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I am a 15 year old Indian girl, born and raised in Texas, and I have experienced the effect of a single story in my community and life. When I leave the country, the foreigners view me differently because I am from The United States. When I leave Texas, people think I act differently because I am from Texas. Lastly, in my community people think I am different because I am Indian. A single story can change a society, a person’s thoughts, and even go as far as to changing a person. I live in Texas, and I enjoy it very much. I drive a car to school and the grocery store is one minute away from my house. Although, stories and movies depict life in Texas much differently. In almost every story that incorporates Texas in the setting, they
Texas and Texans. 1. 1. New York, New York, Columbus, Ohio, Chicago, Illinois, Peoria, Illinois, Woodland Hills, California: National Geographic, Mc Graw Hill, 2003. 232-233. Print.
Encountering struggles in life defines one’s character and speaks volumes about their strength, ambition, and flexibility. Through struggles, sacrifice, and tragedy, Junior in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie, adapts to survive difficult situations and faces his problems head-on. As he makes life changing decisions, adapts to an unfamiliar culture, and finds himself amongst misery and heartbreak, Junior demonstrates resilience to overcome adversity and struggles.
In Thomas King's short story "Borders," a Blackfoot mother struggles with maintaining her cultural heritage under the pressure of two dominating nations. Storytelling is important, both for the mother and for the dominant White society. Stories are used to maintain and pass on cultural information and customs from one generation to another. Furthermore, stories can be used both positively and negatively. They can trap individuals into certain ways of thinking, but they can also act as catalysts that drive social change within society.
cultures, this ethnic relation is motioned in both Crash and "From Rez Life: An Indian 's Journey
Texas is unlike any other culture in the United States. Inside the state of Texas, many different forms of dialect, ways of life, and even land forms can be found. Texas in unique because it is both a culture and a co-culture. Both platforms are very important to overall life in Texas. Texas residents are also very ethnocentric. Texas as a whole is considered a culture because, most residents share certain traits and beliefs. For example, Texas is set apart from other states because of the strong pride that comes with being a resident, their unique dialect, and the love for football. As a co-culture, Texas is represented by differencing land forms
My first experience with Texas was around 1983 when I visited the state. I was traveling quite extensively at that time and most of Texas was included in those travels. I had previously been in several other states in our nation but none seemed to compare to the great State of Texas. Things were just different in Texas. The people were different, the culture was different and the image of Texas, portrayed by the people, past and present is equal to no others.
Texas is one of the seven states that have no state income tax. This means the state does not impose an additional state income taxes on someone’s earnings, but there is still a federal income tax. While many claim this is beneficial to all of Texas citizens and promotes population growth others find it disadvantaging. Their is many disadvantages and advantages to not having a state income tax.
As Indians living in white culture, many problems and conflicts arise. Most Indians tend to suffer microaggressions, racism and most of all, danger to their culture. Their culture gets torn from them, and slowly, as if it was dream, many Indians become absorbed into white society, all the while trying to retain their Indian lifestyle. In Indian Father’s Plea by Robert Lake and Superman and Me by Sherman Alexie, the idea that a dominant culture can pose many threats to a minority culture is shown by Wind-Wolf and Alexie.
Stepping out of my first plane ride, I experience an epiphany of new culture, which seems to me as a whole new world. Buzzing around my ears are conversations in an unfamiliar language that intrigues me. It then struck me that after twenty hours of a seemingly perpetual plane ride that I finally arrived in The United States of America, a country full of new opportunities. It was this moment that I realized how diverse and big this world is. This is the story of my new life in America.
Some people struggle with understanding who they are every day. They constantly look for ways to fit in. Curiosity can make him or her search for their place in society. In the narrative “You don’t look Indian” by Greg Sarris, we follow him in his journey to finding out his true identity.
Watch this Ted Talk, The Danger of a Single Story: https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story?language=en (Links to an external site.)
In conclusion, this book gave me a whole new view on life and how we can interact better with different people. The book emphasized that culture is key to understanding people. Sometimes it is hard to connect with others because they are indicated as different but in due time we can adjust. Every culture has their own traditions when it comes to what they eat, what to wear, dating, various ceremonies, holidays and more. Reading this book helped me become more accepting of who I am and where I come from.
Rhetorical Strategies: As stated in Helen Hadley Porter’s article, analysis of cause and/or effect is “an very effective method of idea development and organization which is necessary in almost all rhetorical situations.” There are many signs to conclude that cause and effect thinking is existent when words like because, therefore, and so are applied to create an argument (Porter). This strategy is provided in context to display Stella’s teaching style and its effect on children’s education. “We often think of authority as a response to disobedience: a child acts up, so a teacher cracks down. Stella’s classroom, however, suggests something quite different: disobedience can also be a response to authority. If the teacher doesn’t do her job properly,
The purpose of the speech provided by Chimamanda Adichie is to portray the various impacts a single story can have on both an individual and a society. This is because of the usage of stereotypes provided by the media which creates an overall image, that everyone believes to be true. This is prominent when she says “A single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete.” Having a single story also confines the world to generalized outlooks on cultures, religions and nationalities. Due to this, individuals must seek for diversity and different perspectives, in which everyone should be able to see the world as it is, not just the aspect that the media portrays. Through
Her message on the different reasons why immigrants come to new countries and cultures is highly perceived in her story. Her use of rhetorical devices helps success her in her story. The usage of ethos, storytelling, word choice and structure played a major role in aiding her beliefs and illustrating them to her audience. Ethos helped her compare her and her sister’s beliefs on their culture and lifestyle in India and America. Storytelling made it possible for readers to connect with her thoughts and stay entertained throughout the paper. Her word choice and structure also helped the outline of the story and made her beliefs sound more