...Culture is one of the factors that could greatly shape our current views, along with our surroundings, the people we associate with, or simply genetics. Our culture sometimes informs the way one views the world and others because although culture can play a different role in anyone’s life, the extent to which it shapes our perceptions is entirely unique for everyone. For many people, although their views can be greatly influenced by their surroundings and people they associate with, their culture can primarily shape many of their...
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...“Two ways to belong in America“ is a story written by Bharati Mukherjee. The piece is written about two sisters who moved from India to the United States in the 1960’s. Both sisters moved to United States in hope to achieve and receive an excellent their dreams and to receive an excellent education. Both share likenesses in appearance and religious values. Both Bharati and her sister Mira had planned to move back to India after they received their education to get married to the men that their father had chosen for them as is their tradition. As the story evolves, their plans change dramatically when each sister gets married to a man that they met in college. Mira married an Indian student and Bharati married a Canadian man. Each sister takes...
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...Do you make decisions? Are you aware of how much your culture influences your decision making? Your culture influences everyday decisions through its logic, past experiences, and the effect family has on your culture. In this unit we have seen many cases on all three examples. “Such as Two Ways to Belong in America” by Bharati Mukherjee, “Where Worlds Collide” by Pico Iyer, and “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker. All of these give great context on how and when we make decisions using our culture. Sometimes it is very big decisions and a lot of times it’s the most basic of problems we solve using what our culture has taught us. Your culture influences your decision making through past experiences. In the story “Where Worlds Collide” by Pico Iyer. In the restroom someone has written “Yes on proposition 187. Mexicans go home,” (lyer 51) this person may have had a bad experience with a person who was Mexican. They also may have gotten the idea from media sources in the story it states of the “images they’ve brought over from Cops and Terminator 2” (Iyer 50). So those people got all their ideas of America from movies they have shown. This may have been the reason for them deciding to come to America....
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...Bharati Mukherjee’s essay “Two Ways to Belong in America” is a short essay about two sisters. Both of the sisters have been in America for somewhere around thirty-five years. They have each found their own niche in life, but continue to keep in touch with each other over the course of the 35 years. One sister Mira, came to America in 1960 to study child psychology and pre-school education. Mira would in 1962 marry an Indian student from another university. Mira goes on to be a legal immigrant for thirty-six years, but still manages to cling to her Indian citizenship. She wants to return back to India after she retires someday. The other, Bharati, came to America in 1961 to study creative writing. Bharati would later end up marrying a man...
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...“ A nation’s culture resides in the hearts and in the soul of its people”- Mahatma Gandhi. No matter where you are, you always should know where you came from. There were two stories that were read about cultural heritage. One was a short story titled “ Everyday Use” by Alice Walker that was about how there were two girls, sisters who wanted a quilt because it reflected on their heritage, but one wanted the quilt to symbolize as a trophy; while the other sister wanted the quilt just to use for everyday use. The second text that was read was a personal essay named “ Two Ways to Belong in America” by Bharati Mukherjee that was about two Indian girls who moved to America, and one became an American citizen, while the other was just a legal immigrant, so they both had different perspectives of America. Life experiences can easily change a person’s customs in life. Even though Dee and Mari embraced their heritage or assimilated to a new culture; they both still overall care for their culture....
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...American and Japanese Cultures Culture plays a vital role in defining a group of people, helping to shape the way they live, the traditions they carry out, and how they’re viewed by others. That being said, cultures vary greatly worldwide; some customs that are normal to Americans may seem strange to those living in Japan such as entertainment in America and Japan, Respect for Women in American and Japanese Cultures, and The Individual in America and Japan. To begin with, American and Japanese cultures both place an emphasis on film and video as a form of entertainment. In America, it’s not unusual for the media to pay a great deal of attention to new film releases and upcoming television premiers. Similarly Japanese culture focuses on motion pictures for entertainment, mainly through the promotion of “anime,” the Japanese contribution to the animation industry. Much like animated Disney movies are prominent in American culture, anime films are a common appearance in Japanese culture. Anime films are so popular, in fact, that they’re even viewed in the United States, creating a link between American and Japanese culture. America and Japan may share similar interests regarding entertainment, but one must remember that the two countries are at opposite ends of the world, creating differences in the way people live in the two areas. Perhaps the greatest difference between Japanese and American culture is the fact that Americans seem to have more respect for women...
