“Culture Clash”
I am a born Vietnamese, and Chinese American. For more than a decade I have made many friends coming from diverse cultures. I recall one friend back in high school that demonstrated the importance of one’s own private culture, and language. From this experience with my friend, Hong, I realized that families who had a strong cultural, and language practice at home had a very stable and functional family. Individuals who embrace their culture, and language broadly tend to pass on the wisdom of a rich culture on to the next generation. Hong’s family demonstrated how out of sync, I was with my own language and culture. My family was losing its Vietnamese roots.
Hong’s family strictly conversed in Cantonese daily, while my family mainly spoke in English and southern Vietnamese. Going to the Hong’s home at first made me feel Alienated. I would see Hong’s entire family speak in their own Language, and occasionally speak some English to me. Simple words or sentences such as, hi, hello, how are you, and good-bye were used. It was interesting to see my friend switch sides of language as soon as he stepped home.
His family seemed to have a special connection to each other, culturally. I would see Hong, and his father have a discussion on Bruce Lee in their own private language. Every word that Hong spoke flowed smoothly, and was interpreted well by his father. Hong’s father also spoke in Cantonese, and argue...
Although his parents had no previous knowledge of America’s society, they were able to learn from watching films and reading books. When Liu was born, they decided it was a good idea for him to adapt to this new environment that may benefit his life with better opportunities that the culture provides. Some of these opportunities involved independence and a luxurious lifestyle that they thought was different than the Chinese culture. Liu took pride in believing that he was considered an Asian American when he perceives himself as a unique individual coming from two different cultures. He learns about the daily lives of white people and eventually made friends who were able to support and teach him to fit in with the society. During his life in America, Liu faced struggles and tries to overcome them by learning how to get along with white people, using the social-class to help him make connections with other white people, and getting involved with his internship which provided a good career opportunity while becoming an upper class person. Overall, Liu’s success in achieving his goals of individuality, career opportunities, and lifestyle as well as understanding himself about his Asian American
I chose Cambodian Americans for my target culture because it was a place I knew very little about. My ignorance of that side of the world is laughable, to say the least. Cambodian American was a great choice because both the people and the culture are very captivating to me. While some Cambodian Americans have become very westernized, accepting most of America’s cultural norms, some hold strong to their Cambodian traditions and way of life. Through Geert Hofstede’s
The term “culture” elicits strong feelings within the Vietnamese community. The adults and elders would tell young people culture is a way of being that involves talking, acting, and following traditions. For second-generation Vietnamese adolescents, culture becomes an everyday battleground. A battleground that takes no prisoners leaving the field desolated. As a result, adolescents are left psychologically, emotionally, and mentally torn to pieces. They must navigate two cultural systems that contradict on another. The dominating American culture stresses individualistic idealism whereas Vietnamese culture stresses collectivistic idealism.
Similarly, Wong also grew up in America with a traditional Chinese mother. In contrast, Wong’s upbringing involves her mother forcing her into attending two different schools. After her American school day, Wong continues on with Chinese school to learn both cultures. Her mother felt it was her duty to “[. . .] learn the language of [her] heritage” (Wong 144). This puts a burden on Wong as she starts to despise the Chinese culture.
Chang portrays the complexity of Henry’s character by showing the conflict that he faces both in his personal and professional life. His confusion towards his own Cultural identity is noticed in his relationships with his co-workers as well as with his family. His personal relationship with his family, especially with his father and his wife exemplifies the clash between the two cultures which seems to tear Henry apart. Leila, Henry’s wife, seems to epitomize the traditional American Culture which Henry tries very hard to be a part of. Her forthright nature along with the independence and individuality contradicts the stereotypical qualities of an Asian wife. However, Henry’s desperation is seen in his forgiving attitude towards Leila’s action and behavior. His deter...
