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Culture impact on behavior
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CULTURE
How would one react if one saw injustice? However, that injustice was only towards one culture? If one is not a part of the attacked culture, one would not feel as strong about that occurrence as a person from that confronted heritage. Culture is race, religion, gender, or age; and because of one’s way of life, one would know and be more familiar with dissimilar things than another culture. In texts such as “Where Worlds Collide”, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, and Two Kinds, culture is shown to affect one’s view point of the world.
In Pico Iyer’s personal essay, “Where Worlds Collide”, Iyer shows that people’s culture affects their decisions and emotions when they are in a culture completely different than theirs. “They see Koreans piling into the Taeguk Airport Shuttle and the Seoul Shuttle, which will take them to Koreatown without ever feeling they’ve left home” (Iyer 64). Even though the immigrants are in a new culture, they let things that reminded them of home influence their decisions in America. In addition, the visitors of America allow their culture to affect their emotions. “…the snack bar where a slice of pizza costs $3.19 (18 quetzals they think in horror or 35,000 dong)” (Iyer 64). When the immigrants arrive in America, they are shocked by the high prices for small things, like pizza. In their home country, snacks are usually lower in price.
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“Why don’t you like me the way I am? I am not a genius” (Tan 24). In the quote, Jing-Mei does not want to be a part of the strict, prodigious Chinese culture her mother wants her to be in. However, Jing-Mei eventually accepts her culture after the death of her mother. “I rubbed the old silk against me skin, and then wrapped them in tissue and decided to take home with me” (Tan 29). If Jing-Mei did not accept her culture, she would not have taken the Chinese silks with he at
“Only two kinds of daughters,” “Those who are obedient and those who follow their own mind!”(476). When a mother pushes her daughter to hard, the daughter rebels, but realizes in the end that their mothers only wanted the best for them and had their best interest at heart. In the beginning, Jing-mei, is “just as excited as my mother,”(469). Jing-mei eagerly hoped to make her mother proud. However, her mother’s obsession with becoming a prodigy discouraged Jing-mei.
She clearly and logically illustrates her point of view. She writes, “cultural differences are assumed and expected. But when the cultures of individuals are under scrutiny, it becomes clear that cultural borders do not hold their dividing power.” (98) Combined with her ability to logically expound on her view of cultural borders, she uses several anecdotes to further her point. She identifies four individuals who exemplify multiculturalism. Each of these examples share a Korean heritage but have adopted many other cultural markers from additional sources including non-Korean parents, U.S. society, immigration, and through adoption. Chang poses the question, “Would it be possible for one to become culturally more Korean in the morning, German for lunch, ‘American’ in the afternoon, and back to Korean in the evening? In her conclusion and in answer to that question she states, “Once different standards are embraced by individuals, the differences are incorporated into their individual cultures…the cultural differences are reframed into multiculturalism.”
Another way it is seen that culture influences one's views, is through moving. When one moves to a new place their cultural identity impacts the way they view their new surroundings. In the essay “Where Worlds Collide” author Pico Iyer portrays this idea of how cultural identity influences perspectives of those who move. In this essay as foreigners come to LA, it is said that they find the snack bar where a “piece of pizza cost $3.19 (18 quetzals they think in horror, or 35,009 dong)” (62). Because the foreigners come from a place with a completely different culture, to them pizza that costs $3.19 is extremely expensive. This is a good representation of how when moved, people view the world and their new surroundings based off of their culture. While in American culture, $3.19 for pizza
Jing-mei finds her cultural identity when she becomes and adult. One half of her wants to be that perfect, obedient child that her mother wants. The other half wants to have attention from her mother. She is that “Pleading Child” and “Perfectly Contented” daughter. Although Jing-mei and her mother’s culture clashed, she was able to find who she really
A sudden change in one’s surroundings can result in culture shock. Culture shock refers to the anxiety and surprise a person feels when he or she is discontented with an unfamiliar setting. The majority of practices or customs are different from what a person is used to. One may experience withdrawal, homesickness, or a desire for old friends. For example, when a person goes to live in a different place with unfamiliar surroundings, they may experience culture shock. Sometimes it is the result of losing their identity. In the article “The Phases of Culture Shock”, Pamela J. Brink and Judith Saunders describe four phases of culture shock. They are: Honeymoon Phase, Disenchantment Phase, Beginning Resolution Phase, and Effective Function Phase. These phases denote some of the stages that exemplify culture shock. The four phases are illustrated in the articles “New Immigrants: Portraits in Passage” by Thomas Bentz, “Immigrant America: A Portrait” by Alejandro Portes and Ruben G. Rumbaut, “When I Was Puerto Rican” by Esmeralda Santiago, “Today’s Immigrants, Their Stories” by Thomas Kessner and Betty Boyd Caroli, and lastly, “The New Americans: Immigrant Life in Southern California” by Ulli Steltzer, and are about the experiences of some immigrants. This essay will examine the four phases of culture shock and classify the experiences of these immigrants by the different phases of culture shock identified.
