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Types of American families
American family culture research essay
Cultural differences between Americans
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We defend that the culture consistently informs the way one views the world than others. We defend it because our family, and past experience on how we see things differently. We don't inform the way one views the world and others. It may take time to adjust to some things but we will see things the same. Everybody has a kind of seeing the world. We can get influenced on how we see culture. Our family can also impact us one how we visualize on the world. There are multiple things on why we believe that one views the world than others.
Bharati Mukherjee was born with a wealthy family and always wanted to write professionally, in the story Two Ways to Belong in America it’s a personal essay it talks about her and her sister Mira who has differences in culture Bharati embraces her culture with America but Mira has her heart set on India with these differences they may also have views on politics as well, Mira as a legal immigrant she is passionately with her Indian citizenship but things become difficult when the rules start to change when one day her and Bharati was talking she was outraged she “I feel manipulated and discarded”(Mukherjee 71) because of they was treating people like her, she described all the good things she had done but she can’t understand why they changed the rules, Bharati has also felt the same way she also says that the pain of sudden turning and racist outbursts of the green paper is elicited despite the differences and some of the same mind, opinions and other they will always have that same sister relationship as always. Premila is a indian girl who goes to a school called (Anglo-Indian day school) in Zorinabad. the two sisters Father is a Officer of the civil service,her mother had refused to send Premila to school in the British-run establishment’s. But it’s talks about the school changing the student’s names and changing the school around.the school is completely whitewashed like a traditional british schools. She always goes by what her mother tells her and what she grew up by like quotes ‘’You can bury a dog’s tail for seven years and it still remains insular.’’ (Hindi 4)Book’s were put away the stories of the Lord Krishna as a little boy were left in mid air, and we were sent to the Anglo-Indian school. A student had glossy black braids and wore a cotton dress but she still wore her Indian Jewelry gold chain around neck,thin gold bracelet,tiny ruby,studs in her ears.and had black (kohl 5) around her eyes.premila didn’t think of school much,but just pleased to be home. She became friends with the braids(Nalini-Nancy) premila marched in sister Cynthia class and said get up we’re going home.’’ And the sisters left. The sisters name Premila-Pamela)Santha-Cynthia) Well in “Everyday Use “ , They have a good relationship.
They both think they deserve the blanket because Maggie wants the quilt to use everyday as a blanket and Dee wants the blanket to have up. Maggie has a bigger culture than Dee because Maggie will use it everyday and she will have it when her and her man get married. Wangero said, laughing that “Maggie’s brain is like an elephant’s” , well they mean she has a memory as and elephant. Dee said “Maggie can't appreciate these quilts.” Their mom thinks maggie deserves it. My mom would have said Maggie deserves it too because my mom would want to to use it everyday. Their culture and my culture sees the same. It’s the same and a lot of ways. Maggies mom made a promised and she kept it , exactly like my family would have. (Maggie 64) by now was standing in the door. I could almost hear the sound her feet made as they scraped over each other. As I see it is that we all see culture in the same way but just by different
things.
The narrator has two daughters, Dee and Maggie. Dee was this cute girl who was super intelligent and sophisticated. She often saw herself as being above her mother and sister and would often make them feel stupid and bad about themselves. "She used to read to us without pity, forcing words, lies, other folks' habits, whole lives upon us two, sitting trapped and ignorant underneath her voice". She shows that Dee enjoyed making her mother and younger sister feel dumb about themselves because it made her feel superior. Her whole life Dee detested her family and where she came from and couldn’t wait to get away. But, still her mother worked her booty off to provide her with high education and a good life. Dee goes away to college and when she returns she is a completely different person, suddenly interested in her family; photographing them upon arrival. With her guest, new "Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo", invades her mothers house taking everything in like it’s a cute display for her. Finally, when Wangero (Dee) demands that her mother give her some quilts, her mum can not take anymore. She tells Dee that Maggie, not her, will be receiving the quilts and she snaps. "I did something I never had done before: hugged Maggie to me, then dragged her on into the room, snatched the quilts out of Miss Wangero's hands, and dumped them into Maggie's lap. Maggie just sat
... attempts to change the way Mama and Maggie perceive tradition by using the quilts as a wall display. Mama refuses to allow it, Dee was offered the quilts when she was in college and didn’t want them at that time. Mama gives the quilts to Maggie as her wedding gift to be used every day as they were intended, knowing how much Maggie appreciates them. I agree with Mama and Maggie for keeping family memories and objects in daily use. It is important to maintain your family history in your everyday life to preserve those special memories.
