Culture is something we have all heard in our daily lives. In literature, culture is used very well and analyzing it to get the true meaning of culture portrayed in a text can be very useful. Culture can mean various things from what you do and what you think to your general lifestyle. It defines the person you are and is present within everyone’s life.
Culture is very important in texts and it is worth analyzing. You know a lot more about the text if you know the meaning of culture in that text. (E.g. Which actions are accepted or denied). You get to discover motives for peoples’ actions and also get to know the general lifestyle the characters live in.
I will be analyzing culture portrayed in two texts: “Brick Lane” by Monica Ali, about a woman’s life in a village of Pakistan moving to a Western society in London with her new husband and “I, Too, Sing America” by Langston Hughes about black peoples’ rights differing to those of white peoples’
Brick Lane contains many examples of portrayal of culture. This text is written as a third person omniscient so there are no direct opinions or feelings, although we can clearly figure out what they would be. The main theme that associates with this text is family life. We see how Nazneen’s father forces her marriage and is very strict about it as a result of her sister Hasina’s marriage going wrong. We also discover that in their culture it seems to be accepted for the daughter to be forced to marry the man of her father’s choice when Nazneen says to her father, “Abba, it is good that you have chosen my husband. I hope I can be a good wife, like Amma.” Nazneen states that she thinks her mother is a good wife and hopes she can be like her. We notice that after she gets married, she follo...
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...very much different to “Brick Lane” because it is very subtly describing the cruel culture of America at that time but explicitly revealing the thoughts of black people. There is no description or explanation in the poem as opposed to Brick Lane but still contains representations of culture through short sentences or phrases and figurative language. We can see from just exploring two texts and slightly contrasting them, we get to learn the different ways culture can be portrayed. The culture of a society doesn’t necessarily need to be a non-fiction piece for us to know more about the culture but can be stories or poems, in these cases. We also do not need a vast number of information on the culture but like the poem can be short but still give away the true meaning. Just from this, we know how powerful culture is, and how many different ways it can be represented.
Culture is expressed through a variety of different ways, from clothing styles to lifestyles to faithful traditions. It can also have a deep impact on the viewpoints of those around you, whether negatively or positively. No matter how a person goes about their everyday life, they can rise above the expectations of their culture to change the world around them. Culture does not have to be the basis of every thought, word, or deed of a person.
Hughes, Langston. “Theme for English B” The Norton Field Guide to Writing with Readings. Richard Bullock, Maureen Daly Goggin, eds. New York: W. W. Norton & Compant, 2010. 799-800. Print.
In my essay I have chosen the essay “ black men and public space” by Brent Staples, and “ on seeing England for the first time” by Jamaica Kincaid . In Staples essay he shows us what does it mean to be a black man who walks in the night, living between people “ white people” who sees a criminal or a “mugger” when they look at him , because of the color of his skin that makes him stranger . And Kincaid explains how she felt as a stranger in her home town as well as in England when she went there . And both of Staples and Kincaid share the feeling of the fear, different types of fear ,as they both been through racism from people around them in different ways , in one hand Kincaid had the fear of losing her identity , and her culture identity and thus losing herself , while Staples had the fear of facing others fears of him, and both never did any harm to white people but they been suffering from white people and under they control and under their judgement .
One of the advantages of how he wrote his poetry is that it can take hold of people by exemplifying his accounts of the everyday life that the disenfranchised experience. Hughes took on the injustices that other dared no to speak of. He wrote about how the African-American people of the 1920’s suffered the plight of racial inequality. In many cases I believe that Hughes used his writing as an instrument of change. In “Come to the Waldorf-Astoria” (506) Hughes tackles the drastic disparity between wealthy whites and the African Americans of the 1930’s. This piece displays an unconventional style for a poem; using satire to capture the reader’s attention. By using this satiric form of poetry Hughes is able to play on the emotions of the white reader, while at the same time inspiring the black readers. Hughes is constantly comparing the luxuries of the Waldorf-Astoria to the hardships that the African American people were experiencing. “It's cold as he...
