Vincent Cremona

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Pages: 3

In his personal essay “My Pen Writes in Blue and White,” Vincent Cremona implies how being exposed to different influences and personalities can help a writer find his own, unique voice. More specifically, Cremona discusses how he took “the plain, frank, honest words of [his] father, and joined them with the proper and formal words of [his] mother to form the dialect [he] now speak[s]” (195). In doing so, the author skillfully combines both colloquial and formal styles of communication, allowing him to better address his audience. As a member of the blue-collar working class, Cremona’s father speaks with a simpler, more direct approach. From this point of view, he learns how to be “bold and workman-like” (195). On the other hand, his mother’s …show more content…
Cremona agrees with this when he states that “[t]he manner in which [he] now write[s], and communicate[s]… has been directly affected by the two major influences in [his] life, [his] parents” (195). He emphasizes that these two individual styles help him to become a better writer, enhancing his communication and the way he relates to the world. Cremona describes spending time with his father and his father’s co-workers as an easy and direct language learning experience. Likewise, by reading his mother’s letters to excuse him from school, he learns to distinguish what language is appropriate in a more formal setting. As a matter of fact, Clare Bolton and Christina Clark (2012) in their research about Parents’ View on Literacy Development, found that “...most parents felt that they as parents [are] the most important influence on their child’s communication and language skills” (1). Cremona agrees when he writes how his writing “...have the traces of [those] two viewpoints.” (197). In short, parents play a crucial role in children’s literacy and the way they communicate with others. Nevertheless, Cremona’s exposure to both informal and formal speeches taught him to tailor his approach to better suit his audience and specific writing