Defining your Identity
Defining your Identity
Through three various texts: ‘America’ by Claude MaKay, ‘Identity: How I Define Mine’ by Althea Samuels, and ‘Cultural Baggage’ by Barbara Ehrenriech it is presented that one can have very different experiences when trying to identify themselves and their heritage. In these texts it is shown that society can be very judgemental of immigrated cultures and should be more accepting so that one can feel a sense of belonging, and should also discourage forward racism, whilst giving people the choice of deciding one’s own identity. In order to live harmoniously and avoid conflict because of cultural differences, one should be allowed to determine their own identity and culture, while living by their own values.
In the poem, ‘America’ written by Claude MaKay the speaker is letting the reader know of his hardships of immigrating to a new country and experiencing cultural oppression because of society being very unaccepting of his differences. The situations that present him with oppression also force him to feel an unbelonging in his new environment. The speaker feels that “Although [America] feeds [him]”, it is a bittersweet experience because of all the challenges towards his identity from its society (MaKay) 1. This leads him to be very unknowing to what’s in his future and despite his hardships if he will be allowed to live by his own values and choose
his own identity. It is important for society to be accepting of who and how immigrants wish to be identified so that there are no feelings of unbelonging between communities and a chance for them to feel at home.
Through her short story ’Identity: How Do I Define Mine’ Althea Samuels shows that assuming and judging someone else’s identity is negative and can cause someone to have a negative self-image. In this text the speaker is placed in a situation where she is forwardly asked where she’s from, but she doesn’t know how to answer. When a friend of hers answers for her,
Through three various texts: ‘America’ by Claude MaKay, ‘Identity: How I Define Mine’ by Althea Samuels, and ‘Cultural Baggage’ by Barbara Ehrenriech it is presented that one can have very different experiences when trying to identify themselves and their heritage. In these texts it is shown that society can be very judgemental of immigrated cultures and should be more accepting so that one can feel a sense of belonging, and should also discourage forward racism, whilst giving people the choice of deciding one’s own identity. In order to live harmoniously and avoid conflict because of cultural differences, one should be allowed to determine their own identity and culture, while living by their own values.
In the poem, ‘America’ written by Claude MaKay the speaker is letting the reader know of his hardships of immigrating to a new country and experiencing cultural oppression because of society being very unaccepting of his differences. The situations that present him with oppression also force him to feel an unbelonging in his new environment. The speaker feels that “Although [America] feeds [him]”, it is a bittersweet experience because of all the challenges towards his identity from its society (MaKay) 1. This leads him to be very unknowing to what’s in his future and despite his hardships if he will be allowed to live by his own values and choose
his own identity. It is important for society to be accepting of who and how immigrants wish to be identified so that there are no feelings of unbelonging between communities and a chance for them to feel at home.
Through her short story ’Identity: How Do I Define Mine’ Althea Samuels shows that assuming and judging someone else’s identity is negative and can cause someone to have a negative self-image. In this text the speaker is placed in a situation where she is forwardly asked where she’s from, but she doesn’t know how to answer. When a friend of hers answers for her,
Cited: McKey, Claude. America. 1921. Print Samuels, Althea. Identity: How Do I Define Mine. Toronto, Ontario: Sister Vision, 1997. Print. Ehrenreich, Barbara. Cultural Baggage. April 5, 1992. Print.