Cultural Identity In Perl S. Buck's The Good Earth

There has always been a sense of unease towards cultural identity. Many people have no trouble finding their cultural identity, but have trouble accepting other cultural identities. This is because it is often believed by many that most cultures are similar to their own, causing a disagreement when encountering a new or unusual culture. Due to the cultural disagreement that takes place around the world, at this time it is impossible for everyone to coexist peacefully. There is a theory that man will one day be able to build a bridge that goes all way around the world, but until everyone opens their eyes to cultural differences, the human race is going to have to stick to flying. Using "The Good Earth" by Perl S. Buck as an example, Wang Lung encounters "a creature the like of whom he had never seen before", and he is startled by the woman's state of dress (Buck 107). He has never been exposed to people outside of his own country, therefore instantly classifies her as different. He then proceeds to assume that the American foreigner only gave him silver because of "ignorance and not knowing that

She came to Kyoto as a cultural virgin new to everything around her. This doesn’t matter to the natives of Japan though. They view everything she does as wrong, even though she is going based on her own culture. Towards the end of her stay, she acknowledged that "ignoring cultural differences is arrogant", and by acknowledging this, she was able to do something that many have not yet achieved (Kingsolver). There are many people who will "stomp around the world ignoring cultural differences", and it is often those people who have the most disagreements with other cultures. When we encounter people like this it is best not to mock them for knowing so little about other cultures, but instead educate them on the ways of that