Author Archives: ack2234

In “How to Tame a Wild Tongue,” Gloria Anzaldua raises the central question of how to quiet a “wild tongue.” She answers this question by asserting that her Chicano identity will never be tamed, describing how they are “stubborn, persevering, impenetrable as stone.” This is despite numerous attempts by her society to silence her language and culture. After reading Anzaldua’s story, it may seem impossible to tame a wild tongue, but I believe that this is precisely where the answer lies: a wild tongue is tamed when one is made to no longer care about their tongue.

Anzaldua was able to resist all efforts to assimilate her identity into the larger American identity chiefly due to her stone-cold determination to not lose sight of herself. She describes many scenes from her early life, such as the “cheese and bologna sandwiches” her family would “wolf down” while watching Mexican movies at the drive-in theatre. She also mentions certain smells that are inseparable from her identity, such as “woodsmoke,” “cow manure,” and the “reek of cordite.” Because she cares so deeply about these memories and cherishes them as a part of herself, she has managed to resist assimilation. A wild tongue can only be tamed when one does not view such memories as inseparable to their identity. They must be willing to let go of their previous defining characteristics and assimilate to a new identity.

-Avinash K

She truly was a wild woman, as she pursued her goal of completing a marathon whilst having two very demanding jobs.

He was a wild man for attempting to land the plane with his faulty vision.

Wild animals are not to be fed, as it can cause them to become dependent on humans for food.

The wild beast roared and clawed away at the ground.

The juxtaposition of the wealthy family’s opulent mansion coupled with the nearby slum was truly a wild thing to see.

-Avinash K

Oscar Wilde was an Irish poet and playwright who became very popular in London during the 1890s. He was a prominent figure in the aesthetic movement, which advocated for art’s value coming from its inherent beauty alone. His views on art as well as his style of dress were controversial and met with criticism by the press. The most controversial aspect of Wilde was his engagement in consensual homosexual acts, which was unearthed during Wilde’s prosecution of the Marquess of Queensbury for criminal libel. Wilde was put to trial and subsequently sentenced to hard labor for two years. The controversial perception of Wilde was largely a result of his actions not being widely accepted in the society of his time. His views on art were beyond the boundaries of what the mainstream press thought acceptable, so he was slandered by the media as a result. Wilde’s engagement in homosexual acts was not accepted by the predominant conservative culture of western Europe, resulting in harsh criminal penalties levied upon him. In today’s day, Oscar Wilde is seen as a trailblazer who published influential writings and unfortunately succumbed to the flawed morals of an outdated criminal justice system.

I consider Wilde to be a “wild” writer, especially in his poem “The Ballad of Reading Gaol,” which he wrote after enduring hard labor in prison. He describes the brutality he experienced and witnessed through imagery, such as “the sickening thirst That sands one’s throat” and the “blood and wine” that were found near “The poor dead woman.” He also details the labor that they needed to do, including tearing “the tarry rope to shreds With blunt and bleeding nails” whilst “terror was lying still” in “the heart of every man.” Wilde’s poem is wild due to its gruesome and horrifying depictions of the reality of prison conditions, and the bold stance he takes in speaking out against such conditions.

-Avinash K

Hemingway’s “The Good Lion” and Sendak’s “Where the Wild Things Are” both incorporate themes of wildness in their stories, but they engage with this theme very differently to reveal messages antithetical to each other.

In “The Good Lion,” Hemingway quickly establishes a sharp contrast between The Good Lion and the other lions in Africa. The main character is described as “good,” eating “only pasta and scampi” while the other lions are “bad,” eating “Swahilis, Umbulus and Wandorobos and they especially liked to eat Hindu Traders.” Hemingway emphasizes the wildness of the lions from Africa, and how they are much more wicked and violent than the civilized Good Lion.

In “Where the Wild Things Are,” Sendak focuses especially on wildness in children, as Max screams “I’LL EAT YOU UP” to his mother. This tantrum is met with Max not receiving dinner, which shows how a child misbehaving and engaging in their wild side will ultimately backfire for them.

