Culture is a major influence in not only the way we speak, dress, and act; but also a way we view the world. The extent of which culture influences ones’ views is dependent on many things; such as that of personal experiences as well as how one might view others, stereotypes, and even themselves. In different works such as “By Any Other Name”, “Legal Alien”, and “Multi-Culturalism Explained In One Word: HAPA”; we explore the different insights of not only multiple cultures, but almost entirely different worlds’ with the amount of variation between each story. I have personally viewed the different ways ones’ views might be affected, of which they all correlate to the same core message: that of which shows how culture is one of the biggest ways …show more content…
For example, “Suppose we give you pretty English Names…” (“By Any Other Name”). Because of Premila and Santha’s age, we’re able to view the point of which their views were altered for the rest of their lives, due to someone who did not appreciate their culture; i.e. their names. Not only are names the basis of how we view ourselves’, they’re also the first impression received of someone. By essentially reforming the girls’ names to fit the headmistresses standards, the girls lost a primary sense of self; relating to how they believe others will now view them, an endless cycle of which the girls’ are worried of others’ opinions. A second statement from the author says; “…She made me and other Indians sit at the back… she said it was because Indians cheat,” (“By Any Other Name”). Although this provides a similar problem for the girls views’ as the first one, this quite differentiates in that Premila and others have now been purposefully singled out because of their cultural identity, but most importantly their ethnicity. Because of this experience, not only do the girls’ both view the Anglo-Indian school as a horrible place, they also believe that other experiences based on the discrimination found (because of their cultural …show more content…
Firstly, Kristen states: “I flaunt all of my cultural mix but so many people want me to pick a label.” “Multi-Culturalism Explained In One Word: HAPA”). Although we do not receive the exact moment of which Kristen’s culture enabled someone else to change her own views, we can see the effect of which this damage has done. Not only has Kristen’s half-asian ethnicity distanced her from the people of both cultures, but she has also found herself amidst a rampant battle of trying to show others how her culture fits into this mold, this battle has also shaped the way she now views most people to react to her ethnicity— picking one and sticking to it. The last piece of evidence we have is also that of Kristen’s saying; “… I feel like I benefit from white privilege because of my lighter skin.” (“Multi-Culturalism Explained In One Word: HAPA”). This further confirms the way we know Kristen’s reaction to the world around her— especially in America. based off her ethnicity. Not only is white privilege prevalent to almost an extreme, ones’ different culture may cause you to view this issue almost completely differently. Because of Kristens HAPA origins, she feels that her lighter skin has albeit benefited her even more so than others, showing the way culture affects how we view most of the world around us—
Cultural diversity is an important element. Often times we acknowledge cultural diversity but we don’t quite understand it simply because we do not live it. With this novel, readers can understand cultural
In this analysis includes a summary of the characters and the issues they are dealing with, as well as concepts that are seen that we have discussed in class. Such as stereotyping and the lack of discrimination and prejudice, then finally I suggest a few actions that can be taken to help solve the issues at hand, allowing the involved parties to explain their positions and give them a few immersion opportunities to experience their individual cultures.
In Brave New World the social conditioning causes the characters to struggle with their acceptance of their place within society. In Sherman Alexie’s Blasphemy the hereditary ties to the modern and Indian culture causes a strife among the characters. In both works, characters such as Bernard and the narrator from The Toughest Indian in the World are seen to initially struggle with their self-identify through internal thought. However, their internal struggle soon seeps through to the exterior, which causes a defining act. I will argue that in both Blasphemy and Brave New World the characters cope with their identity crisis by internalizing everything until a breaking point is reached causing a defining moment which is something that is out
The immigrant’s journey to America, as depicted throughout history, transports culture, language, beliefs and unique lifestyles from one land to the other, but also requires one to undergo an adaptation process. The children of these immigrants, who are usually American-born, experience the complexity of a bicultural life, even without completely connecting to the two worlds to which they belong. Potentially resulting is the internal desire to claim a singular rather than dual identity, for simplicity, pride and a sense of acceptance. Jhumpa Lahiri, an Indian-American author and writer of “My Two Lives” could never classify herself as.
