What if there was only one culture that everyone came from? There would be little to no diversity because no one had any differences. Without complex cultures, the world would be much different than it is today. A person’s culture defines where they come from and who they are. Culture in the stories An Indian Father’s Plea, Two Kinds, and Everyday Use informs the way one views the world and others.
When two people don’t see eye-to-eye, external conflict happens . In the letter, An Indian Father’s Plea, by Robert Lakes, a father is explaining to his son’s teacher that his son is not ‘slow’. Wind-Wolf, the student, grew up in a culture that was much different than his peers and teacher. His father writes to the teacher explaining “He is not culturally ‘disadvantaged,’ but he is
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In the novel, Two Kinds, by Amy Tan, a mother has such high expectations for her daughter who isn’t interested in achieving those expectations. Paragraph 45 of the excerpt says “I daydreamed about being somewhere else, about being someone else.” (Tan, 26) Her mother came from China and “believed you could be anything you wanted to be in America.” (Tan, 21) By growing up in America this daughter came from a different culture, knowing that not everyone was a prodigy and her mother just didn’t quite understand that. The short story, Everyday Use, by Alice Walker is about a girl named Dee who got an education whereas her family did not. Coming from a culture with a strong education, her and her family did not get along. They struggled to see eye-to-eye because Dee took advantage of being the smartest in the household. Dee looked down upon her family for not having the same education, “[Dee] wrote me once that no matter where we ‘choose’ to live, she will manage to come see us.” (Walker, 78) Dee has no respect for her family because her culture taught her that she is better than them because of her
The rhetor for this text is Luther Standing Bear. He was born in 1868 on the Pine Ridge Reservation. He was raised as a Native American until the age on eleven when he was taken to Carlisle Indian Industrial School: an Indian boarding school. After graduating from the boarding school, he returned to his reservation and now realized the terrible conditions under which they were living. Standing Bear was then elected as chief of his tribe and it became his responsibility to induce change (Luther Standing Bear). The boarding schools, like the one he went to, were not a fair place to be. The Native American children were forced to go there and they were not taught how to live as a European American; they were taught low level jobs like how to mop and take out trash. Also, these school were very brutal with punishment and how the kids were treated. In the passage he states, “More than one tragedy has resulted when a young boy or girl has returned home again almost an utter stranger. I have seen these happenings with my own eyes and I know they can cause naught but suffering.” (Standing Bear 276). Standing Bear is fighting for the Indians to be taught by Indians. He does not want their young to lose the culture taught to them from the elders. Standing Bear also states, “The old people do not speak English and never will be English-speaking.” (Standing Bear 276). He is reinforcing the point that he believes that they
One of the hardest realities of being a minority is that the majority has a thousand ways to hurt anyone who is part of a minority, and they have but two or three ways to defend themselves. In Sherman Alexie’s short story The Toughest Indian in the World, Roman Gabriel Fury is a member of the Native American minority that makes up less than two percent of the total United States population (1.2 percent to be exact). This inherent disadvantage of being a minority, along with various cultural factors, influences the conflicted character of Roman Gabriel Fury and his attitudes toward the white majority. Through his use of strong language, demanding tone, and vibrant colors, Roman Gabriel Fury is able to reveal his complex feelings about growing up Indian in a predominately white world.
Culture influences the way people identify others. The short story, “An Indian Father's plea”, accentuates a cultural conflict between a concerned father and teacher. This idea that Wind-Wolf is culturally different, making him “slow” in the teacher's perspective, contrasts with the father’s position. Rober Lake states, “So you see, all of these influences together make him...slow, according to your standards”. The teacher labeled Wind-Wolf as "slow" immediately comparing him to his white classmates. Wind-Wolf's learning style juxtaposed with the American culture; he was a “slow adapter” because he wasn't used to the traditional education, let alone experience a non-Indian childbirth. Wind-Wolf was identified as a student of color who didn't
In the short story, "Two Kinds" by Amy Tan, a Chinese mother and daughter are at odds with each other. The mother pushes her daughter to become a prodigy, while the daughter (like most children with immigrant parents) seeks to find herself in a world that demands her Americanization. This is the theme of the story, conflicting values. In a society that values individuality, the daughter sought to be an individual, while her mother demanded she do what was suggested. This is a conflict within itself. The daughter must deal with an internal and external conflict. Internally, she struggles to find herself. Externally, she struggles with the burden of failing to meet her mother’s expectations. Being a first-generation Asian American, I have faced the same issues that the daughter has been through in the story.
