Multicultural Items

Multicultural Items One of the beauties of living in this world is the wealth of different beliefs and cultures that surround every person. Even living in someone’s home country does not exclude him or her from witnessing or experiencing different cultures. Anyone can immerse himself or herself in a different culture just by reading a story from an author that lives that culture everyday.
Multicultural Concepts Growing up in the United States is a much difference experience than Catherine Lim had while growing up in Malaysia. In the United States, people are not typically raised to respect their elders. Sure, people are told to, but it is not inherently in our blood to do so. As Lim describes in her story “Or Else, the Lightning God,” her upbringing is one that respects elders. Just as Margaret complains about her mother-in-law, she gets chastised by her mother and says that “the young should respect the old…or they will be punished. (Bozzini & Leenerts, 2001 p.463)” In Jean Rhys’ “The Day They Burned the Books,” she recounts a story of an abusive husband and a wife who just takes the punishment as if she deserves it. The wife, Mrs. Sawyer, sees it as her place to allow this to happen. This type of behavior is not very prevalent in the world today, but it still happens. It was far more common sixty years ago and before where women were expected to be at the call of their husbands and do anything to please them, as they were the bread winners and supporters of the family. As women collectively – and deservedly – demanded more, this type of behavior diminished in most parts of the world. Where this behavior once was or possibly still is a part of a different culture around the world, this is far different than anything found in the western world. In American culture, we treat death as being placed in the ground. As a society, we do not believe in ghosts, spirits or our ancestors coming to visit us from beyond the grave. This is, however, the belief of the African village in Achebe’s “Dead Man’s Path.” This village believed ardently that their ancestors visit them and that their path in life relies on a physical path as it connects the village shrine to their burial site. This culture and this belief was so strong to the village that they even destroyed the school that lay on the path.
Multicultural Influences Each of the authors seemed to draw on their own experiences growing up and used them as a basis for their story. Catherine Lim grew up in Malaysia, which has a large Christian and Catholic following as well as strong ties to their elders. Even though she now lives in Singapore, her upbringing clearly influenced her writing. Jean Rhys draws from her childhood growing up in the Caribbean to a Welsh father and a Creole mother. She tells of some of the racist remarks that were made toward her and her family as well as the culture clashes she grew up learning from her parents, especially when it came to burning the books. Achebe once admitted to being one of the “white men” during his time in school and lived an early life split between two worlds and cultures. It was those experiences that contributed to his works, including “Dead Man’s Path.” This story being one that begins to treasure and cherish his past growing up in Nigeria, as he has learned to treasure and cherish it as well.

Conclusion
Through these stories, anyone can educate him or herself and experience a different culture that is different than the one he or she is living in. Through this education and experience, a person would gain a further appreciation of how different people around the world live. References
Bozzini, G. R., Leenerts, C. A. (2001). Literature without borders: International literature in English for student writers. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

References: Bozzini, G. R., Leenerts, C. A. (2001). Literature without borders: International literature in English for student writers. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.