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Essays by James Baldwin
How culture influences identity development
How culture influences identity development
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“Who am I?” It is the question every person will have to face in life. If that question is ever truly answered is another subject. However, it does lead to another intriguing question: why am I this way? Many have dove into the depths of this matter to try and establish the correlation between attaining an identity and the reason people end up with that said identity. There is a vast majority of subjects that people have said influence a person’s identity. However, James Baldwin in “Stranger in the Village,” and Jhumpa Lahiri in “My Two Lives,” focus on addressing, in their writing, the correlation between identity and culture. The examinations of these two essays puts forth key points that support the idea that identity and culture do affect …show more content…
With Indian parents and being raised in America from the age of two, Lahiri states in her essay that in her earlier years “Indian-American” was how she was described as, however, she hardly felt as if she could identify with “either side of the hyphen” (97,98). In other words, having these two cultures present in her life that supposedly made up who she was ended up making her feel that because she fell into both categories she could not fully relate to either culture, causing her to feel alienated. She goes on to say, “As a child I sought perfection and so denied myself the claim to any identity” (98). This thinking is a prime supporter of the correlation between culture and identity because it was culture that affected Lahiri’s claim of identity, even if that claiming was no identity at all. Through the examination of Lahiri’s early life, it is evident that there is a correspondence between identity and …show more content…
In Baldwin’s essay, he tells of his experience – sometime during 1955 - of visiting a European village that was not generally known. To be specific, he tells of the racism that he experiences during his time spent in the village. Baldwin tells of the racial slurs the kids would yell out at him when he would walk out on the streets and how the villagers would touch him and be “astonished that the color did not rub off” (120). However, Baldwin also expresses the wonder of these villagers, saying, “… there was a charm of genuine wonder and was certainly no element of intentional unkindness, there was yet no suggestion that I was human: I was simply a living wonder” (121). At the beginning of his essay, Baldwin notes that, before him, the villagers have never seen a black person. It is because of this fact that the villagers act in the way they do. They have yet to have an encounter to know better, so to speak. In any case, this interaction with the villagers got Baldwin to think about the difference between black and white cultures. Baldwin concludes that it was because of the active involvement of the lives of black and white people that separated America from Europe. Hence, it is the separation of cultures that creates this wall that allows a group of people to
In America, Baldwin was prepared for the implications of racial discrimination that he faced on a daily basis; however, he rationalizes that the discrimination that he faced in Paris was of a different breed, unlike anything that America had offered to him. In fact, this was more of an attack against the accused criminal, regardless of how petty the crime. Baldwin explicitly states "It was a strange feeling, in this situation, after a year in Paris, to discover that my weapons would never again serve me as they had." Therefore, as Baldwin explains how he feels unshielded versus the prejudice of Paris, the audience may observe how fundamentally different Paris' form of prejudice is than that of the Jim Crow racial discrimination found in America. Meanwhile, the reader is reminded of how quite discerning the intensity of prejudice is when implemented in unfamiliar forms. This, in progression, exposes the cunning demeanor of prejudice possesses as even though Baldwin had been experienced with facing judgment for his race, he was utterly unprepared and alarmed by the attacks he would go on to face due to the allegations that he stole sheets from the hotel. Quite literally, one may observe Baldwin's inability to escape prejudice in its entirety since it is not bounded to any shape or custom, rather it conforms to insecurities of the people of
... one must acknowledge mankind for what it is and the associated injustice without reserve; however, one must also resist the injustice inherent in mankind. This applies to the struggle between races as well as it applied to Baldwin’s relationship with his father. The initial questions proposed by “Notes” are answered in a general warning: hate breeds death and destruction, so resist the injustice where hate is conceived while accepting the unjust for who they are. It is through both personal and general experiences that Baldwin arrives at his final conclusion, offering a warning to society and the individuals within: hate only causes destruction and must be put aside before positive gains may be achieved.
