Julia Alvarez “arrived in the United States at a time in history that was not very welcoming to people who were different.” Alvarez was stereotyped and hurt because of her ethnic background. Her tone emphasized the depressing nature of the situation and the disappointment of losing everything and the treatment receive in the USA. Her tone of depression and disappointment emphasizes the pain she experienced because of the judgment in America. As her essay comes to a close her tone shifts to hopeful and relaxed. Alvarez is accepted into America “through the wide doors of its literature.” Her introduction to literature allowed her to begin to feel accepted into society. Since Alvarez is accepted into society because of her assimilation through literature she becomes hopeful for her new prospect and relaxed to finally be understood. Overall, the tone shift from depressed and disappointed to hopeful and relaxed is significant because it emphasizes the central idea of mistreatment occurring within a new society and leads to acceptance with assimilation.…
In the short story, "Two Ways to Belong in America", Bharati tells that there are two ways to belong in America. The first one is belonging legally. To belong legally you either have a green card, or you are a citizen. The other way is to fit in with society, and to feel as if you belong. Bharati is an American citizen, and married outside of her culture. She was prepared for this and was ready for the emotional strain. Mira had only a green card, and married an Indian student in 1962. Mira has become nationally recognized for her contributions in the fields of pre-school education and parent teacher relationships. After 36 years as a legal immigrant in this country, she clings passionately to her Indian citizenship and hopes to go home to India when she retires. This shows how both of the sisters have different views on their lifestyles.…
A person's culture is not decided by your whole family’s culture but it is decided by you and your openness. In the personal essay “Two Ways to Belong in America” by Bharati Mukherjee two sisters go separate way and follow two totally different cultures. In the story mira wanted to view the world through her family’s culture and view the world that way this. This is important because your culture makes a huge affect on how you see the world and people in the world. Also in the story, Bharati wants to go and follow a different culture than her family. This is important because she has taken a different road than the rest of her family has.…
The text emphasizes the hardships that immigrants often have to endure when going into a new country in the search of a better life or the American dream as many call it. The text potentially symbolizes America’s people as well as its culture because America has and is still today very diverse due to the wide variety of races, religions, and cultures that immigrants introduce when they come here. America can be seen as a melting pot because the different nationalities, cultures, and ethnicities of immigrants eventually “melt” together to create a common culture although several immigrants choose to retain their culture no matter what. The majority if not all immigrants leave behind everything they know and love to try and get a better life in a new country where there are more opportunities. America has always been a popular choice for immigrants as it has a plentiful of resources to offer such as employment, freedom of religion, and better education programs. Immigrants often choose to leave their home country because they have a family to sustain and their home country is simply not adequate for their necessities. In My Ántonia Willa Cather really focuses on the struggles that immigrants face upon arriving to their new country. People often think it is easy for immigrants to simply leave and go into other countries but Willa proves that it is quite the opposite. Immigrants do not immediately get a better life upon arriving to a new country which is depressing but it is the truth. Immigrants still have to face new problems that come with the change of countries. The problems that immigrants face in the new countries can sometimes be worse than the problems they faced at home which can be really discouraging. Willa Cather portrays the hardships that many immigrants struggle through the story of the Shimerdas, “tony was barefooted, and she shivered in her cotton dress and was…
Though limited, there are endless outcomes that come with having little information. Such as gathering ideas to become more understanding with the simple statements. Being in a class with just 15 students, managed to make me experience such a worldly feeling. While sitting, clueless and intrigued, listening to multiple of my classmates limited stories about migrating to America; did I later, began to complement the troubles and frustrations of those who migrated only a few years ago. Unfortunately, with only about an hour to spare, was it difficult to understand the specific situations of my classmates. Many of the people who migrate to different countries, encounter many issues when trying to adapt. Even with limited information, the difficultly…
In the book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian the theme i chose for this essay is Individual versus society based on what Junior had to go through for leaving the reservation. I believe this is the most important theme in story because Junior had to go deal with the hate from mostly everyone in the reservation, the racist view everyone has on indians, and is life at Readen.…
-She felt ashamed of her “culture”, and also by her mom, I think she wanted to be American just to prove others something she wasn’t. She didn’t understand that her mom just wanted her to be happy.…
