To find an American Identity is to find what’s important to you, because identity Is something that defines and proves who or what a person is. To have an Identity means to feel known and a sense of belonging to yourself and to the people important. The Distance Between Us is a memoir wrote by Reyna Grande in 2012 about her life before and after she arrived in the United States from being in poverty while in Mexico to becoming a U.S. citizen. Reyna’s growth throughout the story tells us that in unknown places it is fitting to find a quick and certain way to survive and adapt to unfamiliar situations, while keeping family close because family will try to be supportive and encouraging. In the United States Reyna felt like an outsider and like …show more content…
This feeling of isolation was encouraged by the culture differences Reyna experienced. When Reyna arrived in the United States she spoke and perform differently from the people around her, which she felt like an outsider in this strange place that she thought she knew about. Reyna understanding and knowledge of the United States was different from what her family told her. In the text the author states, “Most of the kids had someone to hang out with. I seemed to be the only person at Raging Waters who was alone. I tried to go on the rides, but on the third one, when I went down a waterslide and landed in the pool and couldn’t touch the bottom. I freaked out. Reyna felt like she didn’t want to be alone anymore and needed someone by herself. She didn’t want to be different and separate from other and needed comfort. Reyna had sometime felt like she didn’t belong because she was in a place she didn’t know very well or understood …show more content…
Also, while many other things come along with an American Identity that could benefit you or have a negative impact on your life depended on what it used for. Like knowing or not knowing where you belong or who you belong with. Also like accepting that there will and won't be people there for you that weed you need them the most. Reyna journey was her finding out what she was and what she wanted to be, which she went through some up and down that had a huge an effect on her life to figure out. Reyna still persevered through it all even though she went through abandoned neglection, and abuse through all her caretakers. She still became a U.S. Citizens and accomplish things with her life even though she was born into immense poverty and
She explains how she didnt act like the other students, and did not speak like them, leading her to feel left out. She tries to “become” American, but she is still a little different because of her background. She can't ever fully get rid of her “immigrant origins” because they are a part of her history and life. Yolonda also describes her sisters' same conflicts with their identity as immigrants in the US, all four of them struggling to become American while also holding onto their roots. This further communicates Alvarez’s message and how immigrants often have a hard time “becoming american” and getting accustomed to the culture here.
After immigrating many assimilate into their new environments. In Julia Alvarez’s How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accent, it exemplifies the struggle of Yolanda, the third oldest Garcia sister, as she searches for a personal identity while feeling trapped between her cultural identity and her new Americanized self. Yolanda strived to fit into American culture, she was able to find a way to fit in, through the English language, writing poems. In her continued desire to fit in, Yolanda became stuck between her cultural identity and her new assimilated self. Failing to find a sense of belonging in the United States as Yolanda is unable to let go of her past.
In her essay, Whistling Vivaldi Won’t Save You, Tressie Cottom talks about Ben Staples essay, Just Walk On By, in which he acts differently in public to ease peoples perspective of him. Tressie mentions this particular essay because of a ill-advised shooting of an unarmed black man by the police. She says that Brent Staples is right to a point, like in the case of Jonathan Ferrell. Mr. Ferrell got into a terrible car accident and when he was able to get out of his car he walked over to someone’s house, who had called the police. When the police showed up they ended up shooting him ten times ultimately killing him.
This might show the complexity of Reyna's development and thoughts throughout the memoir. She needed to understand that the people she really loved weren't the same as they used to be. With all the influences from her upbringing and only relying on her siblings, this changed how she ultimately
A person's identity, or whom they think they are, can be tied to family, work, school, hobbies, race, religion, and more. None of how people construct identity has more to do with their sense of place than identity. In an excerpt from Jamaica Kincaid's novel Lucy, the narrator finds herself in a strange new place that challenges her identity. The author uses imagery, contrasting details, and tone to reveal the narrator's inner turmoil and sense of freedom. This passage uses metaphors to illustrate the narrator's situation and help the reader identify with the narrator.
