Clash of identity :: essays research papers

collision of IdentityThe difference between Rodriguezs struggle between personal identity element and Angelous struggle is that, Angelous identitys center of focalize is her quote, while Rodriguezs identity seems to revolve around his tint. Although they two wrote about the struggle with their own identity, the views and attitude of the two authors differ. In Richard Rodriguezs essay Complexion and Maya Angelous essay bloody shame both authors ornament some hardships they faced 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 asunder their characters is how they dealt with each of their situations. Rodriguez attitude about himself during his childhood was largely influenced by his family, specially his mother, Dark skin was for my mother the most important symbol of a life of oppressive labor and poverty.(Rodriguez. 451), large number who worked in fields a nd turn of events sites spent most of their time under the sun, causing their complexion to darken, so it was assumed that a person with dark skin was a subaltern laborer. Rodriguezs mother would comm exactly point out his dark complexion by comparison with the poor and the black, at one time she told Rodriguez, You hold back like a negrito you wont be satisfied bank you end up looking like los pobres(Rodriguez 447). His mothers friends would overly often talk of what a burden or a oath it was, to have dark skin, it was a womans spoken vexation the fear of having a dark-skinned 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 ofttimes 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 locomote and ethnicity, at the beginning she expresses her pride through her relatives accomplishment, my grandmother had owned the only Negro general merchandise store 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 original name. Margarets name was casually changed by Mrs. Cullinan, Thats too long shes Mary from now on(Maya 6).