As she gets off the train, Jing-mei starts to describe her surroundings once again. For example, she describes Guangzhou as “The landscape has become gray, filled with low flat cement buildings, old factories, and then tracks and more tracks filled with trains like ours passing by in the opposite direction. I see platforms crowded with people wearing drab Western clothes, with spots of bright colors: little children wearing pink and yellow, red and peach” (266). The colors mentioned go along with how Jing-mei described her mother wearing clothes that do not go well together. The colors are bright, much brighter than the colors she saw on the train. It could mean that she is getting closer to her mother by seeing her in other people in China. However, Jing-mei has not fully embraced her roots, which is understandable since that side of her has only just awoken. Again, Jing-mei is questioning herself when she and her father are going through customs. For example, she describes the long lines as “getting on a number 30 Stockton bus in San Francisco” (266). Immediately after making that connection, Jing-mei reminds herself “I am in China. I remind myself. And somehow the crowds don’t bother me. It feels right” (266). Jing-mei is allowing herself to drift away to what is comfortable. Reminding herself that she is in China, she begins to feel at peace and that it feels
Jing-mei Woo has to become a member of the Joy Luck Club in place of her mother, Suyuan Woo, who passed away. Before Suyuan's passing Jing-mei does not know much about her mother, as the story continues to develop Jing-mei realizes how much she did not know about her mother and learns more and more new things about her on her journey of finding her sisters. “Your father is not my first husband. You are not those babies” (26), this quote is from Suyuan Woo and shows Jing- mei that her mother has a lot of secrets that she does not know about. “Over the years, she told me the same story, except for the ending, which grew darker, casting long shadows into her life, and eventually into mine” (21). This quote shows how Jing-mei did not know much
Injustice is something people struggle with in today’s society. We are living in a world where we are harshly judged for every move we make, for our opinions, for who we are, for our identity. So many individuals constantly feel lonely, insecure, and outcasted. They feel the need to hide, and struggle to embrace their differences because they’re ashamed society would place a blanket statement of judgement over their head. In the coming of age novel, The Outsiders, S. E. Hinton illustrates these scenarios and claims against injustice. The protagonist Ponyboy, a greaser, lives in a unfair neighborhood where everyone is born with a societal hierarchy of three classes: greaser, middle-class, and Socs. With his parents so longer alive, Ponyboy,
... her own person and wanting only to be accepted for who she is and not who she could be. Even though the argument was never discussed it still haunted Jing-mei. That is why Jing-mei was surprised when her mother offered her the piano for her thirtieth birthday, she took it as a sign of forgiveness.
Jing-Mei tries to live up to her mother’s expectations but feels that her mother expects more from her than she can deliver. She doesn’t understand why her mother is always trying to change her and won’t accept her for who she is. She feels pressure from her family when she is compared to her cousin Waverly and all her accomplishments. Soon the conflict grows to resentment as her mother tests her daily on academics, eventually causing Jing-Mei to give up while her mother struggles to get her attention and cooperation. Her mother avoids arguing with her daughter early in the story, continuing to encourage her to strive for fame. Her mother’s next assignment for her daughter is piano lessons. This goes along pretty well until her mother forces her to participate in a talent show. The daughter’s failure on her performance at the talent show causes embarrassment to her mother. Conflict is evident when two days later, after the talent show, she reminds her daughter that it’s time for piano practice and the daughter refuses to obey her mother. The conflict that the daughter feels boils over in an outburst of anger and resentment towards her mother for trying to make her something that she is not. Harsh words are spoken causing the mother to retreat and not speak of this event ever
Jing-Mei was forced to take piano lessons; this only further upset her as she felt that she was a constant disappointment. Her mother was mad at her on a regular basis because Jing-Mei stood up for herself and explained to her that she didn’t want to be a child prodigy.
The Korean wave is regarded by the author as a regionally specific phenomenon that does not have many modern comparisons other than the American culture spread. It is bringing on new global transformations and has the effect of blurring the boundaries between cultures, which could be considered very effective cultural globalization. A South Korean student is quoted as saying, "we feel like we can live like them in a few years,” which is in reference to the American’s and their rather unique, consumer oriented lifestyle. However, it seems that South Korea has turned the cultural desires in a different direction. Surrounding countries now want a taste of the South Korean lifestyle and it is often easier for neighboring Asian countries to quickly
Experiencing a society of multi-cultures is beneficial through a variety of concepts to epitomize each individual identity. A person may vary in the degree to which he or she identifies with, morals, or...
...ith Jing Mei and her mother, it is compounded by the fact that there are dual nationalities involved as well. Not only did the mother’s good intentions bring about failure and disappointment from Jing Mei, but rooted in her mother’s culture was the belief that children are to be obedient and give respect to their elders. "Only two kinds of daughters.....those who are obedient and those who follow their own mind!" (Tan1) is the comment made by her mother when Jing Mei refuses to continue with piano lessons. In the end, this story shows that not only is the mother-daughter relationship intricately complex but is made even more so with cultural and generational differences added to the mix.
With every passing day the world is shrinking, and the globalization process is taking place. Advances in communication, transportation, and computer technology have all played a role in making the world a smaller place. With the right equipment, people can talk to friends and family from the other side of the world. Traveling from America to Europe, which once required days at sea, now only takes hours in the air. Computer networking and fax machines allow world businesses to conduct negotiations within a matter of seconds. Images and personas such as the McDonalds’s golden arches and Mickey Mouse are recognized worldwide. When Saddam Hussein was captured, nearly every country knew about it within a matter of hours. Yet, while globalization is taking place, it is not doing so without dispute. Many countries, in fact, feel threatened by Western culture and consequently, are acting out to preserve their own identities. Differences in currency and standardized measuring units indicate hesitancy and possibly even an inability for people to accept the conformity of a singular global society. Also, characteristics of different cultures are in such a way unique that to alter them or blend them into other cultures would, in some people’s opinion, destroy both of them. After all, one would not expect to find tacos served in Italian restaurants, nor would one expect pasta and breadsticks to be the major selling items in Mexican restaurants. So, while globalization is taking place on different levels, fundamental differences in culture and pride in one’s own heritage both exist as strong forces preventing the emergence of a homogenized world society.