, these constructions can create false illusions of beauty and of the model. Differently, Aimee Mullins explains that there are benefits to the construction of beauty that empowers the individual.  Also Denis Dutton discusses that beauty is timeless and can be seen as anything done well. Many different people will always have their opinion of what true beauty actually is and why people feel the need to construct their beauty. What is your opinion on the construction of beauty done for a purpose?

Works Cited

Dutton, Denis. “A Darwinian theory of beauty.” Ted Talks. Feb. 2010. Lecture.

Mullins, Aimee. “My 12 pairs of legs.” Ted Talks. Feb. 2009. Lecture.

Russell, Cameron. “Looks aren’t everything. Believe me, I’m a model.” Ted Talks.      Oct. 2012. Lecture.

Can beauty be anything that is done right?

Massimo Sarracino

Professor Young

11/2/14

Engw 1100

Can Beauty be Whatever is Done Right?

    

     Denis Dutton discusses the human perception of all things beautiful. All from human beings, natural landforms, works of art, and even skilled human actions. Humans perceive these thing as beautiful because of the way we have adapted to them. Dutton says that beauty is not in the eye of the beholder, it is deep in our minds and is passed down from our ancient ancestors. They were attracted to the skills used to construct beauty mainly because they did not have a way of communication or a set language. We see beauty the same way our ancient ancestors did and that is why we see skills and things that are done right as beautiful.

    To begin, as humans we perceive almost anything that catches our eye as beautiful. Weather it be a human being, natural landforms, works of art, and even skilled human actions. Dutton believes that these perceptions of beauty come from deep in our minds and are passed down from our ancient ancestors. This would surely explain why we see natural landscapes, similar to the ones that our ancient ancestors lived in, as beautiful. Also, our ancient ancestors did not have a set language or a way to communicate with one another. This made them more attracted to physical skills and intelligence. That is why humans today see things such as a last play, game saving win or a physical human talent as beautiful.

    In conclusion, Dutton explains how and why humans perceive things done right as 

beautiful. Things that can be perceived as beautiful range from human beings, works of art, 

natural landscapes,skilled human actions, etc. Dutton says that beauty is not in the eye of

the beholder, rather it is deep in our minds and is passed down from our ancient ancestors 

whom we derive from. They were attracted to the skills used to construct beauty mainly 

because they did not have a way of communication or a set language. We see beauty as 

something done right or a certain skill because of our ancient ancestors and that is how our 

perception of all things beautiful has evolved into what we see today.