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...Double Faces A compare/Contrast Essay Ayman Mohammad Writing Studies 101 Ms. Sana Sayed March 12 2014 Double Faces “There is a deep inside each one of us, one ‘belonging’ that matters, our profound truth, in a way, our essence’ (Amin Maalouf, 2012, p. 66). These were some few words explaining what every ones true identities are and how Maalouf strongly believes that each and every one of us must scout deep down inside of ourselves to seek for our true uniqueness and for our pure individualities. This is not an easy task for anyone. Firoozeh Dumas, another author had to face the consequences of her actions when she impersonated dual identities. Although Amin Maalouf and Firoozeh Dumas are similar in having dual identities, they differ becuase Firoozeh moved to America while Amin flew off to France, and because Firoozeh changed her name while Amin kept his. Amin and Firoozeh had to impersonate dual identities in order to fit into their new society. Dumas had to embody another identity for her to be able to meet the requirements of the American society. Trouble was around the corner waiting for her to show up and neither she, nor her family expected that they would ever face problems concerning their names, raise, and origin. For instance, Dumas had to deal with the consisting mockery regarding her awkward name, as the kids in her fifth grade used to call her “Ferocious” instead of Firoozeh. Furthermore, Dumas’s brothers Farshid and...
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...America’s Problems: Immigration and Education As a young college students, living in the United States of America, my country’s problems are really important to me. America is facing many issues nowadays, many of which we don’t think about right away. Immigration is one of the problems, both sides probably agree that how to deal with them is a major question in politics at the moment, although some see this as a bigger problem than others do. United States education is facing many issues also, one of which is decline in cultural literacy. United States of America are one of the most diversified countries in the world, this is caused by immigration. Immigration has been both a boon and a curse for the United States. The country has seen its rich culture and civilization being shaped out by talented, ambitious, and hard-working people from around the world, which great example are Bharati Mukherjee and her sister Mira. In Mukherjee’s essay “Two Ways to Belong in America”, she describes “I need to put roots down, to vote and make the difference that I can”. Bharati Mukherjee is one of many immigrants that canto this country to develop and to give it back to society. She also faced many struggles because she was an immigrant, like proposal in Congress to deny government benefits for non-citizens. Although she wrote her essay more than 15 years ago the problems are still the same. Legislation have problem with illegal immigrants and they are mixing them with those that are in this...
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...can be life changing. Dinaw Mengestu and Jhumpa Lahiri are both authors that have shared their story on growing up within two different cultures and how they struggled with their culture identities. Lahiri is the author of “My Two Lives” that tells her story of being an Indian-American who felt torn between two totally different worlds. Her parents pushed her to be in touch with her Indian culture while the society of America pushed her to act more American. Mengestu is the author of “Home at Last” which tells his story of growing up bicultural as an Ethiopian-American and figuring out what he sought to be as an adult. Unlike Lahiri, Mengestu’s parents didn’t push his Ethiopian culture on him, in fact he didn’t know it at all. Mengestu wasn’t torn between two cultures like Lahiri, rather he was torn between what society thought he should be because of how he looked, and where he felt he belong. Although being bicultural makes the authors feel misplaced at times, their parents roles also comes as a blessing and both authors find resolution as adults. While Lahiri felt as if she was battling between two different worlds, Mengestu struggled to find his place in any culture. Lahiri’s parents moved to America when she was two years old, and she has lived there ever since, besides the months at a time spent in India. Even though Lahiri’s parents moved to America, they still kept their Indian culture flourishing at home by keeping up with their Indian traditions such as eating Indian...
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...Eugene O’Neill wrote a play called the Hairy Ape that focuses on the time period in America during the industrial revolution. The play follows a man, Yank, searching for how he fits into the world. The themes of the play revolve around how the United States was changing during this crucial moment in America’s history. New ideas, technologies and cultures were emerging, and O’Neill saw this. He wanted to express his views and opinions of how America was changing through his plays. His plays became influential and powerful because it focused on real-life issues and problems that were occurring during that time, even though the plays were fictional stories. The Hairy Ape is no exception and is one of many of his fantastic plays that delved into the dark reality that was occurring in post WWI America. O’Neill opens his play with a scene showing some firemen working in the engine room of a ship talking amongst each other. This scene is important because it already shows a major topic that O’Neill is tackling: the transformation of humans into “machines” by industrialization. The firemen work in a harsh and monotonous environment; they repeat the same task over and over without putting any thought into it. They are also shown as uneducated, primitive and uncivilized people. O’Neill portrays these people this way to show how degrading humans into tools are making them less intellectual and less “human.” Humans have the capability to think, create and be innovative, but O’Neill sees...
