The text I will be using in my analytical research paper is called Representations Matters: Women in U.S Congress. Thesis statement: Women’s inequality has led to the underrepresentation of women in politics. 

Representations Matters: Women in U.S Congress is based on promoting women in politics and government by reflecting on past issues towards women. For example, the text discusses racial diversity, women in leadership, and challenges that women face being in congress. The text includes many women who are in congress or part of politics who speak upon their very own experiences emphasizing the need to speak up for the voiceless. Women bring new issues, topics and understanding to congress, but they still fall at the bottom percentage of gender in politics. The reason for this is because men believe they dominate and are more superior than women, leading women to feel uninfluenced making it harder to get to the top. Also, women are disregarded in this industry because of racial and ethnic backgrounds and their private life as well.  

One thing I noticed while reading this text is that it mentions many statistics, I found this important because they will be able to support my paper. This text has inspired me by real life scenarios involving representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Kate Hill. Both individuals are women in politics who have been shamed, embarrassed and humiliated by men in the workforce based on their gender or private life. The verbal abuse and violence brought upon women in a political work environment is just not fair and I plan to write this analytical paper to spread awareness towards women in politics and women’s leadership. In this paper I hope to inform both men and women about the inequality towards women in politics and to inform how female politicians are stigmatized because of their gender. 

Nguyen tells her experience as an immigrants child attending school in an English classroom. The struggle of trying to fit in and avoid standing out was difficult. She was a quiet student in most of her classrooms and wanted to disappear in efforts to avoid getting called on and teased for her appearance and Vietnamese background. In paragraph 28 she writes, “I would like to make a broad, accurate statement about immigrant children in schools. I would like to speak for them (us). I hesitate, I cannot.” She is unable to make a statement regarding immigrant children because they experience so much hate, disappointment and rude comments, that speaking on ones situation would never justify every immigrants experience in school. Nguyen feels powerless as an immigrant in another country, she feels that her voice is not enough. In the text Nguyen writes, “Some kids want to rebel; other kids want to disappear. I wanted to disappear. I was not brave enough to shrug my shoulders and flaunt my difference: because I could not disappear into the crowd.” The thought of wanting to disappear was constant but as an immigrant, Nguyen was bound to stand out regardless of the choices and sacrifices she made. Though she attended multiple schools, she was never able to completely fit in. She was teased and mocked for her appearance making her ashamed of her immigrant background, also causing her to feel self-conscious which lowered her self-esteem. Nguyen did not speak up for immigrants in school because she was not able to assimilate fully in an English classroom, she was not able to be seen like the other students. Being scrutinized for her background allowed her to believe she didn’t have a voice powerful enough to speak for others. Nguyen knew that her experience differed from other immigrants and her story was not comparable.

Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy had similar visions for their country as they both spoke on the future of the people. Both individuals believed in change, equality and liberty for all. Though they express these ideas differently, they both come to the conclusion of liberty and equality for all.

Abraham Lincoln with a very humble tone addresses a powerful message regarding liberty. He speaks about the lives that had been lost, but remembered for the devotion to serve their country. Though these lives had been lost, he continues to speak upon the bigger problem, equality and liberty. In the Gettysburg address, Abraham begins by mentioning what was expected of the nation. He says “Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are create equal”. Lincoln speaks about this proposition in efforts to bring the people together. He wanted to show them that they didn’t have to forget those lives, they could continue fighting for them. By this, Lincoln set forth the idea of unification among the people. Towards the end of his speech, he leaves the people with an extraordinary idea. Lincoln concludes his speech by saying that “this nation, under god, shall have a new birth of freedom- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth”. In others words, Lincoln believed in setting forth a new goal, to give liberty to all the people despite the war. He put down the idea of a government founded on the idea and need of equality for the nation.

John F. Kennedy wanted to inspire his people to serve their country, he believed society would be stronger if they all worked together. But in attempt to inspire his people, he also concluded in the idea of equality and liberty for all. Kennedy said “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” In other words, Kennedy wanted the people to contribute to society in efforts to unify the people, he wanted to build a greater democracy. These lines emphasized the idea that the people needed to do good deeds for the greater good, to not sit around for change but to create the change they wanted. John F. Kennedy also said, “We shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and success of liberty.” In other words, Kennedy wanted to further the belief that the nation was strong and it needed to conquer anything that came their way in attempt to achieve their goal of liberty. He spoke on freedom, liberty, good deeds, and peace throughout his speech in efforts to help guide unification within his nation.

Though Abraham focused his speech more on the present and JFK on the future, both Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy wanted change for all, they both believed in freedom and liberty for the people. Both presidents believed that their nation would be able to undergo all catastrophic events and still achieve their way of liberty.

