Latinx American Identity in The House on Mango Street - Literature Essay Samples

Having a Latinx American identity is an incredibly complex experience that tens of millions of Americans all share. A combination of African, European, and Native heritages have melded into a unique Latinx culture, and being Latinx in America often means straddling the Latinx culture of one’s ancestry and the American culture one is surrounded with. As a Latina woman living in the United States, this experience becomes deeply personal and resonates within me. Preserving pride and respect for one’s culture while also accommodating to American life can become a bit of a balancing act that dramatically impacts one’s life. In Sandra Cisneros’s The House on Mango Street, Esperanza Cordero, the young protagonist, experiences this identity divide herself. Her youthful encounter represents a situation that millions of Americans still experience every day. In her article â€Å"Adolescent Journeys: Finding Female Authority in The Rain Catchers and The House on Mang o Street†, Christina Rose Dubb of the University of Pennsylvania notes this encounter as she defends her thesis that Esperanza uses her literary abilities to understand her identity and the world around her using Julie Langer’s four stances of envisionment-building. Rather than analyzing Dubb’s analysis of The House on Mango Street in regards to Langer’s four stances, which Dubb has already thoroughly developed, I will further explore her argument that Esperanza is living stuck between her Mexican identity and her American identity. I certainly agree with Dubb that Esperanza’s mixed identity is fundamental to helping us understand her progression and maturation throughout the novel. In order to achieve her â€Å"authorial voice† (230), as Dubb puts it, Esperanza must first question, analyze, and come to understand her culture. In a nutshell, Christina Rose Dubb is using Julie Langer’s framework of envisionment-building to analyze adolescent authority in both The House on Mango Street and The Rain Catchers. She linearizes these stages to create a pathway for the protagonists in each novel to find their voices and become active, assertive parts of their worlds. In the beginning of this argument, Dubb recognizes the additional obstacles that Esperanza faces because of her background- referring to this in-between life as living in â€Å"los intersticios†, the cracks, as Anzaldua puts it (222). She argues that the use of vignettes and switching between Spanish and English allows this sense of flexibility and in-betweenness to flourish. This in-betweenness makes understanding her culture and background significantly more difficult for Esperanza than it would be had she been simply white. At the start of the novel, Esperanza blindly accepts her culture and her life in general. Dubb classifies this part of her life as the â€Å"‘Silence stage of development, where they live their lives on the surface, without questioning their situations or using words as power at all,† (224). Esperanza writes simple descriptions of her world and culture, without even realizing that her culture is distinct. She talks of houses that â€Å"look like Mexico† (18) and dogs â€Å"with two names, one in English and one in Spanish† (21). Her identity is woven into her life so precisely that she is not conscious of it. Esperanza’s naivety and innocence keep her unquestioning of the world around her. However, this childlike obedience does not last for long. Further into the novel, Esperanza starts to struggle with her identity as she is unable to find solace within it. About halfway into the novel, Esperanza visits Elenita. Elenita is spiritual like many other older Latina women. She combines traditional beliefs with Catholicism, and following this notion, she reads loterà ­a tarot cards to tell a person’s future. Elenita reads the cards for Esperanza, and tells her she sees â€Å"a home in the heart† (64). This disappoints Esperanza, who was hoping to learn more from the reading. Now Dubb interprets this event as another example of Esperanza looking to other women in the community to â€Å"help her sort out her feelings† (226), I see this as an opportunity to allow Esperanza to think more critically about her life on Mango Street. This is one of the first times that Esperanza starts to feel disappointed in of her culture- forcing her to think through her cu lture and her role in society as an adolescent girl. This questioning of her culture is an integral part of her maturation throughout the novel. Thinking critically about one’s background allows for better understanding of both the benefits and limitations involved. Esperanza is also forced to reconcile with her feelings of guilt as her culture intertwines with her socioeconomic background. At Mango Street, and at the prior residencies, Esperanza never feels at home. She is embarrassed by the house’s â€Å"small and red with tight steps†, â€Å"windows so small youd think they were holding their breath†, â€Å"bricks are crumbling in places†, and â€Å"front door is so swollen you have to push hard to get in† (4). Because Latinx culture is so closely tied to community, it could be inferred that Esperanza is upset with her socioeconomic status, as it puts her at odds with her culture. Esperanza wants to hold on to her culture, but she also associates her culture with her working class neighborhood she wants to escape. When Esperanza visits with the three aunts and is told to make a wish, she feels â€Å"ashamed for having made such a selfish wish†- that is, wishing to get out of the neighborhood. However, with the support of community members, Esperanza is able to settle this conflict at the end of the novel. When Esperanza makes her wish, one of the aunts tells her, When you leave you must remember to come back for the others. A circle, understand? You will always be Esperanza. You will always be Mango Street. You cant erase what you know. You cant forget who you are. (105) Although she initially admits that she did not understand what the aunt had meant, she is later able to process and understand it. On the last page of the novel, Esperanza writes, One day I will pack my bags of books and paper. One day I will say goodbye to Mango. I am too strong for her to keep me here forever. One day I will go away. (110) However, she adds a finishing though: They will not know I have gone away to come back. For the ones I left behind. For the ones who cannot out. (110) With this page alone we can witness a change in Esperanza’s understanding of her life on Mango Street. She moves past the guilt of wanting to leave, now understanding that her culture and community growing up will always have a profound impact on her life, and that she will certainly return. Esperanza matures very quickly in this short-spanned, short-paged novel. By looking at the struggle of balancing Latinx and American identities, we can better understand how Esperanza grows to understand the significance of her culture and community living on Mango Street, allowing her to blossom into a strong, ambitious, and down-to-earth individual.

