Analysis Of Pico Iyer's Article ' Why We Travel '

One can be shaped positively or negatively through events that him or her has been through. While people expand their horizons to other cultural

What is the obsession with people’s need of identification? People need to understand that we all are different, not everybody can fit into a group. In her article, “Being an Other,” Melissa Algranati gives a personal narrative of her life and her parent 's life and how they faced discrimination and her struggles about being identified as an “other” even though she was an American born jewish and Puerto Rican. Michael Omi’s article “In Living Color: Race and American Culture” reinforces Algranati’s article since in his article he discusses about people ideas about race the stereotypes that they face. They have the same thought that Americans is obsessed with labelling people, they both discuss people’s assumptions of others based on how

In Thomas C. Foster’s guide, How to Read Literature Like a Professor Revised Edition, Foster presents readers with the knowledge that a trip in literature has the potential to become something much deeper, a quest for self-knowledge. Foster lists five very important aspects that every quest will have which are, a quester, a place to go, a stated reason to go there, challenges and trials en route, and a real reason to go there. The distinction between stated reason to go there and real reason to go there are that typically the quester goes along their journey and discovers an intimate detail about themselves that relates nothing to the stated reason. It gives the quester a better sense

Today more than ever we are being increasingly conditioned, influenced and bombarded by a multitude of messages and experiences about who to be and how to be. Current forms of social communication processes, particularly mainstream media, advertising, television and film, along with family, friends, teachers, political agendas, religion, society’s rules, our perceptions, perspectives, interpretations and assumptions, and those of others, all play a part in creating our identity. 
We seek and create our identity through these external influences, we all wear these masks and cloaks, so that we fit in with the world around us. The degree to which we choose our identity, versus having it imposed on us via external influence, is arguably a matter of consciousness and awareness. When we are unaware of the power of external influence we are akin to pieces of clay, being unconsciously molded to fit into the accepted or preferred norms of someone else’s reality. When we are aware we can take responsibility for the creation of our identity. We can make empowered choices that best serve our selves, rather than serve people and systems outside of ourselves. In Unpolished Gem, society plays a daunting role on Alice as she tries to change her way of thinking from a Chinese-Cambodian way of thinking to a very different Australian way of thinking. As Alice starts her new

Possessing different physical attributes and cultural customs to the majority can make it difficult to feel like one belongs to a certain group. Groups are formed on opinion and common interests, not feeling like a person shares any of these things with another can make a person feel like an outsider especially a migrant.

However, many can argue that someone’s identity is not always shaped because of their surrounding environment, which is believable to an extent. For example, a person could go to church for their whole childhood, but as they grown up they could interpret religion in a whole different way or not be religious in any way . If it was had just been based off their culture, then they would still be religious forever. Many people around the world may be trapped within their own culture like in the

The world has become modern and global. Identification of the self is a complicated, though, an important problem of every individual. Self- identity is based on inner values and reflections on culture, politics and social interactions. The main point is that people label themselves to any particular group in the society (Worchel etc., 1998). According to Ferguson: “Identity commonly refers to which it makes, or is thought to make

As Omi and Winant describe the notion of racial consciousness and its interplay with race and society as a whole is an entirely modern phenomenon. Racial consciousness is the ability to understand that one’s own race is different than someone else’s. Racial consciousness can be defined by physical characteristics, history, culture, and traditions. By understanding where one’s race comes from they are fully able to identify with that race. While one’s race is defined by their own personal history, culture, and lifestyle other individuals’ viewpoints also play a role in racial identity. As seen in “Racial Formations”, when explorers encountered people who not only looked different but where culturally different as well, these natives were automatically categorized as other. Both parties involved had not been conscious of other races except their own and henceforth differences among people have been a societal method of

Many, if not most, of the people in today's generation are constantly judged by others and even themselves based on what their identity comprises of. The concept of racial injustice and inequality among ethnic minorities constantly fills the media. Women's rights issues seem to arise rapidly whenever a single female is mistreated in the slightest way. The debate on homosexuality is also an enormous topic in our social lives today, with millions of supporters for it, but also millions against it. This internal segregation within our own human population is nothing new, since it has been continuing ever since verbal and written communication with each other has existed. All these components, and many more, are a huge part of what identifies a

A person’s identity is influenced by how you view yourself and how society views you. In Jonathan Lykes poem This is a Siren, and the short story The Bear that Wasn’t by Frank Tashlin, both authors shine a light on how great of an impact society can have on an individual’s identity. Society has already established different stereotypes for each individual which causes everyone to perceive others in a certain way without truly getting to know them. This can cause an individual to change the way they perceive themselves in order to be accepted by society and to fit in it’s expectations of that individual. “This thing called perception, that gives people the opportunity for acceptation, or on the flip side, to be a circle of rejection…” (Lykes 2010) Here, Lykes talks about how we perceive each other can either make us accept one another or reject one another. However, in the end, it is up to the individual to decided if they are going

A person’s identity may be determined by him/her family background and this is proven evident in the essay “Private and Public Language” by Rodriguez. We live in a world in which identities are determined prematurely without hesitation. This means that even without getting to know an individuals personality the first thing that is done instead is determining identities based on your physical state, family, or family background. As a culture we live in a diverse environment in which the majority of people come from a different place, and as a result many are identified differently depending on where he/she and their family are from. Today’s culture is more diverse than ever, and more and more people are migrating to different countries and settling so I feel like it

While reading the article, “The Complexity of Identity: “Who Am I?” the text provoked a lot of thought provoking questions and dialogue. The text itself stated how the “looking glass self” is not a flat one – dimensional reflection, but multidimensional.” (page 9) I thought it was really vital to keep this in mind, while looking at my own identity and others. I think it is important to understand this when stereotypes come into a situation; because not everyone has a story and a reason for being and behaving in a way.

In today’s world, the acts of recognition inspire many aspects of our lives, such as feeling the fulfillment of hard work, being stopped in a crowded street by a long forgotten friend, or being praised by a well-respected person. The ways we are recognized and the ways we recognize others, determine the person we are and the quality of our life. While the identity of a person relies on recognition, it also is based on misrecognition. Misrecognition is a daily form of identification that can cause oppression and the imprisonment of one’s self-being. The most common form of misrecognition that goes on today can be defined as something everybody in a society talks about in one way, while it's clear from their actions that everybody at the same time understands that it works differently. This definition holds to be true of racial stereotypes, social class, and the health of ones life. In Charles Taylor's book Multiculturalism, he states, “Each of our voices has something unique to say. Not only should I not mold my life to the demands of external conformity; I can't even find the model by which to live outside myself. I can only find it within.” In other words, never underestimate the power of others to influence your choices. Be willing to value your decisions and desires over others. Taylor’s ultimate goal is equal recognition for all.

- a macro sociological analysis of ‘who you are’ and ‘where you are’ in society

In this sense, personal cultural diversity can be seen through the influences of personal experiences that have been acquired and accumulated by the individual through his or her lifetime. Another factor to consider is the individual’s religious background or influences, as this would determine the values and practice of morality of the individual. This would also define one’s behavior and personality in comparison to other individuals. In addition, the religious influence of an individual, along with his or her personal experiences determines his or her judgments and prejudices regarding a certain issue. Another important factor is one’s social-economic class background, which refers to one’s income levels and lifestyle backgrounds. One’s level of income and lifestyle entitles one to develop different views and perceptions regarding different issues or topics.