Writing Styles of Zigzagger by Manuel Munoz and Mother Tongue by Amy Tan - Essay Example

Munoz evokes the Spanish words in the article to demonstrate his cross-linguistic culture. From the narration of his background, he could speak both English and Spanish, and apparently, this had a linguistic influence on the vocabulary of the article. The inclusion of Spanish words enriches the language of the article making it interesting to read. More importantly, it serves to show the impact of bilingual nature especially because of the fact that he can easily slide in foreign words into the English article.

 Manuel Munoz recounts the encounter with the airport gate agent giving a vivid description of the name pronunciation by the agent, her dressing, and even the approximation of her age. He uses this incident to introduce the politics of identity and the basis of the classification of Mexicans and now- Mexicans. The incident at the airport also introduces English and Mexican languages from where Manuel Munoz begins to explain his identity. After the long and detailed exposure of culture, names, and the high school experience, Munoz returns to this incident in the last paragraph.

Returning to the incident at this point strategically wraps up the whole issue of names and what advantages and disadvantages were attached to one’s name. He concluded on this note stating the power of language, the stroke of luck, and most importantly that he did not know whether Eugene Reyes was leaving or arriving at the airport. This creates suspense and leaves an open closing for the reader to venture into own though and conclusion. The structure of the essay body is largely a comparison of cultures and majorly the name pronunciation.

The author grows up with the mistaken notion that all whites are similar in so many ways, names included. However, he comes to the awakening that white isn’t necessarily American. This is the basis of the comparison he draws throughout the essay. By comparing the nature of the American names and the issue that can arise from the pronunciation, the reader is able to understand the concept of English and American. Between Mexicans and Spanish accents and so forth. This comparison is an easy technique for explaining the key issue in the article.