American Identity In Dwight Okita And Sandra Cisneros

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People tend to get the misconception that American identity is based on how someone looks or whether that person fits the normality of being "white". To bring light to this stigma; these two writers, Dwight Okita and Sandra Cisneros, were influenced by the American culture to the point where they both expressed their views on the topic of American identity. In Cisneros response, she wrote a story that talks about the narrator's experience as a Mexican descent but has the identity of an American. The first sign of this identity is recognized when the relatives use the term "Uncle" and "Auntie". Also, the fact that the Hispanic family speaks english and obtained other "American" characteristics. Within the story, the narrator is faced with remarks by the older generation of Hispanics who have "...strong Mexican roots" …show more content…

In his letter, "In Response to Executive Order 9066", conveys an idea of a little girl that is overwhelmed by waves of emotion by the American culture. When going in depth within the poem, we can see that this little girl is deeply affected by her best friend Denise because Denise's skin color is white. The only reason she is affected by her best friend is because they both have entirely different cultures that reside with their families. Also, to add onto that, the little girl sees herself as an American because in the letter, she states activities she has done that a "stereotypical" American would do with their best friends. To elaborate, she and Denise would crush over boys and gossip about them. The little girl also expresses that she "feels funny..." when doing something that is resided to her heritage because it's not an attribute to being "American". This proclaims that this girl acts and feels like she's American even though she is not. Meaning, the overall theme of this poem is that, American identity has more to do with how you experience culture than with where your family came

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