Culture is what makes an individual distinct from others. It is believed that culture is a powerful force that affects and shapes the way we perceive the world and on how we interact with other people. It is synonymous to a country or nation which sets and bears its own desired qualities or attributes. For instance, a group of people conversing in language other than English notices a woman passing by wearing veil over her face and a ruby on her nose would likely be described as one from different culture and which can likewise be alluded as one from somewhere else.
The speech addresses the issues of racism as a barrier in culture, which is supposed to bring equality and inclusion to everyone. In the poem “The Theme for English B” by Langston Hughes, the author discusses the influence of dominant culture on a colored person in a school. Race is an aspect of dominant culture, and the color of your skin is a barrier between dominant culture and lesser cultures, and it can be overcome by the use of education. Race is an aspect of dominant culture, as it is a prejudgment of people’s classes and social standards by the assessment of their skin color. In “The Theme for English B” the author of the poem talks about dominant culture in a school setting from a colored student’s point of view.
Americans Literature has an immense amount if history with in it. There are many lessons that we have learned from reading and reviewing the history along with Americans Literature. There are many questions asking what is American Ethnic Literature, and this literature centers on the voices that govern out country. These voices work hard be heard, and will continue to struggle to be heard at all.
With the whole United States watching Martin Luther King Jr. told the world about his dreams. Just as he would not rest until his voice was heard, African American literature would not stop either. Together they opened the American’s eye to the lives being lived by many African Americans for the first time. Many of these stories, poems, essays, and plays held common themes of having dreams, dreams with which could not be achieved due to the overbearing power of the White man, dreams just like that of Martin Luther King Jr. The theme of racism inhibiting the chance for African Americans to better themselves is common in American literature up until the late 1900’s. The poem “Harlem” by Langston Hughes, the essay “Black Men and Public Space” by Brent Staples, the play “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry, and the short story “Desiree’s Baby” by Kate Chopin all adhere to this theme. This theme is made clear in these works through the use of setting, characterization, and language.
Culture is a way of life that allows a diverse group of people to interrelate with one another. It is usually passed down from one generation to the next by communication and imitation. The term itself has a set definition, but it normally relates to the behavior, beliefs, values, and symbols that are accepted by a group of people. Culture can also be used to describe the time period and events in history. In the sense of what was deemed as popular during a specific stage in time and its impact on the culture surrounding it. Micro-historian have been dissecting and interpreting the meaning of popular culture and the courses of action that lead up to the events.
Culture is a set of beliefs, values and attitudes that a person inherits from a society or a group that they are in and they learn how to view the world and how to behave, these principles can then be passed down from generation to generation so that the culture that has been inherited can live on for
What is meant by the word culture? Culture, according to Websters Dictionary, is the totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought. These patterns, traits, and products are considere...
Langston Hughes', "On the Road," uses beautiful symbolism and imagery. He offers a gift to his readers: Open your heart and life will provide unlimited abundance. During this literary analysis, we will take a look at how Hughes uses nature to demonstrate his main character's unwillingness to participate in life. Another point we'll examine is the use of anger and survival and how it can be used as a powerful force in breaking down racial barriers. Next, we'II look at Jesus Christ as a metaphor for how we experience life and how traditional church values contradict each other when it comes to the acceptance of human beings. Finally, we'll briefly take an historic look at how the Depression gave blacks an even playing field with whites.
Culture has a variety of meanings in our daily lives. Culture is defined as objects created by a society as well as the ways of thinking, acting, and behaving in a society (Macionis). Culture has a variety of elements that is important in understand. To grasp culture, we must consider both thoughts and things. Culture shapes not only what we do, but also what we think and how we feel.
Cultural texts can come in many forms such as: music, books, art, film, and dance. Cultural texts can be interpreted into several meanings. This is why people who share a common cultural text can have different views on the world and how they live their own lives.
When we think about culture everyone has their own definition of what it means and what it should be like, depending on their background and where they came from. This will be a short description of what I think culture means, along with other information’s such as, which cultures I belong to and how they have influenced me. one person can belong to a lot of different cultures based on he/she’s race, ethnicity, music taste…etc., I have selected two of the major cultures that I belong to and tried to describe how they have influenced me along with other information’s about those cultures.