Richard Rodriguez’s autobiography, Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriguez, depicts his transformation from a socioeconomically disadvantaged first generation child of Mexican-American immigrants to a successful author, academic, and intellectual. During his metamorphosis, however, Rodriguez goes through an arduous process of assimilation that grants him a mastery of the English language and an embrace of American culture at the expense of his cultural heritage. His struggle to find a balance between these two worlds is prevalent throughout his autobiography, demonstrating the complex nature of identity and the manner in which language and culture impact it. In the text, identity seems to be formed at times around perceived similarities,
After reading Okita's poem and Cisneros's story you gain a new understanding of American identity. Both passages portray the idea that family cultural background and appearance do not determine who may identify as American. Throughout both stories this idea is supported in several ways. Both authors used different techniques to portray the same common idea. In response to "Mericans", the first support of American identity I noticed is this story is based on the American titles.
As humans, we often grapple with the question of whether we should strive to become the person we desire or our truthful selves. In “Home Is Not a Country '' by Safia Elhillo, a first-generation immigrant teenager called Nima, lives in America but desires to live in her dreams of her homeland that she’s never really known. From the beginning, Nima has felt a deep sense of disconnection from identity, language, and herself, the idea of her identity building up many doubts from her. She feels torn between assimilating into American culture and her Sudanese heritage, questioning everything about the homeland, therefore she travels through the past. Through the use of symbolism and imagery, Nima gradually gains a deeper understanding of herself
On one hand, she is proud of her Mexican roots and is frustrated by the way her family and community are treated in America. She is constantly reminded of the prejudice and discrimination that Mexican-Americans face, and this fuels her desire to challenge the stereotypes and expectations that are placed on her. On the other hand, she is also excited by the opportunities that America offers and is eager to explore the world beyond her family and
In the texts, "In Response to Executive Order 9066" by Dwight Okita and "Mericans" by Sandra Cisneros, a topic of American identity and perception of identity is shared. Both texts take a brief look at the lives, characteristics, and feelings of young girls living a bicultural life. In Cisnero's story, the girl seems caught between her two different cultures, and she struggles to connect with her Mexican heritage. In Okita's poem, the girl has a clear sense of her identity and place as an American. Culture is experienced and interpreted differently by each individual and each group of people.
Her insistence that she is from the “Blackfoot side” (292) when asked which side of the border she is from proves this. The reader can identify irony in the idea that the protagonist and his mother would be able to cross the border with ease if she were to only claim her national citizenship. This reinforces the concept of pride that she is trying to teach her son because when she does not allow the border to alter her identity, she shows him the power of self-dignity. The protagonist’s idea of his own identity strengthens when he is told that his words “do not count” (292) after he states that he is both “Blackfoot and Canadian” (292). He identifies as both, yet his mother’s unshakable identity as only Blackfoot teaches him that he does not “have to be American or Canadian” (293), but can be something else entirely and independently.
In Julia Alvarez’s bildungsroman novel How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents, the concept of American assimilation is vigorously examined. The story highlights the experiences of an immigrant family, who move to the United States. Sofia, the youngest of four daughters finds it extremely challenging to balance out “fitting in” in an american setting, and meeting the expectations of her strict dominican parents. Sofia consistently finds herself struggling to not stick out of a crowd, while still upholding the virtues her parents have instilled her. The difficulties encountered by Sofia are due to her parents putting tremendous amounts of pressure onto her shoulders.
In this acclaimed short, Borders by Thomas King many themes occur through the rising action to the climax making it a truly symbolic book about identity. This story is set on the border of Alberta crossing into America where there are two remaining BlackFoot reserves on each side. The mother who is the protagonist and the son who is narrating a story of a mother visiting her daughter across the border with the border patrol as the antagonist. This story is a portrayal of an example of being categorized into different sections depending on what you call yourself. It is about refusing to integrate into society's norms or to be ignorant to think people are divided into a limited amount of groups.
Julia Alvarez’s “Something to Declare” leaves all readers feeling a sense of familiarity with His-panic Americans, particularly Dominican Americans, and their struggles. While Julia Alvarez and her siblings were fortunate enough to make it into the United States, it is not a walk in the park for even them to assimilate into American society. Thus the question becomes is the United States Alvarez’s real home or is the Dominican Republic her real home? Whatever the real answer is, the technical answer is that the United States is her home. Also, Alvarez manages to make English her own, conveying the stories she wishes to in the world’s most popular language while never really improving upon her native tongue.
The poem “To live in the Borderlands Means you” by Gloria Anzaldua, describes from the author’s personal experience how society can affect an individual’s identity. The mixture of different cultures and races can isolate a person because it affects his or her identity in culture, society and how politics affects them. To live in a society zone that creates isolation because of race, culture and other background creates not only political problems, but it also