Does Culture Effect Ho You View Someone?
Do you think culture can affect a person’s view to others? Culture includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom and any other capabilities and habits brought upon a person. In this essay I have read three different stories on how culture can have a huge impact on someone’s life. In the text “Everyday Use “, “Two Ways to belong in America “and “An Indian Fathers Pleu” these three stories explain how culture affects how people view others. One’s culture can cause them to have disoriented vision towards another.
In the text “An Indian Fathers Pleu” the author gives examples on how many times people tend to judge someone off their race or how they look, act, talk and sometime the language they
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Their mother loves making quilts but they’d have a meaning being them and Maggie understood the culture behind them. Dee on another hand didn’t get much of it and stated “Mama I think our culture is dumb” (Walker 83). Dee also is rejecting her immediate African-American background. Although Maggie wants to keep her mamas quilt for use and not as a “show”. Mama also states “I recon she would, I said “god know I been saving them for long enough with nobody using them. I hope she will!” Maggie who will take great care and actually use them instead of for decoration. Mama and Maggie focus on enjoying their life together with experiences and memories and celebrate their African-American heritage. It all goes back to how culture affects how people Maggie finds interest in it and how there able to make and do things differently. However I agree with Maggie getting the quilts. Not only would she put them in everyday use she would also let mama know they are safe and being taken care of. In many ways culture can affect the way people view others. In this essay I have explained how from three different text we have read in
She went to college after high school and didn’t return home after she graduated. She got married to a Muslim man and she became so concerned with her family’s history. When she arrived, she became so concerned with taking pictures of the farmhouse she grew up in a soon as she got their she didn’t even greet her mother and sister Maggie right away. When she entered the home she immediately began to scan the room for things that she felt were good enough to go into her apartment in the city, she also wanted included things that she felt were good enough to impress her friends and to show her where they are from. When she reached the home, she mentioned a few things that stood out to her which included a butter churn and 2 quilts. The two quilts in particular stuck out to her because the two were hand sew by her grandmothers and aunt , along with her mother. Maggie her sister states, “She can have them, Mama,” She said, like somebody used to never winning anything, or having anything reserved for her. “I can member’ Grandma Dee without the quilts’” (Walker). Maggie her younger sister who still lived at home with her family let her sister know she could have them simply because she knew that it wasn’t the quilts that were going to make her remember she’s remembers the years they spent together unlike her sister who was never really around the house as much as Maggie and this was giving Maggie as sense of pride
... attempts to change the way Mama and Maggie perceive tradition by using the quilts as a wall display. Mama refuses to allow it, Dee was offered the quilts when she was in college and didn’t want them at that time. Mama gives the quilts to Maggie as her wedding gift to be used every day as they were intended, knowing how much Maggie appreciates them. I agree with Mama and Maggie for keeping family memories and objects in daily use. It is important to maintain your family history in your everyday life to preserve those special memories.
In Alice Walker’s story “Everyday Use,” symbolism, allegory, and myth stand out when thinking about the characters, setting, and conflict in the story. The conflict is between the mother and her two daughters (Maggie and Dee). There is also the conflict between the family’s heritage (symbolized by the quilt, bench, and butter chum) and their different ways of life. Dee chose a new African name, moved to the city, and adopted a new way of life while Maggie and her mother have stay behind. The quilt (the most important symbol) represents the family’s heritage in that it is made of scraps of clothing worn by generations of family members. The quilt has been sewn by family hands and used on family beds. It has seen history and is history. Maggie and her mother see that that history is alive but Dee thinks it is as dead as her name. Dee does not see that name as part of her heritage. By analyzing these symbols, a number of possibilities for a theme can be seen. Walker could be suggesting that to understand the African-American heritage, readers have to include the present as well as the past. However, the theme could be that poverty and a lack of sophistication and education cannot be equated with ignorance. Lastly, she could be telling her readers that dignity or self-respect rise from and are virtually connected to one’s entire heritage- not just a selected part of it.