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...The white saris with silver embroideries and the gold jewelry wrapped the actresses from head to two, glistening under the lighting; each costume piece being emphasized in every move. The camera zoomed into the actress’s face; her expressions changing according to the tempo of the music. Three year old me sat on the ground in front of the T.V., captivated as each move slowly pulled me into the world of dance. Although I didn’t start taking professional lessons until a few years later, I danced whenever I could; while my parents watched singing competitions on T.V., I would be in the dining room behind them, dancing to each song being sung. Growing older, I was no longer merely fascinated by the brilliant ambiance dance could create, but by the power it had; through movements and expressions, you could tell a story while displaying your...
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...I belong to several different ethnic groups. Some of the ethnic groups that I belong to include Native American, Irish American, and English. The one I’ve decided to discuss for this paper would be Irish American. I am very proud of my Irish heritage. Millions of Irish people have immigrated to America since the 1800s. When Irish immigrants came over to America, a majority of them had little to nothing. They looked for work to start new lives in a new country. Irish immigrants were very hard laborers. Irish American’s were segregated immediately upon arrival to America. They were unwanted and clearly unwelcome. They were sent to “poor” area’s to reside in and were forced to live in area’s the size of a small bedroom with their entire families. They were ill a lot of the time due to sewage and poor ventilation to where they were residing. Many also had mental illnesses caused from alcohol problems. Irish Catholic’s was also a big issue to Irish immigration. American’s were worried that Irish Catholic immigrants would not be loyal to the Church of Rome. Irish Catholic’s were very stereo typed. People thought that all Irish Catholics were violent alcoholics and were all in Irish gangs. Although it didn’t help them much, many Irish American’s did turn to violence when being faced with severe discrimination. Like anything else being stereo typed, few people took the time to actually get to know Irish Catholics and assumed that they were all the same. Due to discrimination and prejudice...
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...“The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven” by Sherman Alexie and “Separation Anxiety” by Evie Shockley discuss the complications of identity while living in worlds of different cultures. Victor is the main character of “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven” and he has an identity crisis throughout the story since he lives in the city but is from the Indian reservation. He identifies not only as a Native American, but he lives in a community surrounded by mostly Caucasian people which makes him feel out of place. He feels that he does not belong in the reservation and also does not belong in the big city. The narrator, Peaches, in “Separation Anxiety” identifies herself as an African American and lives in a community where everyone...
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...poem Let America Be America Again. Walt Whitman and Langston Hughes have similar writing techniques. Whitman wrote the poem Let America Be America Again while Hughes wrote Let America Be America again. These poems are about 100 years apart and have many similarities and differences. The poems are similar in many ways, but one similarity is that they are both poems about America, the title gives that away though. Also both poems name a list of individuals that are left out of the American dream. "Those of mechanics, the carpenter, the mason, the boatman." (Let America Be America Again) In I Hear America Singing it states "I am the farmer, I am the worker, I am the negro." This American dream that so many people are left out of involves having opportunities...
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...sometimes a very difficult task. In the business world of today, society expects that large corporations will make moral decisions that will positively affect its business and its patrons. Recently, Wikileaks (not affiliated with Wikipedia) has been in the national and world spotlight as a corporate bad guy because it made the decision to release what is considered vital information on several large businesses that could adversely affect those said businesses. Reportedly, the information on Wikileaks is not just assumed authentic but is actually authentic and has been vetted so that the innocent are protected. With this being said, Wikileaks reportedly has in its possession a hard drive possibly belonging to an executive with Bank of America and plans to release the information contained on the hard drive to “take down” the bank and expose an “ecosystem of corruption” (Schwartz, 2011). In today’s world, freedom of press and freedom of speech is something that is held in the highest regard and is supported fully. The question is when does this freedom go too far and cross the line of moral acceptance. In addition, does the information in question violate the privacy of those involved and is it something that is just being used to draw attention to a particular person or organization. It is possible that by releasing confidential information about a large corporation, or how an organization operates for that matter, could damage that business beyond repair, and force it to...
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