More handpicked essays just for you.
Culture influences personality
How culture influences development of self identity
Culture and impact on identity
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Culture influences personality
We strongly believe that culture has a great influence one’s perspective on the world as well as the people around them. This may include the choices you make and how you view from what's right and wrong. It’s influence can be great, controlling your entire lifestyle from how you dress to what you eat, or it could be small, slightly influencing the decisions you make. Your own culture may be judged and be discriminated against, causing you to react in a certain way to protect what you stand for. In the story “By Any Other Name” by Samantha Rama Rau, shows how two Indian girl’s followed their culture and stayed true to their beliefs.
The older sister, Premila, and the younger sister, Santha, live with their Indian mother who taught and raised them as Indian children, which included the customs and appearance as one. They day they were sent to a British school, they notice the difference between their culture with the British. They changed their names, clothing, food and even placement. When Premila was taking a test for her class the teacher made
…show more content…
During the beginning, Jing-Mei imagined herself as being an exceptional ballerina or actor because of the cultural influence her mother exposed her to, but her perspective on herself soon changed. After her “self-discovery”, she gave up all hope of her being skilled and even rebelled against her mother. While it wasn’t a positive influence, the pressure and stress that steamed from her culture immensely influenced who she was and how she views the world. Throughout the story, she went from a girl who was hopeful and full of dreams to a girl who truly believed that she will never have a bright future. Supported by not only “Two Kinds”, but by Malia’s personal experience and the short story, “By Any Other Name” as well, we can conclude that culture does have an impact on one’s
Jhumpa Lahiri in The Namesake illustrates the assimilation of Gogol as a second generation American immigrant, where Gogol faces the assimilation of becoming an American. Throughout the novel, Gogol has been struggling with his name. From kindergarten to college, Gogol has questioned the reason why he was called Nikhil when he was a child, to the reason why he was called Gogol when he was in college. Having a Russian name, Gogol often encounters questions from people around him, asking the reason of his name. Gogol was not given an Indian name from his Indian family or an American name from the fact that he was born in America, to emphasize that how hard an individual try to assimilate into a different culture, he is still bonded to his roots as the person he ethnically is.
Furthermore, Bharati Mukherjee describes how both her and her sister’s life resemble each other in order to develop her argument that there are multiple ways to belong in a foreign country. For example, using anecdotes, Bharati provides the audience, being lawmakers, a personal view of how she and her sister were before they moved to America. Then, she clearly illustrates how close to being the same person they were in the sentence: “We dressed alike, in saris; we expressed identical views on politics, social issues, love, and marriage in the same Calcutta convent-school accent.”. The explicit description of how they were the same, gives more meaning to the differences expressed later in the essay. Afterwards, Ms. Mukherjee exemplifies how
Everyone has culture, am I right? So think about yours and how it could potentially change your life. In the three texts, Dancer by Vickie Sears, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, and Powwow at the End of the World by Sherman Alexie, the standing subject is change. Culture can show both, positive and negative change in those of that culture. Clarissa, in Dancer shows how her culture has a positive change, Junior, from The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is negatively changed by his culture, and the narrator in Powwow at the End of the World shows his culture is changing he or she in a positive way. While all three texts show how culture can change the people of that culture, some are positive and
According to the passage it recalls that before departing India, both sisters were practically identical to each other in appearance and attitude. “We dressed alike, in saris; we expressed identical views on politics, social issues, love and marriage in the same Calcutta convent-school accent. We would endure our two years in America, secure our degrees, then return to India to marry the grooms of our father’s choosing”, Bharati proclaimed. Her and her sister possessed the preposition of returning to their native land as soon as they completed their studies. The situation didn’t turn out as suitably as they might have thought it would. Living for several years in the U.S now, Bharati claims as if it was her domicile now, where she desires to enduringly remain in the U.S. She has constructed a new life there. She endured the necessity to become part of the community she had adopted. “The price that the immigrant willingly pays, and that the exile avoids, is the trauma of self-transformation”. She
