Gloria Anzaldua...The Legacy Continues

 

September 26, 1942-May 15, 2004

Gloria Anzaldua’s Liberation

Life was not always easy for Gloria Anzaldua. Growing up in a traditional Chicano family, women were expected to tend to the household. At an early age, boys and girls were taught their gender roles. The author describes Chicano families as being very tough on women. Although reading and writing were not encouraged of young women in her community, she still found ways to quench her thirst for literature. She would eventually leave home pursuing degrees and receiving accolades in her works. An advocate for female and minority rights, much of her work focuses on the inequalities and biases within American society. In her essay Tlili, Tlapalli / The Path of The Red and Black Ink, Anzaldua analyzes the influences of art within her own life and society. Through her own spiritual experience with art, Anzaldua encourages other women to pursue their dreams, appreciate art, and fight against biased social norms.

In Tlili, Tlapalli / The Path of The Red and Black Ink, Anzaldua encourages women to pursue their aspirations by writing about her own spiritual experience with art. “When I create stories in my head, that is, allow the voices and the scenes to be projected in the inner screen of my mind, I “trance.” I used to think I was going crazy or that I have hallucinations. But now I realize it is my job, my calling, to traffic in images” (Anzaldua 1258). Her experience with writing literature evokes emotion. Anzaldua describes going through anxiety, often feeling nauseous or nostalgic during the righting process. For her, she sees each creative idea through images. Her mind becomes clouded with words and phrases that illicit poetic passage. “Living in state of psychic unrest, in a Borderland, is what makes poets write and artists create” (Anzaldua 1260). It is a spiritual and transcending experience. “To write, to be a writer, I have to trust and believe in myself as a speaker, as a voice for the images” (Anzaldua 1261). With each detail Anzaldua gives about her own writing process, she subsequently encourages women to follow their passions.

By describing her intense spiritual experience when writing, Anzaldua encourages women to appreciate all forms of art. Many cultures have produced fine pieces of what is now considered art. However, many of these pieces were used in the every day rituals and traditional practice of different ethnicities. Today, those same pieces are on display in westernized museums. Anzaldua compares the western way of expressing art with the tribal cultures of Native Americans and other indigenous groups. “Western cultures behave differently toward works of art than do tribal cultures. The “sacrifices” western cultures make are in housing their art works in the best structures…Tribal cultures keep art works in honored and sacred places in the home and elsewhere” (Anzalda 1257). She also calls people of all genders and races to embrace their ethnicities and cultures. Anzaldua understands that diversity is the foundation of America. In order to instill sensitivity and awareness of different backgrounds, people must be open to accepting differences in art and their attributes. “Whites along with a good number of our own people, have cut themselves off from their spiritual roots, and they take our spiritual art objects in an unconscious attempt to get them back” (Anzaldua 1257). Anzaldua encourages all people to appreciate the different forms of art that have contributed to America’s rich history.

Unfortunately, there are still many biases and stereotypes that are associated with different races and ethnicities. Having broken many of the social norms of her community, Anzaldua understands the pain that baseless stereotypes cause. She urges people to fight against prejudice through art. “Though in a conscious mind, black and dark may be associated with death, evil and destruction, in the subconscious mind and in our dreams, white is associated with disease, death and hopelessness” (Anzaldua 1257). In order for people to emerge from the depths of ignorance, they must be awakened with knowledge. By learning about different cultures, one will be more in sync with the human spirit. Like Anzaldua, Zora Neale Hurston writes about her study of different religious groups and traditions in her essay, How It Feels To Be Colored Me. When she is inspired, she becomes someone else entirely. “The cosmic Zora emerges. I belong to no race nor time. I am the eternal feminine with its string beads. I have no separate feeling about being an American citizen and colored. I am merely a fragment of the Great Soul that surges within the boundaries. My country right or wrong” (Hurston 360). These two women relate because they both inspire individuality. Art is original and unique. It has its own identity. Although there are a number of influences that compel the artist to make some of the most breathtaking and thought provoking pieces, the best pieces are created by the artist not afraid to be an individual.

 

Unfortunately, I am unable to speak with Gloria Anzaldua or Zora Neale Hurston personally. However, their works inspire me to accomplish my own dreams and aspirations. These authors give me fuel to tell my own story. Hopefully, one day, I too can be an influence. Below is a poem I wrote in honor of women everywhere.

 

Stand Up:

Stand up my daughters and claim your throne,

For you are virtuous and honorable.

Stand up my daughters and take your pearls,

Because they will remind you of your legacy.

Stand up my daughters and be on your way,

For the moon is but a leap and the stars a reach.

And if anyone asks who you are,

You will say my name is virtuous,

And I am honorable.

I have a legacy,

And I am on my way.

 

With expression and emotion, Gloria Anzaldua encourages others to follow their dreams. She broke barriers that tried to deprive many black and brown people from accomplishing their goals. It is because of women like her that many minorities are able to proudly share their cultural differences through various forms of art.

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

Anzaldua, Gloria. 2007. “Tlili, Tlapalli / The Path of The Red and Black Ink.” Pp. 1255-1262 in The Norton Anthology of Literature By Women 3^rd ed. Vol. 2, The Traditions in English, edited by Sandra M. Gilbert and Susan Gubar. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. Print.

Gilbert, Sandra M. and Susan Gubar, eds. 2007. The Norton Anthology of Literature By Women: The Traditions in English 3^rd ed. Vol. 2, New York: W. W. Norton & Company. Print.

Hurston, Zora. 2007. “How It Feels To Be Colored Me.” Pp. 357-360 in The Norton Anthology of Literature By Women 3^rd ed. Vol. 2, The Traditions in English, edited by Sandra M. Gilbert and Susan Gubar. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. Print.