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AlexandraPikel
English1050
EssayOne:OtheringandRhetoricalAnalysis
July1,2015

Othering
Thetermotheringcanbeusedtodescribehowamajorityofpeopleviewsthosewho
differfromthesocialnorm.Weasasociety,inAmerica,liketobelievethatweareaccepting
andequal.Reallythough,weareconstantlycategorizingpeopleintogroupsbasedontheir
race,ethnicity,beliefs,andactions.Whentheseactions,beliefs,andracedonotmatchthatof
ourownwecanviewthemaswrong.ThroughoutoutthepasttwoweeksIhavelearnedthrough
readingsfromDouglassandObamathatwehavegrownsomuchfromourhistoryandfrom
AnzalduaandJordanthatwealsohavemanymorethingsweneedtofixinordertobecomea
moreequalAmerica.Ethnicityandraceisoneofthemanywayswestillseeotheringoccur
moreoftenthannone.
Otheringwasseeninanextremeforminourpast.Wehadtheslavetrade,segregation,
andevenInternmentcamps.Inourpastwehadoppressedminoritiesandviewedthemas
beneathus.AlthoughwenolongerhaveInternmentcamps,segregation,orslaverywestillsee
oppressiontowardsminorities.In
HowtoTameaWildTongue
byGloriaAnzaldua,she
describesherlifeasaborderwomanwhogrewupalongtheTexasMexicanborder.She
explainshowasachildshewaspunishedwitharulerforspeakingSpanishatrecess.Notonly
wassheoppressedasachild,shedealtwiththisherwholelife,feelingashamedforbeingwho
shewasandhowshespoke.AnzalduasaysYetthestruggleofidentitiescontinues,the
struggleofbordersisinourrealitystill.Onedaytheinnerstrugglewillceaseandatrue


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integrationwilltakeplace(527).Theintegrationsystemweusetodayisnotallowingfor
immigrantstobewhotheyare.Wedonotunderstandwheretheycamefromorwhotheyare.
Insteadwecategorizedthemastheminorityandoppresstheirviewsandactionsaswrong.
JuneJordan,intheessayNobodyMeanMoretoMethanYouandTheFutureLifeofWillie
Jordan,hadtaughtaclassonBlackEnglishandhadherstudentswriteletterstothepolice,
theyhadtodecidewhethertowriteinStandardEnglishorBlackEnglish.Thestudentstooka
chanceinwritinginBlackEnglishandthepoliceignoredandneverreadanyofthestudent's
letters.JordanhadstatedNobodyintheroomrealizedthatourdecisioninfavorofBlack
Englishhaddoomedourwritings,evenasthedistinctiverealityofourBlacklivesalwayshas
doomedoureffortstobewhowebeeninthiscountry(165).Thisshowsusthatwecanstill
oppressminoritieseventhoughwehavegrownintoamoreequalsociety.
Wehaveevolvedfromourpastofshowingsuchharshoppression,eventhoughthereis
otheringstillhappening.Fromsomeofourharshestmomentsofslaveryweseeprogressand
change.Wehavehopeforabetter,moreequalunion.BarackObamastatedinhisspeechA
MorePerfectUnion,Thiswasoneofthetaskswesetforthatthebeginningofthiscampaign
tocontinuethelongmarchofthosewhocamebeforeus,amarchforamorejust,moreequal,
morefree,morecaringandmoreprosperousAmerica(476).Obamaunderstoodthehistorywe
camefromandhasseentheprogresswehavemadesofar.Althoughmanyhaveshowneven
him,ourPresident,oppression,heseesthatwearetoseekoutamoreunderstandingand
acceptingsociety.AndreaBrownsaidinherweektwodiscussionaboutObamathat,Obama
wasnotsomuchcallingoutAmerica,butpointingouttheprogresswehavemade.Hesaidthat
welearnmoreandmorewitheachgenerationandimprove.Hewasrunningforofficeatthe
timeandwaspromotingthechangehecouldcause.Whichiswhathewastryingtoshowus,
thatwecanchange.


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Otheringisoneofthemanythingsweneedtoworkonandchangeasasociety.We
havecomesofarastoacceptingthoseofminorityandhavetriedtounderstandtheculturesof
others.Welearnsomuchfromthosewhobringindifferentculturesandideas.Althoughitmay
neverbeperfectwecontinuetostriveforperfectionandallowingeveryoneequality.

RhetoricalAnalysis
FrederickDouglasswasamanwhowasbornintoslavery,hadescapedslavery,and
becameaveryimportantleaderintheU.S.DouglassgaveaspeechinregardstotheFourthof
JulyentitledWhattotheSlaveistheFourthofJuly?Douglassusedethos,pathos,andlogos
torespondtotheideaoftheFourthofJuly.Hechosehisvoicewiselyandcreatedanimagefor
theaudiencetoshowthatheisimpressedbyourFoundingFathersandthatthereishopeto
overcomethedifficultiesofslavery.
ThroughoutWhattotheSlaveistheFourthofJuly?,Douglassusesaharshtonewith
hisaudiencetogethispointacross.HestatesinthesecondpartofhisspeechYOURHANDS
AREFULLOFBLOODceasetodoevillearntodowellseekjudgmentrelievetheoppressed
judgeforthefatherlesspleadforthewidow.(470).Heusesallcapstoshowhisfrustration
andmaketheaudiencelisten.
Douglassusespathosinhisspeechinordertoshowhowseriousthetopicis.He
arousesemotionsfromtheaudiencebygoingintodetailabouttheslavetradeandthecrueltyit
was.Hewantstheaudiencetofeelthepainhehasfeltandthepainthatothersarestillfeeling.
Itmakestheaudiencerealizewhataconcerningmatterthisisandthechangethatneedsto
takeplace.
Asheconcludesthespeechhistoneismoresubtle.Allowingtheaudienceto
understandthepointshehasmade.Givingthemhopethattherecanbechangeandthetimeis


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soon.DouglassagainpraisestheFoundingFatherandallowsforcelebrationoftheworkthey
haveaccomplished.


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WorkCited
Douglass,Frederick:WhattotheSlaveistheFourthofJuly?pages460475
PresidentObama,Barak:AMorePerfectUnionpages476483
Anzaldua,Gloria:HowtoTameaWildTonguepages521528
Jordan,June:NobodyMeanMoretoMeThanYouandtheFutureLifeofWillieJordanpages
157167


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