As immigration from other countries into the United States grew, conflicts of culture have been a prominent issue that have affected immigrants, resulting in cultural alienation. This sense of isolation has been established and enforced by the white Americans, dating back to the early 1900’s, due to the beginning of non-European immigrants coming to America. In the two excerpts from Bless Me, Ultima and The Buddha in the Attic the speakers are people who have experienced immense cultural isolation from other cultures where they are not accepted. In Bless Me, Ultima, the speaker talks about how he was publicly ridiculed by teachers and other children in his class, alluding to how many immigrant children have felt when their culture is not accepted …show more content…
As he first arrives, he cannot speak English as well as the other kids. The teacher “pointed at [him] but he could not understand her”, as it was not his first language (Anaya). This alienates the speaker in multiple ways, he was singled out and humiliated for his lack of skills in English by his own teacher. This separated him from the American kids immediately, as they could all understand and answer the teacher. Along with feeling like he does not belong, the other children in his class also point him out, while they “laughed and pointed…[and forced him to be] kept away from the other groups...and worked alone” (Anaya). He was already feeling ashamed and disappointed in himself for not being like the others, but was also called out and bullied into solitude. Cultural difference is another factor in the alienation of the speaker. For example, when it is time for lunch, the other children take notice of his lunch and “laughed and pointed again… and showed [him] their sandwiches which were made of bread” (Anaya). Although the difference was small, the other children in his class used it as an opportunity to mock and single out the speaker. When they show him that he is not like the others, he still could not understand why they were so unaccepting to him. This is how many American children will view others who are different as below them, due to what they have been taught from their parents and the society around
In the article Culture War? The Myth of a Polarized America, Morris Fiorina addresses the issue of the illusion of political polarization. Political polarization is the separation of political beliefs into two separate extremes. The main illustration Fiorina uses is the use the electoral map. The electoral map is used to gauge which party won an election or polling.
Amy Tan and Richard Rodriquez both grew up in Northern California, to immigrant families. Amy Tan became famous for her book, “The Joy Luck Club” that later became a movie. Richard wrote “The Hunger of Memory.” Before they became famous though, they both struggled to learn English. In “Mother Tongue.”
Intimate Colonialism is when the government tried to set up a policy that would encourage Indian Service staff members to intermarry with Native Americans. During the late 19th century, immigration was rising and the big thing in this era was assimilation. Assimilation is integrating people to be accustomed to the United States culture, behavior, value and norms. Though Native Americans have lived in America longer than anyone, the federal government thought that instead of ostracizing them for wanting to value their traditional culture, they created an assimilation policy for Native Americans. “The government’s assimilation policy sought to destroy Native nations’ cultural and political identities by replacing them with Anglo – American norms of behavior (108).”
Culture is easily influenced and is constantly shifting as it passes through various racial and ethnic interactions and exchanges. “With your liberal minds, you patronize our culture, scanning the surface like vultures, with your tourist mentality, we’re still the natives. You’re multicultural, but we’re anti-racist. We ain’t ethnic, exotic or eclectic” (Prashad, 56). This refers to when cultures are commodified and picked apart without taking both the negatives with the perceived positives.
Everyone has their own culture some different from others and some don 't really know their full culture. Some of us may not have similar things in common but we are all alike. In an Indian father 's plea, Legal alien, and Multiculturalism explained in one word. They show perfect examples on how culture influences the way people view others and the world around them. “Wind-wolf asks why other kids in school are not taught about the power, beauty and the essence of nature or have the opportunity to experience it for themselves.”
The silence that immigrants experience when assimilating into a new culture is not always a sign of social control. That silence is their confidence with the new language, and
Firoozeh writes about her life as an Iranian immigrant to America. Her family is treated with kindness by neighbors when they come to live in America and get lost on their way home from school: “…the woman and her daughter walked us all the way to our front porch and even helped my mother unlock the unfamiliar door,” (Dumas, 7). Firoozeh and her mother are not discriminated against because they are immigrants who don’t speak English, the Americans help them despite their differences. Had the neighbors not been helpful and patient, Firoozeh’s journey home would have been somewhat traumatic and daunting. While this a rather specific isolated example, it can serve as an analogy for all immigrants’ experience.