The main objects of topic throughout the story are the quilts that symbolize the African American Woman’s history. Susan Farrell, a critic of many short stories, describes the everyday lives of African American Women by saying “weaving and sewing has often been mandatory labor, women have historically endowed their work with special meanings and significance” and have now embraced this as a part of their culture. The two quilts that Dee wanted “had been pieced together by Grandma Dee and then Big Dee and me [Mother] had hung them on the quilt frames on the front porch and quilted them” (par. 55) showing that these quilts were more valuable as memories than they were just blankets. The fabrics in the quilts “were scraps of dresses Grandma Dee had worn fifty and more years ago. Bits and pieces of Grandpa Jarrell’s paisley shirts. And one teeny faded blue piece, about the piece of a penny matchbox, that was from Great Grandpa Ezra’s uniform that he wore in the Civil War” (par. 55) putting forth more evidence that these are not just scraps, but have become pieces of family history. The q...
n “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, we hear a story from the viewpoint of Mama, an African American woman about a visit from her daughter Dee. Mama along with her other daughter Maggie still live poor in the Deep South while Dee has moved onto a more successful life. Mama and Maggie embrace their roots and heritage whereas Dee wants to get as far away as possible. During her return, Dee draws her attention to a quilt. It is this quilt and the title of the piece that centers on the concept of what it means to integrate one’s culture into their everyday life.
...and Mama are indifferent to her rude remark. Maggie smiles though, in a way that lets the reader know that she has finally found a place in her mother’s heart. She does not feel as though she has lost out to Dee, but rather that Dee is the one missing out, because she has no concept of what really matters in life. Maggie and Mama do not have to go out and try to prove to the world how far they have come and cover up for their past like Dee. A sense of heritage is the best gift that anyone could ever be given. Unfortunately for Dee, she is looking for material objects to fill that space in her that she has more than once denied. The story makes it apparent that their are different ways to interpret one’s heritage. For those people who are more secure with who they are, heritage is something that they can pride themselves on and not be ashamed of because of where they came from. Heritage is a person’s undeniable past that they carry around with them everyday, it cannot be found in a mere tangible object.
Culture is a unique way to express the way one shows the world and others how different each one is. Culture affects the way one views the world and others. This is demonstrated in the stories “Ethnic Hash” by Patricia Williams, “Legal Alien” by Pat Mora, and “By Any Other Name” by Santha Rama Rau. These stories come together to show examples of how people of different cultures are viewed by others as different. Mora, Williams, and Rau all have very unique styles, and this is shown throughout the following quotes.
Quilts symbolize a family’s heritage. Maggie adheres the tradition by learning how to quilt from her grandmother and by sewing her own quilts. Maggie also puts her grandmother’s quilts into everyday use. Therefore, when Dee covets the family’s heirloom, wanting to take her grandmother’s hand-stitched quilts away for decoration, Mama gives the quilts to Maggie. Mama believes that Maggie will continually engage with and build upon the family’s history by using the quilts daily rather than distance herself from
Folklores are stories that have been through many time periods. Folklore include Legends, Myths, and Fairy Tales. Legends are traditional tales handed down from earlier times and believed to have a historical basis. Myths are ancient stories dealing with supernatural beings, ancestors, or heroes. Fairy Tales are fantasy tales with legendary being and creators.