Culture often means an appreciation of the finer things in life; however, culture brings members of a society together. We have a sense of belonging because we share similar beliefs, values, and attitudes about what’s right and wrong. As a result, culture changes as people adapt to their surroundings. According to Bishop Donald, “let it begin with me and my children and grandchildren” (211). Among other things, culture influences what you eat; how you were raised and will raise your own children? If, when, and whom you will marry; how you make and spend money. Truth is culture is adaptive and always changing over time because
Even though my Catholic upbringing played a huge role in shaping my identity, it was not my only identity. As Hall states, “We all have multiple identities” (Hall, 107). I am a daughter, sister, niece, cousin, wife, daughter-in-law, sister-in-law, student etc. those are my multiple identities. My Indian heritage also has played an important role in defining the person I am today. The values and beliefs I learned from my parents were taught to them by their parents and passed down from generations and is deeply rooted in my Indian culture. The Indian culture is called a “Collectivist culture” (Josselyn, Mod. 1) where you are taught to place the needs of others before your own. It teaches you values such as to be generous, helpful, dependable, and attentive to the needs of others (Josselyn, Mod 1). Although this culture has its pro’s it also has its con’s. For example, Indian wives are expected to place the needs of their husband and family first, which meant no sharing of household responsibility between the husband and wife, which may have been practical in the older days when women were full time house wives, but in today’s day and age with workingwomen this can quickly result in a burnout and cause detrimental health effects. So despite the good values I learned from my Indian culture and carry with me today and one day pass it on to my children, I do not agree with all the Indian
In “My Two Lives” Jhumpa Lahiri talks about her hardship growing up in America coming from two different cultures. At home she spoke Bengali with her parents, ate with her hands. According to Jhumpa’s parents she was not American and would never be. This led her to become ashamed of her background. She felt like she did not have to hide her culture anymore. When Jhumpa got married in Calcutta she invited her American friends that never visited India. Jhumpa thought her friends would judge from being part of the Indian culture and isolate her.However her friends were intrigued by her culture and fascinated. She felt like her culture should not be hidden from her friends anymore, and that coming from an Indian-American culture is unique. Jhumpa believes that her upbringing is the reason why she is still involved with her Bengali culture. Jhumpa says“While I am American by virtue of the fact that I was raised in this country, I am Indian thanks to the efforts of two individuals.” Jhumpa means that she is Indian, because she lived most of her life and was raised here. In the story Lahiri explains that her parents shaped her into the person she is. Growing up coming from two different cultures can be difficult, but it can also be beneficial.
The story "Two Kinds" by Amy Tan is about a mother and daughter who have strong conflicting ideas about what it means to have a sense of self. This may be partly due to the mother growing up in China, which is a very different culture than the American culture where endless opportunities are available to anyone who wants to pursue them. Jing-mei's mother wants her daughter to be the best, a prodigy of sorts, and to have the kind of life, full of hopes and dreams that she did not have. In the beginning of the story Jing-mei liked the idea of becoming a prodigy however, the prodigy in her became impatient. "If you don't hurry up and get me out of here, I'm disappearing for good." It warned. "And then you'll always be nothing" (500). After disappointing her mother several times Jing-mei started to detest the idea of becoming a prodigy. The idea Jing-mei's mother had for her to become a prodigy was too much pressure for a small child and was something that Jing-mei was clearly not ready to be. As a result the pressure that her mother laid upon her only made Jing-mei rebel against her mother and she resisted in giving her best. Jing-mei did this because she only wanted her mother's love and acceptance for who she was not only what she could become. Furthermore, Jing-mei's point of view of being the kind of person that one can be proud of was very different from her mother's point of view.
