"What constitutes culture?" is a controversial question to which many anthropologist must respond. Culture, as defined by Clyde Kluckhohn, is human nature, the way of life of a people. Each culture differs from the rest because it deals with a different people in a different social environment. Each is defined by generations of ancestors who have set the boundaries of social custom.
I agree with Kluckhohn's view that culture is the result of an individual's upbringing, for I have had the experience of being exposed to two vastly different cultures. When I immigrated to the United States from Vietnam in 1975, I was caught in the midst of two vastly different worlds - the strict, rigid social ideals of my Oriental background, and the carefree, relaxed American lifestyle. Somehow, I must try to achieve a balance of these two worlds.
The American culture was at first an enigma to me. I was just an observer on the edge, looking in. I was intimidated by these Americans who were so forward and outspoken, who were so uninhibited in their speech and action. Contrasted to this is my strict upbringing, which greatly emphasized the "virtues" of meekness and quiescence. I was aghast at the relationship between American children and adults, who converse and interact with each others as friends and equals; I was always expected to respect my elders, to only listen and obey. These differences in American and Vietnamese cultures were not predestined by God, nor do they arise from biological or environmental differences. They result from different ideas and values, different social legacies each group has inherited from its people.
The past twelve years in the United States have radically changed my life, for time has redefined the way I think, feel, and behave. I am no longer hovering on the edge, for I am now an American who has adapted American customs and the American way of life. Yet I still retain Oriental customs and values that have been instilled in me in early childhood. These two cultures have permanently become a part of my self. I am a product of the American and Vietnamese cultures, for I have been brought up by these two peoples.
COMMENTs:
This essay falters at the start. In explaining Kluckhohn's ideas about what causes the similarities and differences among the world's peoples, this essay misreports Kluckhohn by saying that he defines culture as "human nature" -- precisely the opposite of what Kluckhohn says.
Phillips, Delores B. "Quieting Noisy Bellies: Moving, Eating and Being in the Vietnamese Diaspora." University of Minnesota Press 73 (2009): 47-87. Print
Despair is evident throughout the book, more so from Waknuk citizens oppressing those who are different. “Katherine, a girl from a neighboring farm who could produce thought shapes similar to David’s was found out and taken to the inspector, where, she was ”broken”. Sally, who was also taken with Katherine to the inspector, said to the rest of the thought shapers, “They’ve broken Katherine…Oh Katherine darling… [t]hey’re torturing her…She’s all clouded now. She can’t hear us.” Her thoughts dissolved into shapeless distress.” (Wyndham 130). Clearly Katherine had been severely hurt enough to reveal her ability of producing thought shapes which would put all the thought shapers in danger and tortured enough that Sally sends distress showing how hopeless they indeed are. Furthermore when David found out his father was apart of the party coming to battle the Fringe people he is in sheer distress. He states, “ ‘Purity…’I said. ‘The will of the Lord. Honor thy father…Am I supposed to forgive him! Or try to kill him?’” (182). David is conflicted and rather flustered between his respect and love for his father yet as a deviant they are fighting for different sides and he knows either he or his father will die in the end. Additionally, during the battle itself, one of David’s most loyal friends parishes before his eyes. D...
Just like the durian, my Vietnamese culture repulsed me as a young child. I always felt that there was something shameful in being Vietnamese. Consequently, I did not allow myself to accept the beauty of my culture. I instead looked up to Americans. I wanted to be American. My feelings, however, changed when I entered high school. There, I met Vietnamese students who had extraordinary pride in their heritage. Observing them at a distance, I re-evaluated my opinions. I opened my life to Vietnamese culture and happily discovered myself embracing it. `
John Steinbeck’s acclaimed novel, The Grapes of Wrath, embodies his generation’s horrific tragedy. John Steinbeck’s writing gives insight on the devastating effects of the Dust Bowl on thousands of families and those who helped them. While Steinbeck's novel focuses on the Joad's family journey, he also includes writing of the general struggle of many families at the time. In John Steinbeck's novel, The Grapes of Wrath, the usage of the term “Okies” degrades the workers, while the personification of the cars help depict the struggle of the journey, to exemplify the adaptation the migrant workers had to make to survive the new life.
As World War 2, came to a close, The United States unleashed a secret atomic weapon upon the enemy nation of Japan that was quickly recognized as the most powerful wartime weapon in human history. They completely destroyed the entire Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and essentially vaporized countless innocent Japanese lives. Some historians believe that it was a foolish, brutal decision to use the atomic bomb on a weakened Japan, and that the civilians of the country did not deserve that kind of mass-annihilation. On the opposite side, other historians assert that dropping the bomb saved countless American and Japanese lives by ending the war faster than a regular invasion would have. What is undisputed is that this sad event dramatically changed the course of human history.
