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More handpicked essays just for you.
Culture in the 1950s and 60s
Popular culture in the 1960s
Popular culture in the 1960s
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“In The American Society” is a story written by Gish Jen describing the Chang Family. The Chang family is a small Chinese family with a father (Ralph), mother and two daughters (Callie and Mona), and the father owns a pancake house. Ralph and his wife opened up a pancake house to invest money for their daughter’s college. Gish describes how this philanthropic Chinese father doesn’t like or want to be part of American society, but wants his daughters and encourages them to be part of American Society, but in his own version. In the story the father loves his daughters and wants them to be a part of his own “society”, which is America, but backwards. Mr.Chang wants and thinks he will be fine with his own rules, laws, and his own society; in other words, pretty much being in his own pool; meanwhile, his family wants to be a part and become accepted by American society. Towards the end of the story the two daughters had this plan about getting a membership in the local country club and how they think that it will help them be successful in American society. Mrs. Chang doesn’t think it’s a bad idea, but realize Ralph would have to wear a jacket, and his not the type of guy who thinks he needs to dress nice. The family arrived to the American tradition party and get treated like servant’s and get disrespected because they are Chinese, and goes through a series of events: the family is ask to take dishes, get looked …show more content…
differently, and there is an argument with Mr.Chang and an American. Mr. Chang gets pester by this arrogant American throughout the whole party. The American act like a child and he is in the wrong and doesn’t think his obliged to admit it, and doesn’t show any respect for Mr. Chang. Mr. Chang throws his jacket in the pool and storms out with rage; realizing later on he forgot his keys in his jacket, which he through in the deep end of the pool, and doesn’t want to go back to get the keys after the heated argument. Gish want the reader to realize it not easy to accept and adjust to cultural differences when you came from another country.
The American society (such as rich white people) judge everyone by race, color and culture, and there’s something wrong with that. Everyone around the world has their own way of living, dressing, raising their children and style of living. We shouldn’t judge them and disrespect them because they have a different life style then us, but respect them and acknowledge them and become more multicultural awareness in American
society.
Throughout Asian American literature there is a struggle between Asian women and their Asian American daughters. This is the case in The Joy Luck Club, written by Amy Tan and also in the short story "Waiting for Mr. Kim," written by Carol Roh-Spaulding. These two stories are very different, however they are similar in that they portray Asian women trying to get their American daughters to respect their Asian heritage. There are certain behaviors that Asian women are expected to have, and the mothers feel that their daughters should use these behaviors.
Having to live in a culturally diverse country such as the U.S. would influence many interpretations and adaptations to lifestyles from all over the world. Due to this, it has become customary to develop a social stereotype just being in a certain part of the world. But, everyone does their own things a little differently than the next, speak a little differently, eat different foods, and live their life a different way - but it works out. Two great example of this is in In A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O’Connor, and Why I Live at the P.O. by Eudora Welty. These two short stories seek to expose myths about family relationships. Most people would assume that many Southern families are close knit and that there is a healthy relationship between every member. Welty and O’Connor challenged those stereotypes with their two short stories. It goes to show that although family relationships aren’t always perfect and these two examples show how these families fail to recognize the importance of each other.
...American often assumes a person ethnicity by their appearance rather than their ancestries. The race relations in the U.S are nowhere near the idea of a blurred color line.
A mother drives her three kids to soccer practice in a Ford minivan while her husband stays at the office, rushing to finish a report. Meanwhile, a young woman prays her son makes his way home from the local grocery without getting held up at knife point by the local gang. Nearby, an immigrant finishes another 14-hour shift at the auto parts factory, trying to provide for his wife and child, struggling to make way in a new land. Later, a city girl hails a cab to meet her girlfriends at their favorite club to celebrate her new promotion over cosmopolitans. These people – the suburban soccer mom, the tired immigrant, the worried mother from the hood, and the successful city girl – each represent the different realities or fantasies that exist in the American society. They are all living or working towards what they believe to be the coveted American dream. Some of these people are similar to the Chinese immigrant, Ralph, in Gish Jen’s novel Typical American. However, all are confused as to what the American dream really is and whether or not the dream is real.
Amy Tan’s “Fish Cheeks” describes Tan’s upbringing as a Chinese-American caught in between two cultures. In “Fish Cheeks” Tan’s crush Robert and his family were invited to Tan’s house for Christmas, Amy was embarrassed of Robert’s impression of her Chinese relatives, cuisine, and culture (Tan 110). Tan’s situation is not uncommon as millions of first generation Americans encounter similar situations while living within two cultures. Albeit the extreme embarrassment Tan endured throughout the encounter, she contends that her mother taught her a valuable lesson in appreciating her Chinese culture (111). Ultimately, Tan's purpose was to implore first generation Americans to embrace both of their cultures, in spite of its unique traditions (Tan
Rereading America: Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing written by; Gary Colombo, Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle, Eighth Edition, published April, 2007 by Bedford/St. Martin’s, is a textbook about writing and critical thinking. In the first chapter of Rereading America: Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing, “Thinking Critically, Challenging Cultural Myths”, the Authors begin by setting a relatable scene of what it’s like for a college student. How a new found independence can be overwhelming, especially with regards to critical thinking, showing that what we have learned, needs to be re-evaluated and that an open mind in essential. "What Is Critical Thinking" In this section of the chapter the editors explain what it means to be a critical thinker. They explain that critical thinking is not just studying dates and facts, but rather taking those facts and examining them. The editors then proceed by explaining how having an open mind, and taking others' perspectives into account when formulating our own opinions on what the author is trying to say to us is important. A critical thinker takes all aspects into account and reflects on personal experience as well. The editors also point out that different cultural experiences bring different opinions. They suggest that we need to become active learners, continuously questioning the meaning behind everything, testing not only the theories of others but also our own experiences and analyzing the text rather than going for the obvious. They show that thinking outside the box is the epitome of critical thinking. Basically, we need to step outside our comfort zones and what we have always been taught. The editors also suggest that we need to re-evaluate our per...
