Gloria Anzaldua Captures the Essence of the Essay

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Gloria Anzaldua captures the essence of the Aztlan homeland and its mestizo nature in "Wind tugging at my sleeve." Using diction conveying a strong sense of place and geography invokes the specific qualities of the land and climate necessary for anchoring the reader. The importance of geographic space is a core theme of the poem, as the speaker refers repeatedly to issues related to political borders and the artificial separation they create. Colonization and the rape of indigenous cultures is also tied in thematically with Anzaldua's work, which bears emotions like anger, longing, frustration, and hope. The message is that borders erected out of colonial arrogance are artificial and tenuous, and cannot stand up to the remarkable power of nature or the persistence of culture. The poem encapsulates the essence of la frontera, both on a personal and political level.

Geography is central to "Wind tugging at my sleeve," which is why natural elements including wind, sea, and desert comprise the core imagery of the poem. Human emotions and experiences are expressed metaphorically through nature, surroundings, and physical space.

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This allows the poet to anthropomorphize the natural elements too. For example, "Oigo el llorido del mar, el respire del aire," which means she listens to the crying of the sea and the breathing of the air (p. 24, stanza 2, lines 1-2). The gulls also "cry" (p. 24, stanza 2, line 4). Imagery of tears permeates the poem with words like "flow," to emphasize the emotion of sadness.

The importance of geography in "Wind tugging at my sleeve" is not sentimental, but rather, political and deeply personal. Anzaldua focuses on the theme of borders in this poem, and how political boundaries imposed on people creates an artificial and painful rift in a society. The "barbwire" of the border has become her "home," and the "wire fence" and its "rod…splits me, splits me, me raja," the narrator states (p. 24-25). Anzaldua….....

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