When looking at the aftermath of the atomic bomb in both Nagasaki and Hiroshima the devastation it caused is evident. The majority of the population in Japan could have never imagined such a catastrophic event. On August 6, 1945 and August 9, 1945 massive amounts of lives were changed forever when an atomic bomb fell from the sky and created an explosion as bright as the sun. These two bombs were the first and only accounts of nuclear warfare. (“Atomic Bomb is…”) The impact that the two bombs left on the cities of Japan was tremendous. The bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima devastated the country through structural damage, long term medical effects, expenses, and the massive loss of life.
The United States and its people take great pride in knowing that the U.S. is the greatest nation in the world. That is why it’s our duty to father the rest of the world when conflicts arise. American culture and ideals are also thought to take precedents over all other cultures and ideals. In the book, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall down, written by Anne Fadiman, there are many great examples of how American culture is imposed on the people residing with in its enclosed boundaries. The U.S. going to war in Vietnam is also a great example of how the U.S. tried to impose American values on the “less fortunate.” Through understanding America’s so called “duty” in Vietnam one can interpret the intervention of American idealism in the life of a Hmong family.
With the globalization and modernization, there is a social tendency to melt different individuals into an integral and international community. In America, individuals from different culture struggle with assimilation to the white mainstream. They find it painful but worth to mute racial identity for future success. Assimilation to an advanced culture is a somewhat progress and broaden the space for self-growth. But sometimes individuals feels pressure to force them blend in the surroundings. On the contrary, some individuals use the advantages of racial differences to exceed others in the mainstream. Amy Chua, in her essay “Why Chinese Mothers are Superior”, takes advantage of the fact that American parents underrate rote repetition and insists
The next communication gap concerns with the individualism- collectivism dimension, which is the degree an individual is integrated into groups in a society (Hofstede, 2001). Individualistic cultures like the U.S put a strong emphasis on individual autonomy and independence, whereas collectivist cultures like Vietnam believe in belonging, obligation
The conflict between the intergeneration is a direct representation of the Western society. Vu & Rook (2013) stated “The second generation Vietnamese Americans experience supportive behaviors (e.g., affirmation of worth, provision of advice or assistance) and conflictual behaviors (e.g., criticism, failure to provide needed assistance, excessive demands) while acculturating” (p.228). Some of the families are less likely to accept the acculturation of the young to the Western society causing a lack of
The story "The Man Who Was Almost a Man" is at first glance a story about childhood disobedience. However, it is much deeper than that the story is about a young boy named Dave who is frustrated with how the other men he works alongside in the field. Dave sees the gun in the story as an easy way to gain the respect of the other men and the fields and an easy way to become man. Dave goes to visit Joe, who is a white man, at the beginning of the story to try and purchase a gun from his Sears catalog that he keeps at his store. When Dave gets home you can see the simple lifestyle they live and how his parents are not considerably kind to him. Dave must beg his mother for the gun and his money to buy the gun. Richard Wright suggests that in this way Dave is very childish and not yet ready to be a man. When Dave accidently kills the mule it shows the responsibility of true manhood that Dave is clearly not ready to take on. The
The strong efforts at dispersion in the early resettlement period placed additional obstacles in the way of maintaining existing social relationships (Haines et al., 1981, p. 310). Shapiro et al. (1999) examined generational differences in psychosocial adaptation among Vietnamese immigrants to the U.S. and found that elderly immigrants encounter the greatest number of obstacles in mastering daily living skills such as new social customs and language acquisition. Middle-aged immigrants in the late 1990’s experienced the brunt of the trauma of the Vietnam war, and young adults felt they were caught between two cultures, and experienced chronic cultural conflict leading to mental distress (p.
Before I was five, I thought I was Chinese. However, I wondered why I couldn’t understand the Chinese patrons of Chinatown restaurants. Upon learning my true ethnicity, I pulled out a mammoth atlas we had under the bed. My father pointed to an “S”-shaped country bordering the ocean, below China. It was then that I learned my parents were refugees from Vietnam. “Boat people,” my mother, still struggling to grasp English back then, would hear kids whispering when she walked through the halls of her high school. Like many refugees, although my parents and their families weren’t wealthy when they came to America, they were willing to work hard, and like many Vietnamese parents, mine would tell me, “We want you to be success.”
In the end, what we learn from this article is very realistic and logical. Furthermore, it is supported with real-life examples. Culture is ordinary, each individual has it, and it is both individual and common. It’s a result of both traditional values and an individual effort. Therefore, trying to fit it into certain sharp-edged models would be wrong.
I am a born Vietnamese, and Chinese American. For more than a decade I have made many friends coming from diverse cultures. I recall one friend back in high school that demonstrated the importance of one’s own private culture, and language. From this experience with my friend, Hong, I realized that families who had a strong cultural, and language practice at home had a very stable and functional family. Individuals who embrace their culture, and language broadly tend to pass on the wisdom of a rich culture on to the next generation. Hong’s family demonstrated how out of sync, I was with my own language and culture. My family was losing its Vietnamese roots.