As the four women entered America, which is far from their motherland China, they experience a change of culture, the American culture, which was dominant than the Chinese. The Chinese mothers are faced with a difficult task of how to raise their American-born daughters with an understanding of their heritage. The daughters clearly show a gap in culture between the Chinese culture and American culture. The mothers wanted their daughter to follow the Chinese traditions, but the daughters followed the American traditions and even some of them got married to American men. The mothers tried to tell their daughters the story about the Chinese ancestors but the daughter could not follow them and the daughters thought their mothers were backwards and did not know what they are saying. As much as the mothers tried to show love to their daughters, the daughters usually responded negatively. They often saw their mothers’ attempts to guidance as a failure to understand the American culture. Being Chinese and living in America, both the mothers and the daughters struggle with many issues like identity, language, translation, and others. The mothers try to reconcile their Chinese pasts with their American presents; the daughters try to find a balance between independence and loyalty to their heritage
In the story, "Fish Cheeks" it talks about how Amy Tan's Chinese family invites an American boy's family over for dinner. Amy Tan wants to impress him and thinks that he wont like the food her mother made even though it is her favorite food. She can tell that he doesn't like the food and she is embarased. So, Amy wants to fit in.
In the short story, "Two Kinds" by Amy Tan, a Chinese mother and daughter are at odds with each other. The mother pushes her daughter to become a prodigy, while the daughter (like most children with immigrant parents) seeks to find herself in a world that demands her Americanization. This is the theme of the story, conflicting values. In a society that values individuality, the daughter sought to be an individual, while her mother demanded she do what was suggested. This is a conflict within itself. The daughter must deal with an internal and external conflict. Internally, she struggles to find herself. Externally, she struggles with the burden of failing to meet her mother’s expectations. Being a first-generation Asian American, I have faced the same issues that the daughter has been through in the story.
On the contrary she is seen by the granddaughters as surprisingly “cool” (Meyer, 74) and accepting of their quirks. While the grandmother was “Confucian born and trained, and a Buddhist and all” (Meyer, 74), she seems to have dropped these strict ideals and somewhat accepted her granddaughters American culture. For example, at the beginning of the story, one of the granddaughters, Lea, was wearing a rather provocative outfit for a fancy party she was attending later, and while the grandmother told her that she looked like a “high class whore”, she then admits it was merely a teasing compliment, and on top of that, instructs her granddaughter to “do the cha-cha for [her]” since she “didn’t get to do much when [she] was young, with [her] clubbed foot and the wars and everything else” (Meyer, 73). Her Confucian ideals put utmost importance on how once carries themselves(1), and dressing like this would definitely create conflict. This is the first concrete example of the grandmother not only accepting her granddaughter’s different lifestyle, but also showing some envy, or at least understanding why it would be enjoyable. While a traditional Confucian upbringing would not allow anything close to this, the grandmother overrides this and starts to see the perks of enjoying
Puritans also known as Pilgrims are nonconformists who refused to accept authority. The Puritans were almost entirely city people. They were not farmers and left Great Britain because they were not pleased with the way they were treated. Even those who had lived in the country had not been farmers. So when they arrived in America as the Plymouth Colony group and suddenly had to become farmers, it was extremely difficult for them. The Puritans had many contributions such as predestine to go to heaven because they lived at a small place in Massachusetts. The teachings of Calvin was followed and believed, like the Separatists, that man are born in sin and they all weary the guilt of Adam and Eve. Therefore, the concepts of life that Puritans want to accomplish set forth the character of America today.
The “American Dream” was originally centered around the pursuit of happiness, but during this time was contaminated by greed and corruption. Americans were blinded by materialistic wealth, prosperity and fame. America, once the land of equal opportunity, now became engrossed in becoming successful by any means necessary. In turn, moral values and family ties took a backseat and were no longer the center of society. The poor were exploited by the rich for their own personal gain. The author describes this era and characters objectively, while allowing us to interpret the characters’ motivation on our own. By doing so, we get a better sense of the difference between their social classes and their way of
When I first started playing the episode, Ira Glass, host and producer of This American Life, immediately grabbed my attention with the line, “Sometimes things are not what they seem. Big news, I know. Here’s an interesting example of it.” Ira, with a voice clear and engaging, went on to describe the account of Damien Cave, a reporter for The New York Times, on an airplane. Damien was looking through an in-flight magazine that was using ads for tourists to attract people to various lands that were centers of drug and gang-related violence. The prologue had started with an interview with Damien and captured vivid descriptions of his analysis of how ads are tools of those in power to coerce people into thinking and consuming. “Propaganda is
In order to understand this immense country that we call America, we need to study the culture. More specifically, we need to study the form of society in America. Is this society changing, or does it remain fixed throughout time? There are many aspects of our society, some of which are: traditions, values, and religion. The many realms of society contribute to a conglomerate culture, which cannot be described simply.
The question, “ What makes a good society” is never the same for every individual that comes across trying to answer this sociological question. What may work in one society, may not work in another. But I am guessing you already new that. Depending on the type of culture, location and era; a good society can be anything. If you were to have been raised in the western side of the world, your good society is one of a democracy. Where the people have power and we have checks and balances in our government. But what if you were raised in the east, were people live in a socialist-communistic society. Where the government has the power and people are treated equally. Who is to say which type of society is “good”?