Leadership in the Corrections Environment - 275 Words

Leadership in the Corrections Environment (Essay Sample) Content: Leadership in the Corrections EnvironmentStudents NameUniversity AffiliationLeadership in the Corrections EnvironmentTo:From:Subject: Leadership in the Corrections EnvironmentDate:The crime rate has increased drastically in the contemporary world. A significant number of prisons are receiving a substantial number of inmates. Consequently, leadership and management of the inmates is becoming a major concern in a considerable number of prisons. Notably, top notch management skills are critical in maintaining peaceful co-existence between inmates, and inmates and the management. Moreover, adroit managers have the necessary skills to prepare and manage budget cuts that make it possible to use the available funds in the right manner within the set budget. The increase in the number of prisoners increases misunderstanding between them due to the high population. It is imperative for a leader to take keen supervision within the inmates and scrutinizes any possible causes of violence or misunderstanding between them. Change in leadership styles is paramount in satisfying the needs of all members of an organization. The essay describes some major factors that are critical to consider in modifying leadership styles that suit the demands of the contemporary world.Leadership skill is an essential element in the contingent world characterized technological advancements. Notably, a substantial number of institutions experience significant budgets cuts, and therefore, operate in a cost effective manner. Various scholars have developed various apparent leadership theories that are essential in helping leaders in any prevalent organization develop management and leadership skills and steer the organization forward. According to Lee (2014), the trait theory is one of the major leadership theories. It explains that quality leadership skills are derived from individualsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ personal attitudes towards various aspects and things in life. He explains th at there are six main personal traits that define the leadership style; "Intelligence, adjustment, extraversion, conscientiousness, openness to new experiences and self-efficacy" (Mendonca and Kanungo, 2007). Notably, individuals with these personalities make the best leaders irrespective of their environment.Contrary to the trait theory, Winkler, (2010) came up with the style theory, behavior, and amp. He explained that leadership consists of a set of behaviors, not traits. A considerable number of theorists explained that there are three major leadership styles, authoritarian, democratic, laissez-faire. Authoritarian is a leadership style where the leader is the sovereign individual and dictates the actions of the junior staff. Contrarily, a Democratic leader gives room for views and opinions from the junior staff and discuss the in an apparent manner to come up with a sound decision.Winkler (2010) introduced a theory commonly used in the contemporary world, contingency the ory. He explained that leaders have a natural style, and therefore, they should strive to work in environments that reflect their personal style. Apparently, organizations have the mandate to place leaders in environments that best suit their styles to ensure maximum productivity. Winkler (2010) established a situation leadership model that entails four leadership styles. Also, coordinates them to the formative level of the gathering. The group is low in experience and inspiration on an errand, and then the leader must utilize a high undertaking, low relationship style. On the other hand, if the groups is experienced and roused on a specific assignment, the leader can utilize a low relationship, low undertaking style because the group requires little initiative. The model can be used with people or groups. Additionally, since every undertaking may influence the groups in an unexpected way, the leader may be required to change the administration style to fit the new errand.The lea der-member exchange model, created by Williams (2005), clarifies why one group in a unit may shape a durable group while another will be prohibited. This hypothesis contends that leaders grow close working associations with one group and reject associations with another group. The in-group may get particular assignments, compensates and trust from the leader in return for devotion and performance while the out-group is dealt with all the more formally and is less inclined to accomplish great collaboration. Accordingly, viable initiative happens when leaders and followers build up a developed organization to get entrance to the banquet every desire (Lee, 2014). Frequently, the bonds between the leaders and employees are framed on components inconsequential to performance, for example, race or religious affiliations.Transactional and transformational theories are among the major theories that are put in consideration in quality leadership. Mendonca and Kanungo, (2007) explained that there is a close relationship between the two theories. However, transactional leadership revolves around the leader follow relationship. In this relationship, the leader has a responsibility to motivate the followers, employees, by rewarding good performance. Contrarily, transformational leaders thus work to transform the organization and encourage employees to work towards achieving the ultimate organizational goal. An effective and effective leader should practice transactional leadership then gradually drift to transformational leadership. Notably, Lee, (2014) argued that servant leadership is identical to transformational leadership in that, the management and other leaders work hand in hand to archive the organizational goals. Moreover, servant leaders empower the employees to work hard for the organization success. Trust is the ... Leadership in the Corrections Environment - 275 Words Leadership in the Corrections Environment (Essay Sample) Content: Leadership in the Corrections EnvironmentStudents NameUniversity AffiliationLeadership in the Corrections EnvironmentTo:From:Subject: Leadership in the Corrections EnvironmentDate:The crime rate has increased drastically in the contemporary world. A significant number of prisons are receiving a substantial number of inmates. Consequently, leadership and management of the inmates is becoming a major concern in a considerable number of prisons. Notably, top notch management skills are critical in maintaining peaceful co-existence between inmates, and inmates and the management. Moreover, adroit managers have the necessary skills to prepare and manage budget cuts that make it possible to use the available funds in the right manner within the set budget. The increase in the number of prisoners increases misunderstanding between them due to the high population. It is imperative for a leader to take keen supervision within the inmates and scrutinizes any possible causes of violence or misunderstanding between them. Change in leadership styles is paramount in satisfying the needs of all members of an organization. The essay describes some major factors that are critical to consider in modifying leadership styles that suit the demands of the contemporary world.Leadership skill is an essential element in the contingent world characterized technological advancements. Notably, a substantial number of institutions experience significant budgets cuts, and therefore, operate in a cost effective manner. Various scholars have developed various apparent leadership theories that are essential in helping leaders in any prevalent organization develop management and leadership skills and steer the organization forward. According to Lee (2014), the trait theory is one of the major leadership theories. It explains that quality leadership skills are derived from individualsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ personal attitudes towards various aspects and things in life. He explains th at there are six main personal traits that define the leadership style; "Intelligence, adjustment, extraversion, conscientiousness, openness to new experiences and self-efficacy" (Mendonca and Kanungo, 2007). Notably, individuals with these personalities make the best leaders irrespective of their environment.Contrary to the trait theory, Winkler, (2010) came up with the style theory, behavior, and amp. He explained that leadership consists of a set of behaviors, not traits. A considerable number of theorists explained that there are three major leadership styles, authoritarian, democratic, laissez-faire. Authoritarian is a leadership style where the leader is the sovereign individual and dictates the actions of the junior staff. Contrarily, a Democratic leader gives room for views and opinions from the junior staff and discuss the in an apparent manner to come up with a sound decision.Winkler (2010) introduced a theory commonly used in the contemporary world, contingency the ory. He explained that leaders have a natural style, and therefore, they should strive to work in environments that reflect their personal style. Apparently, organizations have the mandate to place leaders in environments that best suit their styles to ensure maximum productivity. Winkler (2010) established a situation leadership model that entails four leadership styles. Also, coordinates them to the formative level of the gathering. The group is low in experience and inspiration on an errand, and then the leader must utilize a high undertaking, low relationship style. On the other hand, if the groups is experienced and roused on a specific assignment, the leader can utilize a low relationship, low undertaking style because the group requires little initiative. The model can be used with people or groups. Additionally, since every undertaking may influence the groups in an unexpected way, the leader may be required to change the administration style to fit the new errand.The lea der-member exchange model, created by Williams (2005), clarifies why one group in a unit may shape a durable group while another will be prohibited. This hypothesis contends that leaders grow close working associations with one group and reject associations with another group. The in-group may get particular assignments, compensates and trust from the leader in return for devotion and performance while the out-group is dealt with all the more formally and is less inclined to accomplish great collaboration. Accordingly, viable initiative happens when leaders and followers build up a developed organization to get entrance to the banquet every desire (Lee, 2014). Frequently, the bonds between the leaders and employees are framed on components inconsequential to performance, for example, race or religious affiliations.Transactional and transformational theories are among the major theories that are put in consideration in quality leadership. Mendonca and Kanungo, (2007) explained that there is a close relationship between the two theories. However, transactional leadership revolves around the leader follow relationship. In this relationship, the leader has a responsibility to motivate the followers, employees, by rewarding good performance. Contrarily, transformational leaders thus work to transform the organization and encourage employees to work towards achieving the ultimate organizational goal. An effective and effective leader should practice transactional leadership then gradually drift to transformational leadership. Notably, Lee, (2014) argued that servant leadership is identical to transformational leadership in that, the management and other leaders work hand in hand to archive the organizational goals. Moreover, servant leaders empower the employees to work hard for the organization success. Trust is the ...