Baldwin’s father died a broken and ruined man on July 29th, 1943. This only paralleled the chaos occurring around him at the time, such as the race riots of Detroit and Harlem which Baldwin describes to be as “spoils of injustice, anarchy, discontent, and hatred.” (63) His father was born in New Orleans, the first generation of “free men” in a land where “opportunities, real and fancied, are thicker than anywhere else.” (63) Although free from slavery, African-Americans still faced the hardships of racism and were still oppressed from any opportunities, which is a factor that led Baldwin’s father to going mad and eventually being committed. Baldwin would also later learn how “…white people would do anything to keep a Negro down.” (68) For a preacher, there was little trust and faith his father ...
From the descriptions of his book, his writing was all about connections and changing the way in which people relate. However, this book tells the story of how Black people needed to teach white people who were willing to learn about the Black experience so that they would understand what it meant to live as a Black person in the United States. Baldwin’s book was highly influential in changing the direction of thinking of many White people about the importance of attacking the problem of civil rights. On the Dick Cavett show he talked about the ways in which White organizations had a tendency to keep out Black Americans, making his point that the experience of being Black was very different than that of being White. Because they did not have access to unions, houses and neighborhoods, and a variety of different points of access that Whites had, it was clear that they were constantly being told that they were unwanted and would not have opportunity. He makes his point by saying that in the United States the Black culture was being asked to take a risk in participating in a world that they had never been allowed to
Lahiri, a second-generation immigrant, endures the difficulty of living in the middle of her hyphenated label “Indian-American”, whereas she will never fully feel Indian nor fully American, her identity is the combination of her attributes, everything in between.
Establishing an identity has been called one of the most important milestones of adolescent development (Ruffin, 2009). Additionally, a central part of identity development includes ethnic identity (ACT for Youth, 2002). While some teens search for cultural identity within a smaller community, others are trying to find their place in the majority culture. (Bucher and Hinton, 2010)The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian chronicles Junior’s journey to discovery of self. As with many developing teens, he finds himself spanning multiple identities and trying to figure out where he belongs. “Traveling between Reardan and Wellpinit, between the little white town and the reservation, I always felt like a stranger. I was half Indian in one place and half white in the other” (p.118). On the reservation, he was shunned for leaving to go to a white school. At Reardon, the only other Indian was the school mascot, leaving Junior to question his decision to attend school he felt he didn’t deserve. Teens grappling with bicultural identities can relate to Junior’s questions of belonging. Not only is Junior dealing with the struggle between white vs. Indian identities, but with smaller peer group identities as well. In Wellpinit, Junior is th...
Identity is very important in a person’s life. It can induce pride or shame, provide a community or provide a way to distinguish one’s self from others. But, where does this identity come from? It is easy to assume we are who we are because of who raised us, but this is not the entire case. Andrew Solomon, author of “Far from the Tree” introduced two different forms of identity, vertical and horizontal. He defines vertical identity as the attributes acquired and shared by the people we are raised by and horizontal identity as the attributes different from those who raised us, but are shared and acquired through a peer community. These two types of identities generally do not intersect and, depending on the circumstance, one can greatly impact
For the author, this disconnection from reality only fuels feelings of inadequacy and resentment toward others. But despite all the anger and pain and harsh analysis that reverberates through the author’s writing, Baldwin’s primary message is that love and understanding is necessary to heal America’s continuing racial strife. The theme runs fluidly and consistently throughout the book, from Baldwin’s transformative period in the church, to his time as an established writer who found himself with many close white frien
Identity is 'how you view yourself and your life.'; (p. 12 Knots in a String.) Your identity helps you determine where you think you fit in, in your life. It is 'a rich complexity of images, ideas and associations.';(p. 12 Knots in a String.) It is given that as we go through our lives and encounter different experiences our identity of yourselves and where we belong may change. As this happens we may gain or relinquish new values and from this identity and image our influenced. 'A bad self-image and low self-esteem may form part of identity?but often the cause is not a loss of identity itself so much as a loss of belonging.'; Social psychologists suggest that identity is closely related to our culture. Native people today have been faced with this challenge against their identity as they are increasingly faced with a non-native society. I will prove that the play The Rez Sisters showed this loss of identity and loss of belonging. When a native person leaves the reservation to go and start a new life in a city they are forced to adapt to a lifestyle they are not accustomed to. They do not feel as though they fit in or belong to any particular culture. They are faced with extreme racism and stereotypes from other people in the nonreservational society.
