Mother Tongue And Venus In Furs: Textual Analysis

In the narratives of “Learning to Read,” “Mother Tongue,” and “Venus in Furs,” there were literacies of writing, reading and spoken language. “Learning to Read” captured the reading and writing literacy skills of Malcolm X, an almost illiterate man prior to his imprisonment in early adult life. “Mother Tongue” and “Venus in Furs” show an alternative kind of literacy which is the spoken word, either through learning a second language or music. In the autobiography of Malcolm X, he is trying to covey the power of literacy. Becoming literate and seemingly educated created a power in his words and his writings. He was more respected, intelligent and worldly from his literacy studies (Malcom X, 1965). Amy Tan, author of “Mother Tongue,” however, argues that there is a prejudice against people who are seemingly illiterate. She cites the challenges her mother faces whose first language in Chinese and her second is English and how people discriminate against those who don’t speak perfect language. In doing so, she employs multiple perspectives and imagery to

None of the three talks about a specific moment of time, but rather a gradual experience over several years. Malcolm X relays his seven years in prison, in successive order of how he came in basically illiterate and left with a vast knowledge of speech and vocabulary (1965). Kuersten gives a timeline of his childhood and high school experiences and how those experiences created his love for Venus in Furs (2005). Each story uses patches of memory and different periods of time to show their literacy journey across a time period. Kuersten uses a famous musician at the time to quote, Lou Reed, using his lyrics to create a personal connection between his passion and the audience. Malcolm X and Amy Tan both make references to other people in their narratives, but do not offer names or details, since they are simply used to provide context of the