The main coping mechanism, then, became suppressing of the memories and emotions attached to the traumas of the Vietnam Wars. Their home served as the host of these demons, but the demons impacted parenting styles. Thi acknowledges that her parents taught her and her siblings many lessons, some intentional but others, quite the contrary. It was the “unintentional ones [that] came from their unexorcised demons and from the habits they formed over so many years of trying to survive;”(“The Best We Could Do,” 295) these lessons were indeed unintentional because just like the suppressed communication, they derived weak communication between the parents and the children. In Min Zhou’s article “Are Asians Becoming ‘White’?” she concludes by including a picture of a Vietnamese family celebrating the 1998 Lunar Year, looking happy. This happy family in the article is much like the Bui family because on the outside, they appeared happy, but inside their home and their hearts, a darkness
Just like the durian, my Vietnamese culture repulsed me as a young child. I always felt that there was something shameful in being Vietnamese. Consequently, I did not allow myself to accept the beauty of my culture. I instead looked up to Americans. I wanted to be American. My feelings, however, changed when I entered high school. There, I met Vietnamese students who had extraordinary pride in their heritage. Observing them at a distance, I re-evaluated my opinions. I opened my life to Vietnamese culture and happily discovered myself embracing it. `
Although he is born and raised locally, he is still treated as an outsider by Americans who don't trust him; and an honorable man gone astray from customs to the Chinese. He believes that he has “no chance of mixing” fully with one culture or the other, therefore he is stuck in the middle and is misunderstood by both (164). Lee handles this extraordinarily well by keeping to himself and doing what is honorable even when no one is around. The way he copes with his situation on a daily basis portrays what a strong person he has made out of himself. Furthermore, he spreads his wisdom onto Cal and Aron as if they were his own children, exemplifying his goodness. Lee was one of the few characters able to overcome his rejection before letting it destroy him. His overall goodness distinguishes him from all the evil and problems encircling the other
The scene is always the same: the three of us sitting in a room together, talking. I see her from the corner of my eye, glancing for only a second or two, but always long enough to notice the look on her face, the expression I’ve become so painfully familiar with over the years. I am forced to turn away; the conversation resumes. She is a few feet from us. She hears everything, and understands nothing except what she can gather from the expressions on our faces, the tone of our voices. She pretends not to be bothered, smiling at us and interjecting random questions or comments in Chinese—a language I was raised to speak, a language I’ve slowly forgotten over the years, a language that is now mine only by blood. It is an earnest but usually futile attempt to break through the invisible barrier that separates her from us, and in spite of all her efforts to hide it, that sad, contem...
The Essay written by Amy Tan titled 'Mother Tongue' concludes with her saying, 'I knew I had succeeded where I counted when my mother finished my book and gave her understandable verdict' (39). The essay focuses on the prejudices of Amy and her mother. All her life, Amy's mother has been looked down upon due to the fact that she did not speak proper English. Amy defends her mother's 'Broken' English by the fact that she is Chinese and that the 'Simple' English spoken in her family 'Has become a language of intimacy, a different sort of English that relates to family talk' (36). Little did she know that she was actually speaking more than one type of English. Amy Tan was successful in providing resourceful information in every aspect. This gave the reader a full understanding of the disadvantages Amy and her mother had with reading and writing. The Essay 'Mother Tongue' truly represents Amy Tan's love and passion for her mother as well as her writing. Finally getting the respect of her critics and lucratively connecting with the reaction her mother had to her book, 'So easy to read' (39). Was writing a book the best way to bond with your own mother? Is it a struggle to always have the urge to fit in? Was it healthy for her to take care of family situations all her life because her mother is unable to speak clear English?
In the article The Clash of Cultures, William Cronon and Richard White delve into “the interrelations between people and their environment,” (11) specifically, between the American Indians and the Europeans and the Americas. The reason Cronon and White wrote this article was, “In part, a result of our current concern with pollution and the exhaustion of valuable natural resources, but it has also proved to be a valuable way of learning more about how people of past generations and different cultures dealt with nature and with one another.” (11)
Around that time I was introduced to a Vietnamese community that helped me become less of who I was before and more of a stronger person than I was before. I started to become proud of who I was which led to me welcoming myself to all aspects of my culture by being immersed in music and books. In the summer of 2014, I went to Vietnam and it was overwhelming to experience the joy, pain, and struggle that my mother and extended family had gone through. Subsequently, my culture has become an advantage because it gave life to a lost soul like me; something can depend on for the rest of my
Tan was born to a pair of Chinese immigrants. Her mother understood English extremely well, but the English she spoke was “broken.”(36) Many people not familiar with her way of speaking found it very difficult to understand her. As a result of this, Tan would have to pretend to be her mother, and she called people up to yell at them while her mother stood behind her and prompted her. This caused Tan to be ashamed of her mother throughout her youth, but as she grew, she realized that the language she shares with her mother is a “language of intimacy” (36) that she even uses when speaking with her husband.
...xpressing her Chinese culture. Mastering a second language allows her to articulate her and her mother’s thoughts; it is a foundation for her pride and a foundation to express herself. For Gloria Anzaldua, instead of choosing one language over the other, she chose a mix of the two and fights for it. She realized the value of her language when she lost it and now treasures it. The kind of Spanish she speaks is neither English nor Spanish, but both. It is overflowing with culture from Medieval Spain, France, Germany, etc., just from the origins of the words. It is her pride and a representation of herself, fighting and living. In conclusion, in addition to Lera Boroditsky’s article proving that the structure of language affects how we think, the articles by Eric Liu, Amy Tan, and Gloria Anzaldua show how language is a foundation for a person’s culture, pride, and self.
It is through the events in the journey of life that shapes and molds who we are as people. As for me, immigrating to America was one of those milestones that have shaped who I am. Those who have had the opportunity of moving from a different country to America know what a privilege it is. I felt the same honor to know that I would be journeying to the land of opportunity. Without hesitance, I spent the last two months packing and making the final preparations before moving to a new continent. Although it was a bittersweet time, leaving my beloved family behind, I knew that I couldn’t resist the treasure that waited for me in the new land. Coming from a developing nation the high level of sophistication that greeted me on arrival to America made feel like I was in paradise.