What is culture and how does it differ from national identity? For many people, their identity is bound up with a mixture of their National identity and cultural/religious identity. It is because these blurred lines that there are many issues between cultural communities found in mixed culture towns. In Ivo Andric’s novel The Bridge on The Drina a little town called Visegrad tries to find a balance between its national identity, of being part of the Ottoman Empire, and the two separate religious cultural groups in the town. Visegrad has many ups and downs throughout the novel as the two factions of the town via for power and control of their surroundings and to better their lives. Though the Ottoman Empire was an actual Muslim empire, …show more content…
The issues stemmed from the fact that one group in the town was Christian and the other Muslim, Islam being the state’s official religion. Even though there are similarities between the two faiths they always seem to be at odds with each other. The Christian’s second class status led to many uprisings and more importantly to some it lead to a general mistrust of the Muslim population whether they were wealthy or not. Much of the Christian population was made up of farmers and peasants because they could not obtain the higher ranking positions in the empire without converting, their lower wealth status lead to people using their power of authority to force the Christians into hard labor the Ottomans own version of serfdom . In Ivo Andric’s book, the best example of how this second-class status affected the poor Christian serfs is during the building of the Vezir’s bridge; not only were there harsh condition and superstitions surrounding the bridge, there was also a period of 2 years where none of the workers got paid. When the Vezir commissioned the bridge “he laid down his first requirements and what he therefore expected from the local Turks and demanded from the rayah – the Christian serfs,” notice how he expects from Turks yet demands from Christians . This wording clearly defines class expectations, how the Christians were of a lower class and were expected to work harder for their wages and the Turks, local Muslims, were given more areas to gain leeway, and were more likely to be designers and guards then heavy duty laborers . The Christians also feel that, “ a bridge is no good to the poor … but only for the Turks; we can neither raise armies nor carry on trade,” commented how the benefits were all for the Turks and yet the Christians seemed to be doing all the heavy lifting to build the bridge that made the Turks even more prosperous . The
Cultural identity is the sense of belonging to a group of people. Culture connects a person with their own heritage and ties in traditions and beliefs. However, finding a community to be accepted by is problematic when not harmonious with heritage. Trials and hardships allow people to learn from their past. In Leslie Marmon Silko’s novel Ceremony, Tayo is seen as a disgrace due to his biracial background and has no sense of belonging or identity. In order to fight his inner demons and grow individually, he goes on a journey back to his ancestors’ land to find his past. Ceremony emphasizes the importance of culture and community. Irrational fears of alienation and separation lead to Tayo’s self-loathing which only worsens when he serves in World
Bridge to Terabithia is a novel featuring two young characters, Jess and Leslie. These characters both experience realistic problems that many kids their age face every day. Jess has a different personality and imagination than others, which gets him bullied at school. Leslie gets neglected at home, and she’s the new girl at school. Leslie uses her imagination to come up with a funny prank to get back at the school bully.
In the novel, The Other Side of the Bridge by Mary Lawson, the author capitalizes upon society’s expectation of a character to emphasize the struggle to achieving his goals. Ian, one of the central characters in the plot line, is heavily impacted by these expectations, which hold a substantial influence upon his decision’s regarding his future. To teenagers an expectation: a strong belief that something will happen or be the case in the future, is nothing but a restriction upon them. Ian believes he is contained within these expectations; to the point where he does not wish to follow this given path. In a time of adolescence, teenagers are compelled by the strong desire to denounce that which is expected of them; Ian is no exception to this. Societies expectations create a negative influence upon Ian’s struggles to achieve his goals. These effects are due to the following expectations: to leave Struan for a superior education, to obtain the opportunity to become successful; to strive for a medical career, since he excels at the trade already; and to settle into a happy relationship, to raise a family.
