Joy Castro Becoming Educated Analysis

When composing an autobiography authors may encounter an array of emotions, that influence the tone in which the story is presented. The different emotions experienced while writing an autobiography are understandable since as an author, you are putting your story on display for others to view. It is unclear and may be discomforting not knowing how the audience will initially react to the piece. Having the ability to express and present one’s own story may be a liberating experience for some authors, while others feel autobiographical writing may result in the sensation of being exposed and restricted due to outsider’s viewpoints. Essays in the book “Ways of Reading”, writers such as Joy Castro and John Edgar Wideman revealed their stories,

While each essay incorporated the struggles and hardships she encountered during these exact moments of her lifetime, Castro still manages to create a hopeful tone within these pieces, allowing the reader to feel a sense of liberation in which Castro experienced from the publication of each essay. She was able to accomplish this vibe by explaining each conflict she encountered, putting a positive spin on each event which demonstrated how she was able to persevere through each obstacle. For example, growing up Castro was not influenced by her family’s Jehovah Witness views as much as other family members, in the sense of their viewpoint on education. Someone with a Jehovah Witness belief system typically did not believe in attending an institution of higher education. Specifically, within Castro’s family, her grandmother only had an eighth-grade education. This belief system did not stop Castro from having the desire to attend a university, she described her college experiences as a “mysterious, forbidden world, which is why [she] wanted it so badly” (264). Later on, in life Castro encountered a professor who did not believe scholarly articles should be provided to the general public. Particularly, Castro’s professor was not willing to reach a larger audience by publicizing an article in regard to the Violence Against Women Act; essentially keeping this imperative information private to a smaller audience in which the information was not as crucial. Castro was angered as a result of knowing multiple women that would benefit from this pressing information. Inspired to help younger generations of women with similar upbringings to herself, Castro shared her wisdom and became a literature professor. Despite the obstacles encountered throughout her younger years, Castro persevered and essentially used these hardships as motivation for her to reach her