Creative and Engaging: An Analysis of Manuel Muñoz’s Essay

We have all seen performances where the entertainers interact with their audience. Whether it is a comedian doing crowd work, or a musician at a concert bringing someone up on stage, it is a creative way to keep the audience engaged. In his essay “Leave Your Name at the Border,” Manuel Muñoz keeps his audience engaged by communicating his point to the reader in different ways. From his perspective as a Mexican-American, Muñoz displays what it is like to live in America with a Mexican name and to speak Spanish. This essay, originally published in the New York Times, was written for an audience of ordinary people of all races and backgrounds. Throughout the essay, Muñoz communicates to readers the idea that American citizens who have Mexican names or speak Spanish are viewed with distrust by other American citizens. He suggests that this is because Spanish is perceived as the language of the illegal immigrant (Muñoz 90). He communicates this point by using a specific example, creative word choices, comparisons between his experiences in his hometown and at college, and comparisons of his family members.

Muñoz introduces his essay with a specific example, which catches the attention of the reader. He describes a Mexican woman who works as a gate attendant at the Fresno airport. As she announces a name over the loudspeaker, Eugenio Reyes, he notices that despite her ethnicity she pronounces an anglicized version of the name. In addition, he notes that she is trying to cover up her heritage by wearing “[makeup] that was several shades lighter than the rest of her skin” (Muñoz 90). He uses this example to display how Mexican-Americans feel the need to cover up their heritage and conform to more Anglo-American ways of life. He reasons that Mexican-Americans do this to avoid being viewed negatively by those around them. At the end of the essay Muñoz comes back to this situation once again, yet this time focuses on the customer, Eugenio Reyes. Although Muñoz never sees Reyes, he builds a mental image of this unseen figure based on his Spanish name, imagining him as an older Mexican man holding a cowboy hat (92-93). Muñoz later rebukes himself because this assumption of the man’s identity based on his name is the same faulty way of thinking he is working to call out. He connects this interaction to his thesis by pondering the privilege difference between the gate agent and Eugenio Reyes. He concludes that she views herself as more successful based on her more “American” way of presenting herself. This example helps give readers a feel for how Mexican-Americans are pressured to conform to more Anglo-American ways of life.

In addition to the specific example of the airport, Muñoz also uses creative word choices to communicate his point in interesting ways. He describes how non Spanish-speaking Americans view the language negatively by saying: “Spanish was and still is viewed with suspicion: Always the language of the vilified illegal immigrant” (Muñoz 90). The phrase ‘illegal immigrant’ denotatively means only those who have immigrated into America illegally. However, Muñoz shows the connotative meaning of the phrase: any immigrant who has not conformed enough to fit in to American standards. One way he keeps his audience engaged is by stating ambiguous phrases, and letting the readers figure out the meanings for themselves. Even though this is confusing for a reader who might not understand at first, this strategy helps the audience better interact with the text. One example of this strategy is when Muñoz describes how people usually pronounce his name, Manuel, incorrectly. He says, “I didn’t have a Mexican name either: I was an instruction guide” (Muñoz 90). Instead of just telling the audience that people pronounce his name with a hard ‘U’ sound, he says it in a creative way. This gets readers thinking as they are forced to make the conclusions for themselves, finally figuring out that he is referring to the word “manual.” Another example of this strategy occurs when he describes which of his family members speak Spanish and which ones cannot follow the Spanish conversations: “You can tell who falls into which group: Estella, Eric, Dubina, Melanie” (Muñoz 90). Again, instead of telling the reader which ones are in which category, he forces the readers to deduce the answer for themselves based on their names. It is a bit ironic that he has the reader assume someone’s actions solely based on their Anglo or Spanish names, considering his overall message against making assumptions. Nevertheless, it is an effective strategy, which he pairs with creative word choices to better make his point by forcing the reader to interact with his essay.

Muñoz also contrasts two different environments in which he lived to help convey his point to the reader. One was his hometown of Dinuba, California, and the other was college on the East Coast. He showcases Dinuba as an example of what an environment should not look like for Mexican people like himself. He explains that in Dinuba everyone is reduced either to white or Mexican. He also makes it clear that Mexican names were rarely pronounced correctly by saying, “When you hear a Mexican name spoken in [this town], regardless of the speaker’s background, it’s no wonder that there’s an ‘English way of pronouncing it’” (Muñoz 90). He shows his frustration with the people in Dinuba by stating that it is difficult for him to hear his name said incorrectly (Muñoz 92). By doing so, he shows the audience that the environment in Dinuba is not respectful towards Mexican people. He compares that negative experience with a positive one: his college on the East Coast. He presents the atmosphere at college as a considerate one for people with Mexican names. At college he interacts with people who say his name correctly for the first time, and if they do not, they quickly apologize and ask for his help with the pronunciation (Muñoz 92). Even though his experience there was positive, it is apparent that he still feels shame when it comes to his name and his culture: “I avoided meeting people because I didn’t want to say my name, felt burdened by my own history” (Muñoz 92). He says this last to show the reader that even though some people may respect Mexican culture, Mexican-Americans still feel ashamed because many Americans view them in a negative way.

Muñoz recognizes this shame in his own family’s Anglicization of the names of those close to him because of pressure to fit in to American culture. Despite his family’s Mexican background, he is used to English names appearing more often: “I am not surprised to meet 5-year-old Brandon or Kaitlyn” (Muñoz 90). He goes on to explain that Americans look down on people with Spanish names. As an example, he describes the Anglicization of his Mexican stepfather’s name; his name, Antonio, had been changed to Tony. Muñoz expresses that even though he did not welcome the change, his stepfather knew it would make his life in America easier if he did: “Becoming Tony gave him a measure of access as he struggled to learn English and get more fieldwork” (91). He shows the discrimination towards people of Mexican backgrounds by adding “Not changing put him at risk of being passed over for work” (Muñoz 91). Muñoz uses the examples of people in his family who feel pressure to change their name to a more English one as further evidence of the suspicion that Americans have towards people who have Spanish names.

Throughout his essay, Muñoz uses creative tools and examples to communicate that Mexican people are often looked down upon and even vilified by Americans because of their names and language. Overall, Muñoz’s writing is creative and engaging. By making the readers think for themselves, Muñoz encourages deeper reflection on his subject matter. The effective strategies he uses cause the readers to listen, evaluate, and better understand his ideas.

Work Cited

Muñoz, Manuel. “Leave Your Name at the Border.” The McGraw-Hill Reader: Issues Across the Disciplines, edited by Gilbert H. Muller, 12th ed. McGraw-Hill, 2014, pp. 89-93.

Gideon Gish’s critical thinking essay, written for Dr. Morris’s class, won first place in its category in the 2022-2023 CU Write Essay Contest