Appearance Versus Reality Of September 's Identity

June May lived her life for thirty-six years without really exploring her family history and heritage. She never took and interest in who she was or where she came from until her mother passed away later in her life. Her mother was very passionate about embracing their Chinese culture, but June May could not comprehend why it was so important, sometimes even embarrassed by it. June May spent her life surrounded by people who did not share her culture and customs. Because of this, she never questioned why her culture was insignificant most of her life. It is ultimately uniting with her family, connected through blood and history, provokes June May’s attitude towards her heritage. At age thirty-six, June May tells the reader, “My mother is dead and I am on a train, carrying with me her

The concepts of change and identity are problematic for the characters within Leslie Marmon Silko’s Ceremony. Tayo’s hybridity represents all that the Laguna people fear. The coming of change and meshing of cultures has brought an impending threat of ruin to Native American traditions. Although they reject him for his mixed heritage, Tayo’s journey is not his own but a continuation of the storytelling tradition that embodies Native American culture. Through tradition he learns to use his white and Mexican heritage to identify himself without abandoning his Native American practices.

“…. because a girl of my age ought to be able to brush her own hair and it was a travesty that my mother hadn’t taught me” (Evans 39). It is often the case that most people develop awareness of their identity when they become involved in diverse social circles, neighborhoods, or schools. In “Snakes”, Danielle Evans carefully chooses the characterization of her characters to give the reader an insight into the racial division that has been pervasive in America. Having never been aware of her biracial identity, Tara confronts the reality of her identity when she leaves her parent’s house to spend the summer with her grandmother. Evans portrays Lydia, Tara’s grandmother, as brutal, bigoted white grandmother to draw parallel between her and white

     My biggest problem in getting used to this culture was the people. I was astounded when I first entered 4th grade. It was so different from what I was used to. I couldn¡¯t decide which system was better. In Korea, the school system is very rigid. From first grade, kids have to sit in chairs that they cannot move out of. There is no feedback from the students whatsoever. It¡¯s always the teacher teaching and students answering hardly ever. Also teachers would hit the students if they did something they weren¡¯t suppose to and even for bad grades. It was nothing like that here. Our class set on the carpeted floor to just talk and for the teacher to read us stories. The teacher always asked for our feedback. The teacher would not even yell at her students no matter what the situation was. Another strange this was, when a student found another way of doing a math problem, the teacher complimented him whereas in Korea, if a student did a math problem another way, the teacher would yell at him and tell him to do it the conventional ways. Both systems have

This shines light upon her Native American roots and how it can be an inspiration for her Century Quilt, each square representing her family’s racial diversity and mixed roots. It is quite difficult to learn of all the harsh animosity they were enduring, such as Meema and her yellow sisters whose “grandfather’s white family nodding at them when they met” (24-27). The hostility is clear as the white relatives only register their presence; no “hello” or warm embrace as if they didn’t acknowledge them as true family. However, with descriptive imagery, the speaker’s sense of pride for having the best of both worlds is still present as she understands Meema’s past experiences and embraces her family’s complexity wholeheartedly; animosity and all.

Recognizing her daughter’s ignorance, Cofer’s mother warns her by stating: “‘You are forgetting who you are, Niña. I have seen you staring down at that boy’s house. You are heading for humiliation and pain’” (972). Her awareness of racial prejudice leads her to warn Cofer of visiting Eugene’s house because she does not want this pain to inflict on her daughter. It is necessary for Cofer to be able to acknowledge the truth about of her culture, race, and class because people will discriminate others based off their identity, hence why her mother warns Cofer of visiting Eugene’s house. Not only does her mother warns her of the humiliation and pain that she will face, but she did not stop Cofer from leaving the house. Cofer needs to understand the circumstances that comes from her identity because it is essential to her coming of age. Instead, Cofer is walking into a reality, the true pain and humiliation, blinded after ignoring her mother’s warning.

In a superficial society, one may be labeled by how they appear, but what lies inside them could be completely different. This is demonstrated in “Girl Who Loved her Horses,” by Drew Hayden Taylor. A young girl, Danielle, surprises the other children with a spectacular piece of art. Danielle, although seemingly shy and invisible, possesses a determination for drawing her horse, and inside, is full of strength and energy. Danielle is shy and introverted to the point that the other children hardly realize she exists.

