Heritage In Barbara Kingsolver's The Bean Trees

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The term ‘heritage’ refers to a person's ethnic or cultural background, and also to a cultural aspect or tradition that passes down through generations. Heritage provides self awareness and clarity of one’s identity. The impact of heritage can be positive and negative, and is evident in many aspects of one’s life. Heritage can influence how one person perceives another. In addition, heritage impacts one’s ability to feel socially accepted. Further, heritage can play a role in determining how one makes decisions, and how one feels about themselves. Different aspects are of one’s identity are shaped by one’s heritage. A person’s heritage can lead to discrimination by others, but can also provide a sense of community. Estevan and Esperanza are …show more content…

Lou Ann, a woman who lives in Tucson, Arizona, invites Esperanza and Estevan to her house, along with Edna Poppy and Ms. Virgie Parsons. As Lou Ann and Estevan talk about Estevan’s job, Ms. Parsons reveals her negative view on immigrants, which is a direct attack against Estevan, “Well, it’s the truth. They ought to stay put in their own dirt, not come here taking up jobs.”(Kingsolver, ch. 7) Immigration is part of Estevan’s heritage that makes him subject to discrimination. Ms. Parsons believes that immigrants should not come to the U.S and take jobs away from Americans. Lou Ann and Estevan are talking about Estevan’s job, so Ms. Parsons comment is directly relevant to him. Although one’s heritage can negatively affect someone, it can also provide a safe haven for those without a backup plan. Taylor Greer, a strong willed Kentuckian, tells her mom that she is going to leave for Pittman County, in The Bean Trees, by Barbara Kingsolver. After she finalizes her plan …show more content…

MeiMei is a young girl growing up in a Chinese-American household, in The Rules of the Game, by Amy Tan. As MeiMei and her mom are talking, she asks her mom a vague question about what Chinese people do, and her mom replies with an answer that is correlated with the Chinese heritage,“Chinese people do many things,” she said simply. “Chinese people do business, do medicine, do painting. Not lazy like American people.” (Tan 2) MeiMei is influenced by this statement because she thinks in order to keep true to her heritage, choosing one of these occupations is a good idea. MeiMei is pressured to fulfill her Chinese heritage which narrows her ability to create her own life, inspired by her own interests. In addition to influencing the activities one strides for, heritage can impact one’s self image if one is not able to live up to the expectations of his/her family. Jing-mei Woo, a young girl being pushed to the limits by her mother, grows up in a Chinese American household, in “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan. In Jing-mei Woo’s household, her mom’s main goal is to make her a genius. Due to the Chinese heritage, Jing-mei Woo’s mother stops at nothing to train her into a prodigy. One night, Jing-mei Woo is forced to recite bible verses, but she fails after the first line and reflects on her mental state during the experience,

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