Many people show their appreciation for things in different ways. Dee appreciates the quilt for being her heritage. She can't express enough how she feels about it. She can't even imagine that the quilt was hand made with every stitch stroked in and out. As for Maggie, Dee believes she can't appreciate the quilt in the same way she can. "Maggie can't appreciate these quilts." Instead, she thinks that Maggie will use the quilt for about 5 or so years and it will turn into a rag. "She'd probably be backward enough to put them to everyday use." "Maggie would put them on the bed and in five years they'd be in rags. Less than that!" Dee doesn't feel Maggie deserves the quilt.
The quilts were pieced together by Mama, Grandma Dee, and Big Dee symbolizing a long line of relatives. The quilts made from scraps of dresses worn by Grandma Dee, Grandpa Jarrell’s Paisley shirts, and Great Grandpa Ezra’s Civil War uniform represented the family heritage and values, and had been promised to Mama to Maggie when she married. However, Dee does not understand the love put into the making of the quilts, neither does she understand the significance of the quilts as part of her family heritage. It is evident she does not understand the significance of the quilt, having been offered one when went away to college declaring them “as old-fashioned” and “out of style”. She does not care about the value of the quilts to her family, rather she sees it as a work of art, valuable as an African heritage but not as a family heirloom. She wants the quilts because they are handmade, not stitched with around the borders. She tells Mama, “Maggie can’t appreciate these quilts!... She’d probably be backward enough to put them to everyday use… But, they’re priceless!.. Maggie would put them on her the bed and in five years they’d be in rags. Less than that!” (317). The quilt signifies the family pride and history, which is important to Mama. She makes the decision to give the quilt to Maggie who will appreciate it more than Dee, to whom she says, “God knows I been saving ‘em for long enough with
Mama is hoping that Maggie will use the quilt as a practical everyday item. She sees the quilts for their functional use that they were made to use in everyday life. Meanwhile, Dee finds this absurd. She thinks they are too valuable and priceless to be using as everyday necessities. Instead she will hang them. These two ideas of how to use the quilts are in complete contrast of one another. Mama finds them practical, Dee finds them fashiona...
In America, it is a common misconception that all foreigners are similar; it is believed that they all have similar dreams and each of them end up chasing after the same jobs. However, this is not the case. Not only do immigrants from different countries hold different dreams, but those with a shared background even have varying hopes and dreams for the future. This is evidenced in Bharati Mukherjee’s essay, “Two Ways to Belong in America.” She utilizes several rhetorical strategies in order to show that immigrants have the ability to be assimilated into the American culture, but that they should not be deported if they choose not to conform to said culture.
The way that Dee wanted to preserve the quilts her ancestors crafted instead of their traditional everyday use was similar to when the main character in Araby originally thought that love was not something that needs to be won over or bought. Dee rejected what was known to be true by trying to preserve her family's useful quilts like artifacts. She explained that her sister did not understand by saying "’Maggie can't appreciate these quilts! She'd probably be backward enough to put them to everyday use.’" The quilts showed the hard working people of her family's past, yet she attempted to reject that in a twisted modernist way. The way that Dee tried to move away from tradition was similar to how the main character in Araby realized the wrongness of his perception of love’s tradition. He started out by putting his crush on a pedestal, and believing that the way to someone's heart was through gifts and money. It was almost like he was bribing her to an event called the Bazaar with him when he said “`If I go, I will bring you something.'” Then he had an epiphany. Love must be reciprocal, not something that can be won.This traditional way of trying to win one’s love instead of it being a reciprocal concept was then discovered to be false to him. The way of questioning what is true led to enlightenment in Araby, whereas in Everyday Use it led to regression. Both
exactly what's going on and begins to resent Wangero even more. The quilts themselves are symbols in the story, interpreted in different ways, by the narrator, the author, the reader, and Wangero. Again, Walker uses the narrator's simplicity to her advantage. While Wangero sees the quilts as a symbol of her heritage, the narrator. sees them only literally, as blankets to be used, not saved for. cultural posterity.
How does the difference between the way Dee (Wangero) and Maggie would use the quilts represent their two different ways of defining and treating their family’s heritage? Does the narrative give approval to Dee’s way or Maggie ’s?