Both stories treat “wildness” as a largely negative concept, as Hemingway highlights how violent the lions from Africa are, and Sendak illustrates how acting wildly will backfire and result in consequences. However, the moral of “The Good Lion” is almost the exact opposite of the moral of “Where the Wild Things Are.” The Good Lion orders a “Hindu Trader sandwich” when he gets back home, despite avoiding the food when he was in Africa. This is surprising because eating Hindu Traders was heavily associated with wildness, as the wickedest lions would have “the blood of Hindu Traders” on their whiskers. This drives home the message that even a being as tame as the Good Lion will inevitably return to their wild roots. Conversely, Sendak ends his story with Max returning home from the land of the wild because “he smelled good things to eat.” Max is smelling his mother’s supper, which he decides to leave the Wild Things for. Sendak is highlighting how one may occasionally indulge in their wild side, but they will inevitably become tame often due to strong bonds of affection with their loved ones. Thus, the messages of Hemingway and Sendak’s stories are fundamentally opposed to each other despite their initially similar interpretations of “wild.”

-Avinash K

The communicator of the Wizard of Oz is Frank Baum. Its primary audience is children, but it has been enjoyed by people of all ages since its release. However, I see the Wizard of Oz primarily as a children’s story because of the themes and characters involved. The story follows the perspective of Dorothy, an innocent young girl who many children can relate to. Many of the characters in the story appeal to children due to their fantastical nature, such as a cowardly lion and a scarecrow with no brains.

Baum uses the word “wild” to describe the “wild crows” that were summoned by the Wicked Witch of the West to kill Dorothy and her companions. In this instance, “wild” means undomesticated or living in an untamed state of nature. This definition is coupled with a negative connotation in this passage, as the crows were minions of the Wicked Witch and attempted to tear apart the protagonists. Baum describes how the wild crows “flew in one great flock” towards Dorothy’s group, and how Dorothy grew “afraid” upon seeing them. Dorothy’s reaction reinforces how the wild nature of the crows is seen as frightening in this context. Crows that were more tamed might not act as savagely to Dorothy and her friends as wild crows. This scene also takes place in the West, which Baum describes as wild without explicitly using the word. Baum talks about how the ground in the West was “rougher and hillier” as well as “untilled.” This imagery fits within the definition of “wild” as existing without human care.

-Avinash K

“This is America” is a song released in 2018 by Childish Gambino featuring Young Thug, Blocboy JB, 21 Savage, Slim Jxmmi, and Quavo. It is a hip-hop song that conveys a commentary on American culture and how black lives are treated. This song strikes me as wild because of its underlying message of how the country often operates in a carefree nature oblivious to the struggles of its black population. The song starts off with a smooth, seemingly carefree chorus which abruptly ends with the sound of a gunshot. The proceeding beat is more aggressive and bass-heavy for some time before returning to a smooth chorus. The shifts in tune portray the manner in which the nation seems to quickly return to a less serious, unconcerned nature following scenes of violence in which black lives are harmed. The lyrics “Guns in my area… I got the strap… I gotta carry ‘em” describe the dangers that black people face living in their communities, often necessitating the ownership of a gun to survive. It struck me as wild to hear Childish Gambino’s depiction of what life can be like for many African Americans as it is a stark contrast to the relative safety I and many Americans experience in our communities. Gambino also includes the lines “Police be trippin’ now… Yeah, this is America.” He is referencing police brutality and how it has become emblematic of the state of the country. I found this line to be wild as Gambino is making a bold statement about how flawed the identity of the country is. Overall, I believe this song to be “wild” as it boldly drives home a strong message about the flawed nature of the country.

