Freewrite: Misunderstandings: Language, Culture 9/14/22

September 14, 2022 / Joshua Belknap / 1 Comment / Edit

Think about Amy Tan’s “Fish Cheeks” and its vivid description of the narrator’s embarrassment of her culture and family at the dinner with guests, and her later realization that she should celebrate her own culture and language. When we travel (or have people over), sometimes it’s as if we’re asking to make a fool of ourselves (e.g. don’t point, don’t give the thumbs up, don’t kiss people on the lips after they kiss your cheeks); we may not know what is or what is not culturally appropriate some situations. Have you ever been in a situation in which there was a cross-cultural clash or language misinterpretation? What happened? What was the experience like? Describe in detail.   Post your freewrite by replying here.

Anzaldua’s “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” 9/12/22

Please read Gloria Anzaldua’s “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” and post at least three (3) comments, and reply to at least three (3) of your classmates’ comments, or mine, on Perusall.com, and then post here in the comment section below. We will discuss Anzaldua’s essay in class on Monday, and continue writing about and discussing it on Wednesday (9/14/22).