Mama confuses the true meaning of heritage because she sees Dee as someone deserving of carrying the family’s heritage and traditions. While mama waits for Dee, Mama remembers how Dee never appreciated her family’s heritage and her legacy. While Maggie and the old house burned, mama sees to Dee observing this tragedy. “And Dee. I see her standing off under the sweet gum tree she used to dig gum out of; a look of concentration on her face as she watched the last dingy gray board of the house fall in toward the red-hot brick chimney.” (Walker 25). Once Dee arrives to Mama’s house, Mama can see that Dee, who changed her name from Dee to Wangero, lost the root of her identity. Her identity had transformed into something foreign and either Mama or Maggie were a part of it. After dinner, Dee saw the quilts, a familial symbolism, and she obviously wanted it, she wanted everything, “Dee’s interest in the butterchurn and the quilts is raised because they are “priceless” objects” (everyday use). Dee wanted it but didn’t deserve or earn the privilege to keep the quilt and the powerful symbolic meaning it held to her family. Now mama understands that Maggie is the one who really treasures her heritage; Maggie knows the values of those quilts. For that reason, Mama gives the quilts to Maggie as a wedding present, realizing the true embodiment and meaning of
"Mama," Wangro said sweet as a bird. "Can I have these old quilts?" Mama replied, "Why don 't you take one or two of the others?” "These old things was just done by me and Big Dee from some tops your grandma pieced before she died." Dee still would ask for it again. Mama remembers the promise that she had made to Maggie. "The truth is," I said, "I promised to give them quilts to Maggie, for when she marrys John Thomas." This proves that Mama is always fair and keeps her promises. Mama understands what family heritage is important so she would be give the quilts to
the quilts.” which is saying that Maggie does not stay in touch with her history or cultural even
In her story “Everyday Use,” Alice Walker talks about what heritage really meant. The conflict of the story came from the quilts. They were what symbolized the creativity of their family the quilts were a part of their family. The story itself is about two different worlds clashing. Mama and the women before her worked hard and did not receive and education. Mama sends Dee, the eldest daughter to school and not her younger daughter Maggie. They embody the two worlds that are clashing. Dee with the new, modern, and literate woman while Maggie is more tied to her roots, family and community. Mama was excited for her daughter to visit while Maggie was nervous. Maggie was ashamed of her burn scars and was envious of her sister’s lifestyle. Maggie and Dee are opposites in many ways. Dee is thinner, has better hair, and a better figure with a good sense of style while Maggie was awkward and burned. Even though her mother is the one who paid for her schooling with her hard work. Dee never ac...
Dee wants the quilt more than anything, but the quilt isn’t about being a decoration to be hung up like a museum exhibit, it is made to be used daily. Quilting is part of their family heritage. Dee doesn’t realize that the quilt she wants isn’t simply a family heirloom, it means much more than that. “In the African American community, women have been involved with quilting since they were brought to America as slaves” (Martin, 2014, p. 1). They symbol of the quilt in the story is a sisterhood, empowerment, and nature, something that Dee has failed to realize (Martin, 2104). Dee is looking for her family’s heritage and it has been there. The family heirlooms are the true tokens of their origin. Mama finally realizes that she and Maggie have embraced their true heritage through quilting and tells Dee that she cannot have them because Maggie will take it when she gets married. The situational irony in the story at the end, Dee proclaims that Mama and Maggie have no knowledge of their heritage, but it is Dee who does not understand her
Bharati Mukherjee’s story, “Two Ways to Belong in America”, is about two sisters from India who later came to America in search of different ambitions. Growing up they were very similar in their looks and their beliefs, but they have contrasting views on immigration and citizenship. Both girls had been living in the United States for 35 years and only one sister had her citizenship. Bharati decided not to follow Indian traditional values and she married outside of her culture. She had no desire to continue worshipping her culture from her childhood, so she became a United States citizen. Her ideal life goal was to stay in America and transform her life. Mira, on the other hand, married an Indian student and they both earned labor certifications that was crucial for a green card. She wanted to move back to India after retirement because that is where her heart belonged. The author’s tone fluctuates throughout the story. At the beginning of the story her tone is pitiful but then it becomes sympathizing and understanding. She makes it known that she highly disagrees with her sister’s viewpoints but she is still considerate and explains her sister’s thought process. While comparing the two perspectives, the author uses many