-Avinash K

Basketball is a sport which involves great athleticism, hand-eye coordination, agility, perception, and, somewhat uniquely, height. It is a team sport which is played by both men and women in which there are five players from each team on the court at a given time. Winning a game requires the team to shoot enough hoops while also preventing the other team from scoring on their hoop. Basketball is a mainstream American sport watched widely by people of all races and genders. Interestingly, basketball holds appeal among nearly all racial groups despite over 90% of NBA players being either black or white.

In contrast to the NBA, the WNBA is much less popular and only draws in a fraction of the audience the NBA does. The rules are entirely the same except for the ball being one inch smaller and the three-point line being one foot closer to the basket. This difference in popularity could be due to basketball’s frequent depiction as a “masculine” sport, with displays of powerful dunks and aggressive drives gaining the most attention from the audience. Basketball hoops are 10 ft tall in both leagues, making it more possible for men, who are taller on average, to perform stylish dunks than women. I believe that much of the difference in skill level seen can be explained by the lack of attention and support given to women who show talent in basketball versus men. The basketball world does not readily provide the same resources and training to women showing promise in the sport, in part due to the deep-seated belief that women are not as impressive in sports than men.

Basketball’s “wildness” is made apparent when players achieve the impossible and exceed what is thought possible of them. In the first clip provided, LeBron James exceeds expectations by yet again propelling his team to the finals in 2018 while using every trick in the book to do so. In the second clip, multiple WNBA players achieve the unbelievable by landing half-court buzzer beaters or dunking multiple times in the same game.

-Avinash K

Ouija: Origin of Evil is a film I consider to be “wild”. It was directed in 2016 by Mike Flanagan and stars Elizabeth Reaser, Lulu Wilson, Annalise Basso, and Henry Thomas. It was a horror/thriller movie in which a family buys a Ouija board to help run their business of contacting the dead. Their usage of the board happens to invite a spirit which possesses the family’s youngest daughter, Doris. The family investigates and learns of Doris’s situation after realizing her behavior is not characteristic of her, but the spirit ends up possessing the whole family and killing them all except for their other daughter Lina. Lina is sent to a mental hospital after being suspected of murdering her mother and sister, where she stays at the end of the film. I believe this film to be “wild” because of the incorporation of spirits which posses the characters and cause them to do things that would widely be considered unusual. This film was designed to incite feelings of horror in the audience, which it is able to accomplish by depicting scenes that are so “wild” that it strikes us with fear.

One specific scene that portrays this film’s wildness takes place at the end of the movie as Lina is being kept in the mental hospital and seeks to summon Doris’s spirit. She tears the carpet in the room with her bare hands and uses her own blood to create a makeshift Ouija board on the wooden floor. Lina’s actions in this scene were so primal and so far beyond what most would consider to be “socially acceptable” that I believe them to be a perfect example of the wildness present in this film.

-Avinash K

Merriam-Webster states that “wild” can be used as an adjective, noun, and adverb. As a noun, “wild” can represent a free state of existence or an untouched region of land. As an adverb, wild can be used to describe the growth of things deviating from the expectation or without regulation. “Wild” can take on the greatest number of meanings when used as an adjective. It is said to describe something in nature that is not subject to direct human influence. It can also describe things which are not restrained or restricted in any way. Literally, it is often used to describe aspects of nature, such as wild plants or animals. The most abstract definitions of “wild” describe the word as emblematic of strong emotion or exceeding past conventional boundaries. “Wild” has also taken on some informal meanings, such as, ironically, both very enthusiastic and very angry. However, this may not be as unexpected as we might think, as “wild” tends to describe extremes; in this case it is being used to convey extremes of different emotions.

In the context of this course, I define “wild” as anything which is not recognized by the society of its time. In order for something to be wild, there needs to be a mainstream societal consensus on what is not wild. A number of factors may affect where this line is drawn, such as religion, culture, and the groups which have the most social influence. Anything outside of that boundary can be considered wild. I would imagine that “wild” things are often stigmatized and met with criticism, shame, and censure by the society of their times.

-Avinash K