Santha was home schooled by her mother up until she was no longer able to teach. At home they had lessons on their culture but at the Anglo-Indian school they didn’t. "So our Hindi book were put away, the stories of the Lord Krishna as a little boy were left in mid-air, and we were sent to the Anglo-Indian school." (36). Instead of learning about their Indian heritage, Premila and Santha were then expected to learn about new and more British topics. Santha experiences culture shock when she was at recess, she never understood the competitive aspect to games. "I had never really grasped the system of competitive games. At home, whenever we played tag or guessing games, I was always allowed to 'Win' -- 'because', Mother used to tell Premila, 'she is the youngest, and we have to allow for that.' " (37). While Santha and the other kids played Twos-and-threes she let one of the younger kids catch her and was confused when the older kids didn’t pay the same courtesy she did. Your education is one of the most important factors when you're growing up and helps define your perspective on the
This American culture that my parents called their own, did not at all feel like something that was mine. I was confused by the fact that I felt more at home and at ease in a culture where I stuck out as blatantly different, than in one where I blended in completely. It was this challenge and these feelings that established me as what is commonly referred to as one of the world’s “Third Culture Kids.” In their book so titled, David C. Pollock and Ruth E. Van Reken describe in detail the concept of what it means to grow up in a culture other than that of your own native culture, and the challenges and emotions that are often met.
MeiMei is a young girl growing up in a Chinese-American household, in The Rules of the Game, by Amy Tan. As MeiMei and her mom are talking, she asks her mom a vague question about what Chinese people do, and her mom replies with an answer that is correlated with the Chinese heritage,“Chinese people do many things,” she said simply. “Chinese people do business, do medicine, do painting. Not lazy like American people.” (Tan 2) MeiMei is influenced by this statement because she thinks in order to keep true to her heritage, choosing one of these occupations is a good idea. MeiMei is pressured to fulfill her Chinese heritage which narrows her ability to create her own life, inspired by her own interests. In addition to influencing the activities one strides for, heritage can impact one’s self image if one is not able to live up to the expectations of his/her family. Jing-mei Woo, a young girl being pushed to the limits by her mother, grows up in a Chinese American household, in “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan. In Jing-mei Woo’s household, her mom’s main goal is to make her a genius. Due to the Chinese heritage, Jing-mei Woo’s mother stops at nothing to train her into a prodigy. One night, Jing-mei Woo is forced to recite bible verses, but she fails after the first line and reflects on her mental state during the experience,
The way of life in America and India are very different, making it hard for Indians to immigrate to America. They are two different worlds and trying to live both may become difficult. Jhumpa Lahiri has experienced the struggle of balancing the two worlds. In America, most people have table manners and eat with a spoon, fork, and or knife. While in India, food is mostly eaten with your bare hands.
In a world where labels determine much of a person’s identity, gender and culture have a strong influence on a person’s life. Uma tries to please her parents’ Hindu expectations of her, and fitting into American society. In the short story “Devadasi”, by Rishi Reddi, gender and culture based societal standards impact the protagonist Uma and how she sees her surroundings. These standards shape both Uma’s relationships with those around her and how she sees her place in the world. Today, too many people let every piece of their lives be dictated by gender and culture based expectations.
to America with grace and compassion. This story by Jhumpa Lahiri, is an allegory establishing an identity with using symbolic meaning between two cultures that intersect. The themes throughout the story refer to immigrant experiences, the conflict of cultures, the contrast of assimilation and the connection between generations. The Namesake, opens the worlds of emotions Ashima experiences, while straddling her two worlds. This story of identity allows readers to travel with Ashima on an intimate journey through her life as an immigrant.
...ith Jing Mei and her mother, it is compounded by the fact that there are dual nationalities involved as well. Not only did the mother’s good intentions bring about failure and disappointment from Jing Mei, but rooted in her mother’s culture was the belief that children are to be obedient and give respect to their elders. "Only two kinds of daughters.....those who are obedient and those who follow their own mind!" (Tan1) is the comment made by her mother when Jing Mei refuses to continue with piano lessons. In the end, this story shows that not only is the mother-daughter relationship intricately complex but is made even more so with cultural and generational differences added to the mix.