Relating to how I currently carry on my families Mexican culture through, language, music, and cloths. For example Miss Wangero, “Maggie can’t appreciate these quilts! She’d probably be backwards”(Walker 82). Dee/Miss. Wangero shouts at her mother that her sister maggie is not capable of appreciating the quilts. The mother explains how the quilt has been passed on within every family member who added a new portion of the quilt. Dee knew that Maggie would use the quilts and their mother encourage Maggie to put the quilts to everyday use. Forcing Maggie to have the responsibility of the quilt shows how culture can affect future decisions. To summarize, Dee and her mother had different perspectives on how Maggie appreciates culture. Leading on to how expectations can change one's point of view of the
In the short story, “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, is written in manner to inspire the reader to show them how deep some family traditions can go. Walker, in her writings, tend to talk about issues that she had experienced in her life, and being an African American, she has learned the value of certain things in her life that her parents and grandparents had taught her. The quilt is so important to Dee because it is something that tells a story of the previous generation; the quilt actually consists of pieces of material that the family once used. The issue of the quilt also sets the mood for the story. It helps the reader to understand the deep rooted power simple things can have when it comes to family relations. All this helps explains
Wangero decided to take the quilts from Maggie’s room. The quilts were woven by Grandma Dee and Big Dee. The patterns of the quilts had great meaning, “one was in the Lone Star pattern. The other was Walk Around the Mountain”(Walker 292). The fabrics of the quilts were also important. They were made from Grandma Dee’s dresses, and had a patch from their great grandmother’s civil war uniform. Mama and Maggie, not only valued their fabrics, they believed they were meant to be used, just like the churn top and dasher. Wangero wanted to the display the quilts in her house. Mama wanted these quilts to be used everyday, and did not want them hung on a wall. Mama did not give in, she did not let Wangero have the quilts. Mama tried to explain it was because Wangero no longer valued their heritage. When Wangero does not get her way, she said, “You ought to try to make something of yourself… It’s really a new day for us. But the way you and Mama still live you’d never know” (Walker 294). Wangero believed that Mama and Maggie were living in the past, that they needed to move on. Wangero did not understand how much Mama and Maggie cared about their heritage. Wangero will face the consequences of distance from her family, as they will never see eye to eye on their heritage.
The quilts were pieced together by Mama, Grandma Dee, and Big Dee symbolizing a long line of relatives. The quilts made from scraps of dresses worn by Grandma Dee, Grandpa Jarrell’s Paisley shirts, and Great Grandpa Ezra’s Civil War uniform represented the family heritage and values, and had been promised to Mama to Maggie when she married. However, Dee does not understand the love put into the making of the quilts, neither does she understand the significance of the quilts as part of her family heritage. It is evident she does not understand the significance of the quilt, having been offered one when went away to college declaring them “as old-fashioned” and “out of style”. She does not care about the value of the quilts to her family, rather she sees it as a work of art, valuable as an African heritage but not as a family heirloom. She wants the quilts because they are handmade, not stitched with around the borders. She tells Mama, “Maggie can’t appreciate these quilts!... She’d probably be backward enough to put them to everyday use… But, they’re priceless!.. Maggie would put them on her the bed and in five years they’d be in rags. Less than that!” (317). The quilt signifies the family pride and history, which is important to Mama. She makes the decision to give the quilt to Maggie who will appreciate it more than Dee, to whom she says, “God knows I been saving ‘em for long enough with
Culture is defined as the collective beliefs, customs, arts, and attitudes that a group of people share. Throughout the world, it has been shown beyond doubt that culture has a lasting impact on the way in which people live their lives. Culture shapes our beliefs, interests, hobbies, and outlooks on the world. Culture has a strong influence on relationships, media, society, and therefore, people’s personal identity and personhood. All through history women have been influenced by the culture and have been subject to its social laws and ideals. Rights and opportunities have immensely grown for woman within the United States, yet along with those right’s have come new standards and expectations for women that have shaped the way they perceive
One of the daughters named Dee was a woman who went to college and found herself and what she wanted to become and live. She even changes her name to be more African-American as she was raised in a white family. Through the story we can see that this means she completely forgets the way she was raised who her family is and what her culture is about. Now on the other hand the second daughter, Maggie is more the shy one and always more close to her mom compare to Dee who knows what she wants. Maggie stayed home with her mother and lived this shelter lifestyle as she always believed her sister to be better than her in a matter of looks and knowledge. In the end we see the mom completely confused and doesn’t understand Dee anymore and why choose that different life to what she’s been though. We read that the mother chooses to give the quilts to Maggie as she knows that she’ll wear them as an honor of her culture and not for