When I was a small child, I remember my parents crossing the James River on the ferry in Surry County while taking my brother and me to Jamestown. At the time, I thought it was thrilling to ride the ferry. It was fun to stand out at the bow and watch as we went over the river to the other side where the boats are docked at Jamestown. We fed the birds on the front deck, and I also remember going up into the top of the ferry where they had a seated area that allowed someone to get out of the wind and still be able to see out. As an adult, I no longer have this glowing admiration for the ferry services in Surry. It never fails that when I am approaching the dock; the ferry is pulling away. Thereafter, it will be at least a thirty-minute wait for the next ferry to arrive. As well as, the actual ride across which could be an additional thirty minutes depending on which ferry pulls into the dock. One ferry is extremely slower than the other is. I will go to great lengths to avoid the ferry services to cross the James River to Williamsburg and will rather drive around Newport News than to use the ferry. My husband and I moved to Surry County two years ago, and it would be nice to be able to travel safely to Williamsburg without the added time it takes to cross the James River on the ferry. There has been talk over the years about replacing the ferry services with a bridge; however, those notions are always disregarded. The residents of Surry County would be better served if a bridge were put in place of the ferry at Scotland Wharf.
Cultural identity is very important for every ethnic group as it shapes the culture of that particular faction and therefore, a certain culture cannot realize its own values until it is exposed to another one. II. Nationalism Nationalism revolves around the attitude that people have about their national identity. It is the national days, symbols, music and the anthem, among other values, that bind a nation together. The Hispanics are nationalists who are proud of their traditions and history.
“Cultural identity is a broader term: people from multiple ethnic backgrounds may identify as belonging to the same culture” (Elise Trumbull and Maria Pacheco). Though people may identify themselves with a certain culture, their beliefs and actions varies and adjust to their experiences. “…We do not consciously pick and choose attributes from the total set; rather, the conditions and events in our individual lives…” (Elise Trumbull and Maria Pacheco). A person is easily influenced by their culture which also makes an impact on their beliefs as well as their view of the world which can cause conflict with another person.
To begin with, culture is something that may change evolve within time but culture is something that come with your heritage or your ethnicity the traditions and things that happen that make up your culture like how your parents raised you are culture. In the informational text “ What is cultural identity” by Elise Trumbull and Maria Pacheco, and in the personal essay “Ethnic Hash” by Patricia Williams, there are similarities and differences in how each writer conveys their message about cultural identity. Based upon their research, Trumbull and Pacheco present the idea that culture changes and that it will never stay the same, while Williams uses her personal experience to develop the idea that many things influence cultural inheritage but
They had to pay higher taxes than the Muslim people. They had very little political and legal rights. Besides their obstacles, they still lived wealthier than the Muslims. For instance, they tended to be better educated than the Turkish people. Because of this, Turkish neighbors tend to resent their success.
In the Ottoman Empire and the Shraia law, non-Muslim people have different regulations. As a Muslim Empire, Ottoman Empire has been the last Islamıc Empire. This is why, the national system in the Ottoman Empire was based on Islamic Laws. These laws included the regulations about the Muslims, Christians, Jews, and the Idolaters. Idolaters had been forced to convert their religion to Islam or they would be executed. Next, for the Christians and Jews the regulation was different. Because of the fact that these are also “abrahamic religions”, they could choose to be executed, to convert their religion to Islam or the subjection. At this point, the subjection meant to accept the superiority of the Muslim people and the Islam, and also accept paying the taxes that non-Muslim peo...
In conclusion, culture can shape one’s identity but also confuse people. The perfect balance of mixed culture can be found with just some guidance of an adult, song, or even a girlfriend. Culture is a very important and individual aspect of everyone’s
This essay will explain the concepts of culture and ethnicity, and it will focus these concepts in ...
Why is cultural identity important to us as people from different race and ethnical background? Identity is one of the most baffling, unpredictable, problematic, survival instincts of individual life in any society around the world. CulturalIdentity is that is aspect of individual that creates a distinguish characteristics and unique differences from one person to another. It can be looked upon in the different angles and spectrum depending on what the case may be. Identity can be analyzed in terms of way of life of people in a geographical setting.Culture is the back born of every identity, and then we can look into some subcultures like, music, language, and communication and perception.
Ener, Mine. “Religious Prerogatives and Policing the Poor in Two Ottoman Contexts.” Journal of Interdisciplinary History 35, no.3 (2005): 501-511. EBSCO.
Culture is the whole system of ideas, action and result of the work of human beings in the frame work of the life of the community. Culture includes everything that is reserved, and his sense of hu...
The term “culture” refers to the complex accumulation of knowledge, folklore, language, rules, rituals, habits, lifestyles, attitudes, beliefs, and customs that link and provide a general identity to a group of people. Cultures take a long time to develop. There are many things that establish identity give meaning to life, define what one becomes, and how one should behave.