For many new immigrants coming to America, it is difficult to adjust into the new society. Many come to America without the basic knowledge of English, the new immigrants do not have the ability assimilate to American society because of the lack of possible communication between the immigrant and an native. Non-English speaking immigrants that come to America face harsh challenges when trying to assimilate to U.S. society because immigrants are often segregated into ethnic communities away from natives, Americans do not know basics of words of other well known languages, and the lack of government funding education programs. Assimilation into a new society is difficult enough, but when the society pushes any new immigrants to separate part
In the film Coming to America describing the two cultures in the film are the African and American cultures from Africa and Queens New York. The African and American cultures in the movie are different in some ways but similar in other ways by the way the characters in the movie are all family oriented with the respect they show their parents and the way the parents only want what is best for their children. Then there are subcultures in the film that go a little further with style of living. The culture in Africa is that people are to wait on the royal family for everything they do, but in America, the family cares for themselves without the help of servants. The rites of passage are a cultural norm in Africa for the Royal family by having arranged marriages.
Growing up as an Immigrant in America, you grow to learn social conformity is prevalent and plays a key role in the systematic oppression of free thinkers. Social conformity does not only dictate the way you view issues but also makes you shy away from letting your own beliefs be heard. There are many ways people conform, television and social norms being the predominant forces. By having observed these behaviors at an early age, I’ve grown to develop my own moral judgment and have met like-minded individuals who share the same outlook on the ills of society. Living in a third world country, America and other European countries are practically seen as heaven on earth or the promised land.
In the chapter “Kura” from Baby No-Eyes written by Patricia Grace it is written by the grandmother in a letter to her grandson Shane who is tell him a story about the past. The story is told by the point of view of the grandmother as a young girl who was put in charge by her grandmother to take care of her little sister or what they call “tiena”. She was in charge of bring Riripeti to school each day and to make sure that she stand in line in school. Riripeti did not know a lot of English so school was hard for her. She did not know the students were talking about in class or when the teacher would ask her question and she would not answer.
This shows that immigrants are struggling to cull cultures and new environment. Richard Rodriguez, also states “ I was talking to the Laotian kids about why they don’t like the Mexican kids ( Rodriguez ). This also relates because Ms. Tran also said, because of her race, she did not get along well with others. This shows that assimilation is also one of the most significant problems that immigrants face. Others may say that discrimination is the most significant problem.
Amy Tan is a Chinese-American author who was born on February 19, 1952, in Oakland, California. In Tan’s early life she had many struggles because her parents desired for her “to hold onto Chinese traditions and her own longings to become more Americanized” (Encyclopedia). While she wanted to become a writer when she was still young, her parents wanted her to become a neurosurgeon. When she got older and went to college she majored in English then started her career in the 1970’s. She was a technical writer and then started writing fiction stories.
Nevertheless, when immigrating to the U.S. many newcomers find themselves lost the vastness of the contemporary culture this is known as culture shock. Since most people move to the U.S. from developing countries they are not used to the freedoms that America offers. An instance of this is when the speaker of the presentation came emigrated from Israel. At first inclination he found himself enthralled by the independence of Americans. Ironically, he soon became astray when traversing through the subway system.
Ethnocentrism and its prevalence in U.S culture Ethnocentrism is judging another culture solely by the values and standards of one’s own culture. Individuals who are ethnocentric judge other groups in relation to their own ethnic group or culture. I think The United States likes to refer to themselves as the “big mixing pot” of cultures. I would agree, we do have a wide range of different cultures, but that does not mean that we do not “evaluate and judge other cultures based on how they compare to our own cultural norms.” I think us as Americans feel this way, because we are too scared to change what we have learned and known since birth.