Both sisters, who were born in India, moved to the United States to receive a college education. While in America, Mira kept her Indian culture by marrying an Indian man and staying a legal immigrant to the US to stay true to her culture. Bharati decided to become an American citizen and even marry a Canadian-American man. The decision to choose which culture to adapt to impacted the girls lives in two different ways. Bharati had to deal with what her family would think because she was marrying a white man, but she was able to transform her identity and experience another culture. “America spoke to me—I married it—I embraced the demotion from expatriate aristocrat to immigrant nobody, surrendering those thousands of years of ‘pure culture,’ the saris, the delightfully accented English. She retained them all” (Mukherjee, 71). Bharati let everything she grew up learning, be pushed to the side so she could adapt and try to be part of the American culture and she was fine with that. However, her sister, Mira, symbolized the people who stayed “rooted in one job, one city, one house, one ancestral culture, one cuisine, for the entirety of their productive years” (Mukherjee, 71), meaning that she stayed true to her Indian roots and did not experience and adapt to the American culture, even though she was living in the United States. Even though they both experienced the hardships of being immigrants, the two sister’s views on life are much different because one had adopted another country's culture, while the other one had stayed true to her original…
In Bharati Mukherjee’s personal essay, “Two Ways to Belong in America,” she talks about the ups and downs of the American culture from her and her sister, Mira's, experiences. Since Bharati is more adaptive to the "American way of life," she really doesn't mind the…
On a crisp night in Boston, all seemed well as Diane enjoyed a nice meal with her family, and the next day, her mom, dad, and brother were stolen by US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, and she was stranded. The book In the Country We Love: My Family Divided, tells us the life story of Diane Guerrero, a Colombian girl who was born in the United States, unlike her parents and brother who were both born in Colombia. The author tells a heartbreaking story of a girl’s resilience in frightening situations, like isolation and poverty. Diane’s home life was turned upside down, but despite the countless number of nightmarish situations, Diane strived and pursued her dreams with no aid…
Culture is past down from generation to generation it greatly defines who the person and is and how the see and view things differently from other people in different cultures Every culture sees things differently, they all have a different perspective or a point of view that makes things abnormal to them.Culture tremendously impacts/influences the way they see others and the world.…
The way someone is raised will be the way they view others and the different pieces of society.There are some key factors that change your view on society and that is Culture!…
How does culture make us who we are? Culture constantly instructs the way one views others in the world. People have many different ways of thinking and doing things, therefore everyone will not see eye to eye when it comes to explaining how culture constantly instructs the way one views others in the world.…
The American Dream has driven many people for a long time. The dream has been presented in Hollywood movies showing a family or person striving to succeed in America. When the dream is mentioned it is done so as a powerful symbol inspiring a whole nation of immigrants. However, the “Dream” is misleading because it implies there is only one rather than many. Moreover, there are many perceptions of the American Dream and its fulfillment depends on culture, age and citizenship. This misperception of the American Dream has led to the downfall of many immigrants who came in search or pursuit of the American dream. For example the lack of opportunities in the United States has prevented individuals to a proper education and well paying job. Someway along the road, they succumbed to the many distractions and or unclear subliminal messages, which can be changed through the provision of education. Regardless, for many it has been an unfulfilled dream or as many whom chose to return to their native lands or simply give up, it is for them the “misperception of the American dream” and how it leads to economic poverty.…
In the short story “Silver Pavements, Golden Roofs”, the author Chitra Divakaruni highlights and enhances the theme of how Jayanti’s high class and wealthy background sets her up for high expectations of living the American Dream but later on disappoint her. Jayanti’s mindset initially presents an optimistic future and more idealistic view of America, but upon her arrival this idealistic view slowly begins to deteriorate by her uncle’s view of America. This idea raises the question of how does Jayanti’s uncle effect her view of America in terms of what she thought America would be and how it actually is? By analyzing Jayanti’s impressions of and interactions with her uncle, I will prove how Jayanti’s high expectations of America are later on let down by her uncle’s substandard way of living life. Jayanti has a more hopeful and promising attitude towards America, while her uncle is more cynical and hopeless towards the life he currently lives due to the different experiences they have while being in America. This causes confusion towards Jayanti’s high expectations. Jayanti is so young and inexperienced with exciting dreams but she does not fully understand her uncle’s dismal actions because he has been in America for longer and he has been trying to build himself yet he still is not living the American Dream.…