After Malcom X learned to read and write in the Charlestown Prison he said he “never had been so truly free in his life”. By this, Malcom X had achieved something he had never done before. When he says he is free, he is portraying knowledge and new understanding, something he was never exposed to out of prison. For Malcom X, his journey with self taught reading and writing allowed him to explore more in literacy and writing. Malcom X says, “I suppose it was inevitable that as my word-base broadened, I could for the first time pick up a book and read and now begin to understand what the book was saying”. He was able grasp the understanding of words and sentences instead of just picking up words that seemed familiar. Malcom X felt free because he was learning, not only was he able to find a hobby but he was able to use it as a way of escape from reality. He was so fascinated and intrigued about his new academic growth that it made him realize how lost he was, reading and writing changed his life forever. He was able to acknowledge the importance of books, authors and writers despite being incarcerated. Nevertheless he took what he learned and made an impression of himself out of it. There is irony that an incarcerated individual would feel free, but Malcom X by saying he feels free is emphasizing the accessibility and acknowledgement he once didn’t have. What he learned was out of reach to him as some point and with dedication he was able to gain freedom and openness to literacy. This narrative suggest that literature can give a person freedom by exposing them to new material, new language, and new understandings.

Language played a very important role in Amy Tan’s life, not only did she speak two different English languages but it influenced her perception as well. Amy Tan grew up in a household where suitable English was not spoken, the English she grew up speaking had grammatical errors which many considered to be “broken” or “limited”. She expressed what challenges she face growing up with her mothers language. Amy used what many saw as a disadvantage to her advantage  and showed that despite the background or language you come from, you hold a place in society. In the passage Amy writes, “Her language, as I hear it, is vivid, direct, full of observation and imagery. That was the language that helped shape the way I saw things, expressed things, made sense of the world.” In other words, Amy saw her mothers language to be rich and memorable, in which case helped her notice the perception of others who treated her mothers language as incomprehensible and false. This helped shaped her own perception of herself because she was able to understand the grades she got in specific subjects, her more English speaking classes were never considered her strong suit. She was told that math was a better off subject because it limited the use of English as if she didn’t understand it. Amy also realized the perception of others were based off her mothers language passed down to her. Amy Tan used her mothers ‘limited English” to bring attention to the unjust actions of others. She became aware of her own language biases and of others when she realized the reactions and actions of peers, teachers and office workers. Amy grew up having to stand up her mother because others would not take her serious. Amy’s mother went to the hospital in hopes of finding her diagnosis but when doctors realized her English was “limited”, they disregarded any concerns she had and when Amy was called about the situation, they helped her mother in seconds. To others Amy was understandable, she was seen as intelligent and knowledgable because of the way she spoke. Amy’s experiences allowed language to play a big role in her life, understand perception and bring awareness to language bias.

People who learn English as a second language or grow up in a non-english speaking household do understand the language barrier and are constantly aware of the language spoken around them. Speaking from a personal experience, language has always been an issue in my household. My father speaks little to no English, and my mother understands the English language but often times finds it difficult to respond in what most call understandable English. I asked my mother “When you hear your kids speaking English, what do you get from it and how does it make you feel?”. She briefly explained in Spanish that she is able to pick and choose words and try to make sense in the order there placed but usually never fully knows what is being told or spoken. I relate to Amy Tan because my mother too has had issues with communication, I often times find myself making calls on behalf of my mother. This has had an impact on my life, because when my mother receives or makes calls where there are no Spanish speakers, I know I have to speak for her. It angers me that other don’t take people with a language barrier seriously because they are understandable and smart in their language, they just struggle putting it another language. I usually think of this situation as if I were the only English speaking person in a French class, and everyone understood everything but me. Why would you treat someone different trying to adapt to a new language?

Hi, my name is Karen Herrera (she/her) and my major as of now is undecided although I have thoughts of majoring in early childhood education.

After reviewing the syllabus, one thing I am excited about is learning how certain situations impact our experiences. I look forward to reading new texts and books in order to gain more insights on social and political issues. One thing I am nervous about in this course is the critical analysis research paper we will be writing later on in the semester because I haven’t had a lot of experience writing research papers. Some qualities of good writing are being able to express your ideas clearly, being organized in your writing, your word choice, and your voice while writing. In order to be a good writer you have to be able to catch your audiences attention quickly in order to persuade them to keep reading, listening, etc. You have to have a set pace and sociable transition set in your writing, you don’t want to mention the same things repeatedly, that will bore the reader but you also don’t want to jump into all your ideas at once, that will throw off the reader and lead to confusion. It is important to write well because not only is writing used on a day to day basis, but writing well is a principle factor in communication and emphasizes how you are able to portray your ideas. The easiest part of writing for me would be reasoning, I tend to gather a lot of thoughts specifically in a persuasive essay regardless of what side I’m on. Also, I find the editing and revising part of writing both easy but overwhelming. When you think of it, all the writing is there, it’s just a matter of rearranging ideas or sentences, grammer, or adding more writing but sometimes I want to change things but become very indecisive on whether or not it would be a good idea. The hardest part about writing for me is usually the introduction because you have to properly introduce the topic but also keep it short while not specifying your entire writing piece and I usually struggle with this part. Although my major is undecided, If i decide to pursue a career in early childhood education I would be expected to write literacy genres along with descriptive, persuasive and narrative forms of writing. Being an effective writer will affect my career opportunities because having experience with different writing pieces allows me to conversate with younger ages at a more supporting level and understanding.