Melting Pot In Siddharta's Siddhartha

Culture is the Backbone of a society, when something/someone tries to alter it or go against it everyone will notice. In this issue pointed out by Ruth Macklin, we look at the problems that can arise when an individual’s culture and autonomy clash. Every year there at least 30 million immigrants from all over the world that move to the United states of America, making America one of the most culturally diverse country in the world. Keeping this in mind, we will focus on Ruth Macklin’s issue of Multiculturalism. Multiculturalism is the co-existence of diverse cultures, where culture includes racial, religious, or cultural groups and is manifested in customary behaviors, cultural assumptions and values, patterns of thinking, and communicative styles. Critics argue that we associate culture with a society, community and or family, but rarely with a single individual, thus placing it above the individual person. In this paper we are going to look at four different scenarios on from Ruth Macklin’s article.

Culture has a significant role to play on one’s life and defines the character of a person, so being Indian-American, my world is split between two cultures, forcing me to play a dual role. For instance, I spend half-day at school living as an American, and at home experience a true Indian lifestyle. As an Indian in America, I face the world with self-identification issues, are open to a great selection of opportunities, and have an impact on society from the moment I was born.

Does culture shape how we view the world and people? Well culture involves where people are from, how they are raised, and what they eat. Based on what culture is and text such as “By Any Other Name”, “Ethnic Hash”, and “Two Kinds”, it is shown that a person’s culture determines the impact on how a person views others and the world.

Education can play the strongest role in combating cultural diversity. The United States is a melting pot of cultures from around the world. “The concept of a “melting-pot”

The United States is an immense country, with many residents and citizens descending from immigrants who have influenced many customs, traditions, behaviors and ways of life. Unlike many old world nations, the United States does not have a homogenous population or a traditional homeland. However, American culture can be interpreted as being largely based in Western Europe with influences from the Native Indians, Africans, Asians, and elsewhere.

Individuals coming in the U.S. have experienced a graduate deculturalization process as the country's majority assimilated them. Even with the fact that many communities struggle in order to preserve their cultural values, it is extremely difficult for them to do so in environments where they are being bombarded with cultural values belonging to other groups. While the U.S. has recently appeared to have adopted a more positive attitude with regard to other cultures, the matter is still problematic. The fact that many cultures have been gradually assimilated by the majority practically means that many traditions have been abandoned in order for people to develop interest in other concepts.

Every person in the world belongs to a culture. Many times people categorize a person’s culture based on his or her ethnical orientation. Often these cultures clash and can end in violence, but the United States has often been called the “melting pot” of cultures and ethnic diversity. Although there is a high range of diversity, often time’s cultures tend to segregate themselves from others due to different values, societal rules, and beliefs. The novels The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie both show two very different cultures that are present in the United States. The individualistic values present in The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger and the collectivistic ideals present in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie show the difference in cultures and how each character challenges how their culture believes they should act as young adults.

Culture is the way a person acts, reacts, and thinks; it is the part of a person that never stays the same-- it is malleable. The real-life example of culture would be a fire, the more you add to it the bigger it grows. This idea of the fire can be analyzed in Richard Rodriguez’s essay, “Blaxicans and other Reinvented Americans,” in which the author writes about America combining cultures through the natural process of assimilation. It is also touched upon in Anand Giridharadas “A Tale of Two Americas” that cultures can influence people. In “Blaxicans and Other Reinvented Americans” and “A Tale of Two Americas”, both Richard Rodriguez and Anand Giridharadas show that immigrants have helped add to the American culture by having a diverse community which allows the influence of different cultures.

One’s culture affects their viewpoint

Sometimes I question if culture changes who you are. I try to pull up memories of the decisions I make, are they affected by my culture? Here is the response I came up with: Culture sporadically informs how an individual sees the world because, even being from completely different places and raised in contrasting households, people could still have similar views based on what they think of others and not how you are constructed with your culture, however, sometimes affects your perspective in certain occasions in circumstances where you wouldn’t face a community the same if you weren’t from the culture you were built in. This idea is supported by the personal essay by Bharati Mukherjee, Two Ways to Belong in America, the essay by Robert Lake, An Indians Father Plea, and also personal experience.

The diversity of America is known as a melting pot formed by people across the world that immigrated for their own new beginning. Through this merge, cultures exchanged and an influx of diversity developed, but Ernest Caraventes, the author of From Melting Pot to Witch’s Cauldron, asks, “Whose culture is it

Culture can shape my view of the world. Moreover, by understanding my cultural identity and values; this helps me in communicating with others of differing

Wendell Pierce once said, “Culture is the intersection of people and life itself. It’s how we deal with life, love, death, birth, disappointment… All of that is expressed in culture.” This quote by Pierce defines what culture can be defined as, even though there is variety of ways to really understand what culture really is. United States is one of the largest countries in the world whom can be defined as a melting pot in which a variety of different people come together as one. However, even though the people whom live in United States try to adjust to the American lifestyle many still don’t leave their own identity back. United States of America is one of the places where freedom of religion is given to its people to conform to the lifestyle

It is popularly believed that America is the biggest and most famous melting pot in the world. American history began with waves of immigrants bringing their own traditions, and culture to a new country. America is not the only country that is known as a melting pot, other countries like Russia are also practicing the melting pot; however, America is the only place that has such a diverse population and manages to make it work. Social media around the world, especially public relations of the American government has been working hard for years to make a uniform state that works equally for everybody, without taking in to consideration who they are or where they came from. However, since the beginning of that theory, we have seen a lot of prejudice between social, religious, and national aspects around the world. Let’s us consider whether or not the melting pot truly works in both countries or if it is just a myth?

Culture is an important aspect of life. It influences each individual’s life, allowing them to become the person they are. Each person contributes a small part of their culture into society, creating a broader culture. Because I live in an urban environment where many cultures have come together, I am aware of how it influences me daily. When I was younger culture was not something I thought about, however, as I got older I realized that it is an important part of my life.