For many of us growing up, our mothers have been a part of who we are. They have been there when our world was falling apart, when we fell ill to the flu, and most importantly, the one to love us when we needed it the most. In “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan, it begins with a brief introduction to one mother’s interpretation of the American Dream. Losing her family in China, she now hopes to recapture part of her loss through her daughter. However, the young girl, Ni Kan, mimics her mother’s dreams and ultimately rebels against them.
In Alice Walker’s short story “Everyday Use” is about a girl named Dee that is
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
Adjusting to another culture is a difficult concept, especially for children in their school classrooms. In Sherman Alexie’s, “Indian Education,” he discusses the different stages of a Native Americans childhood compared to his white counterparts. He is describing the schooling of a child, Victor, in an American Indian reservation, grade by grade. He uses a few different examples of satire and irony, in which could be viewed in completely different ways, expressing different feelings to the reader. Racism and bullying are both present throughout this essay between Indians and Americans. The Indian Americans have the stereotype of being unsuccessful and always being those that are left behind. Through Alexie’s negativity and humor in his essay, it is evident that he faces many issues and is very frustrated growing up as an American Indian. Growing up, Alexie faces discrimination from white people, who he portrays as evil in every way, to show that his childhood was filled with anger, fear, and sorrow.
Ruth Benedict’s anthropological book, Patterns of Culture explores the dualism of culture and personality. Benedict studies different cultures such as the Zuni tribe and the Dobu Indians. Each culture she finds is so different and distinctive in relation to the norm of our society. Each difference is what makes it unique. Benedict compares the likenesses of culture and individuality, “A culture, like an individual, is a more or less consistent pattern of thought or action” (46), but note, they are not the same by use of the word, “like.” Benedict is saying that figuratively, cultures are like personalities. Culture and individuality are intertwined and dependent upon each other for survival.
Humans who live in different places that have different geographical conditions create culture, and people in different geographical conditions have different lifestyle, different demand, and different daily activities. Humans’ basic requirement of life was fulfilled with the development of human societies, then the new demand and problems occurred. As time went on, human started to analyze orthodox things, and that was the “prototype” of culture. Cultures in the current human’s society have many disparities due to their unique living environment, but people cannot make the judgment of different cultures. The existence of culture led the developing of human’s society; any country in the world cannot survive without its traditional culture. People should work on the interchange and communication on diverse cultures, but not look down on some other cultures.
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.
It was the year when I still believed the tooth fairy was real. The famous 3rd grade year was when I started questioning my identity. It was nearly noon when the sunlight beams hit my skin as I stand outside Ms. Nguyen classroom with about 29 other students. It was our first day of ELD class and I waited for her to gesture us in. She opens her door and greets each of us as we enter. Her greetings were brief since she just wanted to know our first and last name. It was my turn…
Wendy Davis stated, “I am proud of where I came from, and I am proud of what I 've been able to achieve through hard work and perseverance. And I guarantee you that anyone who tries to say otherwise hasn 't walked a day in my shoes” The short story “Everyday Use” shows the reader how easily it is to forget where you came from, and how easily it can affect your family.
First and foremost, culture is a complex whole which includes habit, language, festival, food, values and beliefs etc. The diversity of culture in our world is caused by many factors including the various geographical environment, historical succession, religions, and even political system. It is part of our life in all aspects and during the whole life time. No matter where you go and who you are, you are living under the shadow of culture. As Albert Camus, who was a French philosopher said: without culture, and the relative freedom it implies, society, even when perfect, is but a jungle. This is why authentic creation is a gift to the future. (Kartha, D 2016). We can clearly to know the culture it is really important for us. Referring to
In the end, what we learn from this article is very realistic and logical. Furthermore, it is supported with real-life examples. Culture is ordinary, each individual has it, and it is both individual and common. It’s a result of both traditional values and an individual effort. Therefore, trying to fit it into certain sharp-edged models would be wrong.