Somehow, everything about the whites appear to elicit a reigning beauty that raises hatred and envy the black girls have against the white girls. Packer argues that even small thing like hair contributes to hostility. The fourth grade says; “their long, shampoo-commercial hair, straight as spaghetti from the box” (Packer, 16). These reinforcements are ingredients of prejudice that brings about racial discrimination. The black girls get jealous of the white girls’ hair, and this leads to discrimination against them. It is worth noting that the prejudices are handed down by the environment and society that people are brought up in. Arnetta, remembers a mall experience when she and her mother were being seen as if they were from China. They were being discriminated because of their race. The various treatments given to black people has played a vital role in intensifying the issue of prejudice, magnifying people’s sense of inferiority, and shaping the views of the black people on the white people. Arnetta says; “Even though I didn’t fight to fight, was afraid of fight, I felt I was part of the rest of the troop; like I was defending something” (Packer, 12). This is a clear indication that society has the power to influence youths. It depicts how society joins hands to fight for what they think is their right. Owed to the fact that this is a society. Everything and everyone is interlinked in a given way, making racism and prejudice hard to do away
Residing in a country where one is born as an illegitimate child and is rebuked upon their presence nearly everyday can be mentally and emotionally heartbreaking, specifically when the individual is a child growing up with no initial love or care. , Khaled Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns is a powerful novel stressing the follies of eastern society and worldwide ignorance. He delves into the archaic ways in which women’s rights are dealt with through the eyes of the women themselves, providing an influential emotional impact on the reader. The novel’s unlikely heroine, provides insight into the ways in which identity can serve to be a hindrance. According to Charles Cooley’s looking glass self-theory, identity is the result of the concept in which we earn to see ourselves as others do. From early on in her life, Mariam was given the identity as an illegitimate child. Due to her illegitimacy she was never accepted into a family and wasn't nurtured for. She was not able to attain a rightful place in her parents lives or her husbands. Her mother never lets her forget that she ruined her life and deserves nothing, constantly reminding her of her illegitimate birth. Mariam’s father never accepts her into his life and treats her as a hidden sin leading Mariam to believe that due to her illegitimacy she can never be accepted in her fathers home. Her husband never lets her forget her illegitimate beginnings and blames all her faults on the circumstances of her birth, which make her to believe that she will never be accepted for who she is. The following characters all keep Mariam from achieving true happiness, as none of them accept he and she fails to become apart of a family.
Due to the presence of structural inequality, Sonia went through emotional and mental distress throughout her high school career. The structural inequality in Sonia’s life was the plethora of discriminatory remarks or setbacks she encountered because she was a lower socioeconomic minority. One key example is when she explains how she felt and was treated during her high school life. She attended a Catholic High School that served underprivileged children of Irish and Italian immigrants. Sonia has been raised with little to no expectations for higher education. At her school, the notion of higher education for the students was already exceeding their parents’ expectations and would make them extremel...
This book serves to teach readers about the varieties of cultures, social
Society needs to be proud of where they come from because culture is within them. It is a fundamental part of their identity and helps shape the American Dream. Rodriquez expresses to accept culture and to flourish in identity. “I AM MY CULTURE. Culture is not something opposite us, it is rather something we breathe and sweat and live” (14). In “The Chinese in All of Us,” the writer is conveying that society ca...
What do the works, “As Canadian as Possible under the Circumstances” and “I’m not the Indian you had in mind” have in common? The dissection of these writing pieces revealed that they do in fact have multiple similarities. Those ideas are the use of identity, stereotypes as well as double meanings.
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.
When women migrate from one nation or culture to another they carry their knowledge and expressions of distress with them. On settling down in the new culture, their cultural identity is most likely going to change and that encourages a degree of not belonging; they also attempt to settle down by either assimilation or biculturalism. Consider identity issues of women from the borderlands like feminist Gloria Anzaldua. Her life in the borderlands was a constant battle of discrimination from the Anglo, she was caught in a world of two cultures, various languages, and male domination, “She realized she had two options, to be the victim or to take control of her own destiny” (Borderlands). In her book, Borderlands/La Frontera, she discusses conflicts of linguistic, sexual, and ethnic identity that exists on the border of Mexico and the United States. Gloria Anzaldúa articulates in one of her chapters, “How to Tame a Wild Tongue”, that “ethnic identity is twin skin to linguistic identity;” the languages she possess wield extraordinary influence over her cultural identification (Borderlands). In her book she combines both Spanish and English to emphasize the significance of the position from which she writes, yet Anzaldúa also depicts the near impossibility of reconciling the cultures her speech reflects. When she speaks English, she speaks “the oppressor’s language” (Borderlands); when she speaks Chicano Spanish, she speaks “an orphan tongue” (Borderlands). As a result, the implications of language on her identity are, at times, problematic. Since the English speakers she must accommodate deem her tongue “illegitimate,” she deems herself illegitimate (Borderlands). Her life struggles in the borderlands compelled Gloria Anzaldúa to be resilient and even hopeful. She will use her native tongue to “overcome the tradition of
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
Within every story or poem, there is always an interpretation made by the reader, whether right or wrong. In doing so, one must thoughtfully analyze all aspects of the story in order to make the most accurate assessment based on the literary elements the author has used. Compared and contrasted within the two short stories, “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid, and John Updike’s “A&P,” the literary elements character and theme are made evident. These two elements are prominent in each of the differing stories yet similarities are found through each by studying the elements. The girls’ innocence and naivety as characters act as passages to show something superior, oppression in society shown towards women that is not equally shown towards men.
This essay will explain the concepts of culture and ethnicity, and it will focus these concepts in ...