Clash of identity :: essays research papers

Clash of IdentityThe difference between Rodriguezs struggle between personal identity and Angelous struggle is that, Angelous identitys center of focus is her name, while Rodriguezs identity seems to revolve around his complexion. Although they both wrote almost the struggle with their own identity, the views and attitude of the two authors differ. In Richard Rodriguezs essay Complexion and Maya Angelous essay Mary both authors illustrate some hardships they confront during their life, such as their experience with racism and prejudice. In spite of the fact that they are both faced with similar situations, the actuality that sets apart their characters is how they dealt with each of their situations. Rodriguez attitude around himself during his childhood was largely influenced by his family, especially his mother, Dark spit out was for my mother the most important symbol of a life of oppressive labor and poverty.(Rodriguez. 451), commonwealth who worked in fields and constructi on sites spent most of their sequence under the sun, causing their complexion to darken, so it was assumed that a person with dark skin was a menial laborer. Rodriguezs mother would commonly point out his dark complexion by comparison with the poor and the black, at one time she told Rodriguez, You look like a negrito you wont be satisfied till you end up looking like los pobres(Rodriguez 447). His mothers friends would besides often talk of what a burden or a curse it was, to have dark skin, it was a womans spoken concern the business organization of having a dark- scramble son or daughter.(Rodriguez 449), Rodriguez is illustrating that in his culture, people preferred light skin children over dark skin, knowing that a light skinned child would not face as much prejudice a dark skinned child would growing up. In contrast, Margaret wasnt ashamed of her skin, or being of different color, she was proud of her race and ethnicity, at the beginning she expresses her pride through her relatives accomplishment, my grandmother had owned the only Negro general merchandise transshipment center since the turn of the century.(Maya 3), this she said to a Texas women, when asked about her hometown. Rodriguez and Angelou both expressed their struggled in search for their own identity in their essay. Margarets identity was compromised when Margaret was called out of her victor name. Margarets name was casually changed by Mrs. Cullinan, Thats too long shes Mary from now on(Maya 6).