I do not consider myself Paki-American. I am too "Americanized" to be Pakistani. (although by birthright, I am American), and I am not quite up to par with the American way of life. So what does all this have to do with my culture, what does a label really matter to cultural identity? It matters much. I believe that this seemingly trivial confusion over labels reveals the even greater confusion that surrounds my cultural identity: Am I a bridge between these two multifaceted cultures, or have I become a mosaic displaying colors from here and there, and elsewhere too? Perhaps both, and I could be a colorful bridge, or perhaps neither. Whatever the case, I cannot seem to separate these absolutely disparate realities within me. Their forces are still clashing, coming together within me, creating a wonderful confusion out of me. I believe that to truly analyze my culture, the roots of this confusion must be explored. In the span of this essay, I must try to encompass the widths of two worlds, their unique interactions within me... which I hope constitute what is called culture.
Baldwin and his ancestors share this common rage because of the reflections their culture has had on the rest of society, a society consisting of white men who have thrived on using false impressions as a weapon throughout American history. Baldwin gives credit to the fact that no one can be held responsible for what history has unfolded, but he remains restless for an explanation about the perception of his ancestors as people. In Baldwin?s essay, his rage becomes more directed as the ?power of the white man? becomes relevant to the misfortune of the American Negro (Baldwin 131). This misfortune creates a fire of rage within Baldwin and the American Negro. As Baldwin?s American Negro continues to build the fire, the white man builds an invisible wall around himself to avoid confrontation about the actions of his ?forefathers? (Baldwin 131). Baldwin?s anger burns through his other emotions as he writes about the enslavement of his ancestors and gives the reader a shameful illusion of a Negro slave having to explai...
Everyone struggles with identity at one point in their life. It will eventually happen to everyone. Identity is how people see one another, it is one of the most important things about someone. Identity goes hand in hand with experience. One’s experiences can impact one’s identity. In Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, the main character Arnold, also known as Junior, has many health issues, and notably stands out in the crowd. It does not help that he is a poor Indian boy that lives on a Reservation, and that he decides to go to an all white high school. Many of his experiences at school, and on the Reservation impact his identity. Experience is the most influential factor in shaping a person’s identity because
While within this small Switzerland village, Baldwin develops a deeper understanding of racism against Africans and where it originated from. The essay states, “Go back a few centuries and they are in their full glory- but I am in Africa, watching the conquerors arrive” . This suggests that, in a broader sense, the issue of racism is present throughout the world because of outdated mindsets. Baldwin also blames history in saying that it is the “nightmare from which no one can awaken” . This perception of an entrapment within outdated mindsets allows the reader to understand the never-ending unfairness the black population faces throughout the world. This approach is very successful in viewing the more broad condition and therefore being able to criticize the entire situation. “People are trapped in history just as history is trapped within them” and there is therefore no way to escape. Baldwin goes as far as to suggest that the USA’s harsh views and horrific past paved the way for racial wars slurs that are still hurtful to this day. Baldwin effectively conveys this opinion by depicting how Americans looked down upon black men, and created the word ‘nigger’ because they failed to realize that blacks have rights as well. Whether it is due to deliberate hate or an ignorance of African history, this racism is seen throughout the world in not only a dominant country like America, but also a small isolated village within Europe. Because of this, Baldwin suggests that black and white people alike will never be the same as they once were, and therefore the world has been forever changed. A powerful message like this is relatable to the entire world as Baldwin focuses the topic to be broader and more philosophical in point of view. This shift in overall point of view is a successful approach
Some people struggle with understanding who they are every day. They constantly look for ways to fit in. Curiosity can make him or her search for their place in society. In the narrative “You don’t look Indian” by Greg Sarris, we follow him in his journey to finding out his true identity.
Baldwin being visits an unfamiliar place that was mostly populated by white people; they were very interested in the color of his skin. The villagers had never seen a black person before, which makes the villager