Moving to Australia was one of the most difficult and hard decision to make in my entire life. It was like choosing who to save from fire mum or dad? Growing up in a Korean culture in a foreign culture made me miss my country even more. It was like the waves constantly hitting the rocks until it overflowed. When I first came, I focused on watching Australian or American shows to learn and improve my English skills which resulted in listening to numerous pop songs as well. However, there was a phase where it all changed, I have completely changed my favour of American shows to Korean tv shows and music. This made me realise that I haven't forgotten about Korea yet miss it miserably, which even made me to think about where I was going to live in future 'Korea or Australia?' Because I couldn't go to Korea every year, I

The Canadian North, a rugged landscape often glamorized as a land of adventure and promise, hides a dark history. From the early day’s of the gold rush, when the land was first colonised, to the attempted cultural assimilation of the indigenous peoples through residential schools, the people native to the area are still in a struggle of identity and culture, and the resulting effects such as high suicide rates, poverty and drug abuse,. It is through this lens that I will examine the work of Ted Harrison, a prolific English artist who spent the majority of his life living in the Yukon and painting the contemporary society that he saw around him. There is no doubt that his work was highly intertwined with the indigenous culture, and as such his identity brings up questions regarding the appropriation of native american culture. To that end, this essay will look at the context of his biography, the subject matter of his work, and compare it to contemporary Native American artists in order to clarify the nature of his art.

The transformations in people are caused by a variety of circumstances. Within the variety of these circumstances, stress is the most influential one. In Eugenia Collier’s short story Marigolds, it tells the narrative of a young African-American girl living in rural Maryland. Due to her frustration with life, she destroys Miss Lottie’s marigolds. In the story Marigolds, the author uses the narrator’s transformation and characterization to convey that identity is only found in times of crisis.

In her short story “Everyday Use,” Alice Walker summarizes the representation of the beauty, the conflicts and struggles within African-American culture. “Everyday Use” focuses mainly between members of the Johnson family, consisting of a mother and her two daughters. One of the daughters Maggie, who was injured in a house fire and has living a shy life clinging to her mother for security. Her older sister is Dee, who grew up with a grace and natural beauty. “Dee is lighter than Maggie, with nicer hair and a fuller figure… (716) She also grew up determined to have a better life than her mother and sister. This takes place when Dee (the only family member to receive a formal education) returns to visit Dee’s mother and younger sister Maggie. Again this portrays a slight issue between two different views of the African-American culture. Alice uses symbolism to empathize the difference between these interpretations, showing that culture and heritage are parts of daily life. The title of the story, Everyday Use, symbolizes the living heritage of the Johnson family, a heritage that is still in “everyday use”.

Leslie Marmon Silko’s novel, Ceremony, reveals how the crossing of cultures was feared, ridiculed, and shunned in various Native American tribes. The fear of change is a common and overwhelming fear everyone faces at some point in their life. The fear of the unknown, the fear of letting go, and the fear of forgetting all play a part in why people struggle with change. In Ceremony the crossing of cultures creates “half-breeds,” usually bringing disgrace to their family’s name. In Jodi Lundgren’s discourse, “Being a Half-breed”, is about how a girl who struggles with understanding what cultural group she fits into since she is a “half-breed.” Elizabeth Evasdaughter’s essay, “Leslie Marmon Silko’s “Ceremony”: Healing Ethnic Hatred by

The examination of black women's need to keep their powerful heritage and identity is important to the protagonist in “Everyday Use.” Walker uses the mother’s voice to show the trials and tribulations of a small African American family located in the South. She speaks on multiple levels, voicing the necessity and strength of being true to one's roots and past; that heritage is not just something to talk about, but to live and enjoy in order for someone to fully understand themselves. Unlike Kincaid, Walker gives her black female character’s an identity of their own, each in their own right, and observes the internal conflicts of each mother and daughters struggle with identity. The mother represents a simple content way of life where identity and heritage are valued for both its usefulness, as well as its personal significance. In order to illustrate how the mother viewed identity versus her daughters, Walker quickly acknowledges that the mother has inherited many customs and traditions from her ancestors. She describes herself as a large big-boned woman with rough man-working hands (485). She also describes here various abilities including, killing and cleaning a hog as mercilessly as a man. Being able to work hard and not care about being such a lady, is how the mother defines identity at this point. On the other hand, the two daughters each have opposing views on the value and worth of the different items

Rayona is in a way lost and can’t seem to find her place in the world. She thinks about herself in the way that she thinks others think of her. She is fifteen years old at the time and does not have a lot of sense of her self. Rayona is half African American and Native American, which makes her think she’s different from others and makes her have a low self esteem. She struggles with her identity and physical appearance. Another thing that makes it difficult for her to find her true self is that she lacks information about her heritage. Her dream is to have a “normal” life, meaning to have a functional happy family and to be able to fit in. Rayona feels like a real family is the opposite of what she has. She goes through a series of events and learns a little about her self in each of them. Rayona is

In the poem “Grandma Ling” by Amy Ling she expresses that nomader one can or cannot do family will always love you. One important way Amy Ling establishes the theme it through personification. Ling could not “dig the hole” because she was weak and has failed, but she still knows her family will love her. In the second stanza Ling is using personification to express her theme of family will always love one nomader what you can or cannot do.