Essay 5

Gigi Paniagua

December 14, 2017

Professor Curtis-Cummins

Social Change

In the book, Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi, and Borderlands, by Gloria Anzaldua, there were social changes as these authors experienced growing up in different environments. Satrapi went through physical and emotional change throughout her life, starting with the war. She embraces her culture and stood up for what she believed in no matter how much her country was undergoing change. Anzaldua sees the social change when she compares her experiences from her culture and the United States. Both the authors experienced social change at a young age and grew up to be mature as they went through the Islamic Revolution or racism.

The cultural change in the book, Persepolis, encountered many changes among women. To begin with, women had to wear a veil as it became a social value. Satrapi showed an example of rebellion as her and her classmates used their veils as jump rope when they went out to play. At the beginning of the book, she mentioned that she wanted a be a prophet of God and believed that was her path in life. As she stated that at school, her teachers thought there was something wrong with her but her parents thought otherwise. Satrapi’s parents had a big influence on her as she grew up with political change in her country. The beliefs she learned in class were completely different than what her parents taught her. This is what made her embrace both cultures in wearing the veil at school and showing western culture like getting rock band posters and having her own sense of style. Her own sense of style portrays her personal identity. Her grandmother was also influential to her and always reminded her to “always keep [her] dignity and be true to [herself]”(Satrapi 197). Satrapi also shows her maturity as she refuses to be talked down upon. She was never afraid to speak about the beliefs she believed in. Standing up for her rights resulted in her being expelled multiple times from schools. In the other hand, Satrapi went through physical change and felt weird about it. As she grows up, she gets a beauty mark, which she thought was hideous. She cut her hair short and differently which eventually helped her gain a group of friends that smoked a lot weed. I believe this was her first stage of change because she was living a new life in a new environment.

Anzaldua shares her story of the racism people live through when they reach the other side of the Mexican-American border. Different people from different countries try and cross the border for a better life but instead face racism. She uses Spanglish throughout her book, which is a mixture of Spanish and English. She emphasizes her use of Spanglish for her readers to demonstrate her culture and language. She also emphasizes the unfairness immigrants have like being deported for wanting a better life, meet up with racism for speaking their language, and the division between cultures. The way she explains the border really highlights the serenity and violence together. She states,

“I stand at the edge where Earth touches ocean

Where the two overlap

A gentle coming together

At other times and places a violent clash”(Anzaldua 1).

The author portrays the differences between her language and others speaking their language. She mentions that women are degraded from their language. She was shocked when “[she] heard two women, a Puerto Rican and a Cuban, say the word ‘nosotras’ because she had not known the word existed”(Anzaldua 54). The social change about this is that the Spanish language comes in different styles and has evolved. Seeing the way the Spanish language became a “man’s language” is interesting due to the fact that there are certain rules to the language. The way I speak my spanish is understandable to others who also speak the same language, but are from different cultures. Speaking other languages, in general, can be a form of disrespect in some countries. For example, some Americans are known to be bothered when English is not spoken in the United States. The social change in this issue would be that other immigrants, not just from Latin America, come to the United States and introduce their background to celebrate diversity.

The experience that both these authors encountered were about growing up and having a sense of maturity. They both undergo change emotionally in their own world. Satrapi had a different childhood compared to most children her age. Witnessing deaths, bombs, and injustice through her own eyes was a huge step of losing her innocence. In the other hand, Anzaldua came in contact with racism. The authors prove a point that their culture is their identity and should never be embarrassed about where they came from. At some points, they overcame the obstacles thrown at them. Eventually, they embraced their dignity to the fullest due to the fact that they were proud to be who they are. Ethnicity is an important aspect and there shouldn’t be any division among them. Diversity is a beautiful thing to celebrate as people share the air.

Reading and writing about both these books have changed the way I view things. It’s a fascinating thing to see the way both these authors have introduced the history and values of their culture.

Citations:

Satrapi, Marjane. Persepolis. Pantheon Books, 2003.

Anzaldua, Gloria. Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza. San Francisco: Aunt Lute, 1987.