Any Other Name By Santha Rama Rou Analysis

A person's culture greatly influences the way they view others and the world. For example a person that grows up in the city would most likely see killing an animal as something you shouldn't do. Someone that grows up in the “country” would see it as a normal thing, thats his/her next supper. Another example would be fashion, in the modern day people dress flashy and purchase expensive brand name items. But people from certain cultures see that as stupid and don't think it makes sense.
By Any Other Name By Santha Rama Rau is a great example of how culture greatly influences the way they view others. This essay is about two indian girls Premila and Santha. They switched schools, her new school is Anglo-Indian day school. On the first day of school the teacher says, “Now you’re the new girls. What are your names?” permila says, “I am Premila, and
she”—nodding in my direction—“is Santha.”(Rau pg.43) keep in mind that these names are indian names. Now the teacher says, “Oh, my dears, those are much too hard for me. Suppose we give you pretty English names. Wouldnt that be jolly?” Now her teacher didn’t like their names because they were indian names not because their names were hard to pronounce.That is one reason why culture influences the way they view others. Nothing was wrong with there names. But the teacher is not from where permila is from and the teacher thinks the names not normal. (Abel)
In essay it also shows us how culture affects their life because of the other kids in her class. “The English children in front of the class—there were about eight or ten of them—giggled and twisted around in their chairs to look at me.” in this sentence of the essay it shows us that the kids are not used to seeing an indian kid and don't know what she goes through. The kids were raised as English kids so they didn't understand and judged other kids that were different from them. (Abel)
Culture has a big affect on the way people look at the world and different people.
Some of these things can also relate to how people handle situations. In the short story Everyday Use Dee looks at the value of quilts different from Maggie and her mom, it states “ Maggie can’t appreciate these quilts!” Dee said. “She’d probably be backward enough to put them to everyday use.” ( Walker 66 ) Dee says this because she thinks that they are more than just quilts and shouldn’t be used for anything else but decoration. The girls came to an agreement and at least they made Dee understand that quilts is really more than what she thinks. ( Mcabe Mouton )
The way most people grow up can also can also have a big affect on your culture because it shows how certain people handle things. In real life situations the way they were raised can show you how they behave, and the decisions they make. People may also look at them different, because their actions bring them out. Those things help give them off as the type of person they are. Even though Dee and Maggie were raised in the same house, they act the complete opposite. ( Mcabe Mouton
)
A mexican- american see’s culture different because the way they are treated. For example in the poem, “Legal Alien” a mexican is experiencing racism within the culture because of the way she is being treated. In the sentence, their eyes say, “you may speak spanish but you're not like me. The way she see ‘s others people culture and situations. The other people think the same thing she’s not like them so in that case she’s different and they see her situations is different. Legal Alien is an example of culture and the way it influences culture. For example one of the lines in the poem is the way they treat and see her.
Another example of what influences culture is the story “Two kinds” in that story they have a girl named Jing-mei and Her mom. Jing-mei was treated different from other kids because the way her mom was raised. Her mom believes that she should be raised the same way because that is how her culture was. Jing-mei mom thinks she’s still in China. Jing-mei wants her to realize that traditions changed and the way people live change and they live in the USA. Culture influences the way people live and their perspective is different then others around the world.
Culture is a big part of how someone looks at people and the world. Each example shows how no matter what culture you are a part of it impacts how you see everything around you. In every story the characters culture puts their viewpoint in perspective and you can imagine how it can change what you think of the world and the people in it.