My Mother Pieced Quilts Summary

The father of Wind-Wolf did not understand why the teacher labeled his son as a slow-learner. The father wrote a letter to the teacher to express his displeasure of this label. The father explains how Wind-Wolf has been through more of an education then his fellow peers. The father explains Wind-Wolf might not understand certain concepts because he is not familiar with the tools and methods used in the classroom. The father also expresses his concern he has of Wind-Wolf being bullied and losing some of his culture because of it. Finally, the father mentions the teacher could use resources to handle this problem properly and how to incorporate the Indian culture in the classroom.

In her essay “My Two Lives,” Jhumpa Lahiri, an Indian American, explains the balance between the identities of the two countries inside her heart, as well as her psychological struggle between her bicultural identities. She describes herself as an Indian-American because she moved with her family from India to the United States when she was very young. However, confused with her identity through her growth, she feels that she doesn’t belong to either of the two countries because of its completely different cultures. When she is at home, she deals with her parents in an Indian way, which is strange compared to the American way that she come across outside. She says that she has a distinctive identity in spite of her Indian appearance

This book depicts the national and cultural status of the immigrant mother, who is able to preserve the traditions of her Indian heritage that connect her to her homeland. Ensuring a successful future for her American-born children is coordinated with the privilege of being an American citizen. Ashima yearns for her homeland and her family that she left behind when

There can be great comfort in understanding one’s heritage especially when it involves the deep love and devotion of a strong mother. The poem combines family and love with the quilt to show the memories that she has shared threw the generations that have had the quilt. In the poem “my mother pieced quilts” by Teresa Paloma Acosta and the short story “ Everyday use” by Alice Walker, both author’s use imagery and figurative language to establish a quilt as a symbol for family, love and memories to illustrate their themes.

She discusses how Mexicans identify themselves; since there are many different ways to identify culture, they make up several different cultures (Indian, Black, and Mexican). By the end she talks about the fight that Mexicans put up to stand up for their culture and their identity.

Culture affects people’s perspectives of the world and others through their upbringing and how, when, and where they were raised. In the essay, “An Indian Father’s Plea,” Robert Lake writes about how his Indian child’s traditional way of learning is different from those in western education systems and that he's not a “slow” learner but learns in a different way from his peers. In the personal essay, “Two Ways to Belong in America,” Bharati Mukherjee describes her differing views of living in America with her sister, despite both being raised in India. In the poem, “My Mother Pieced Quilts,” by Teresa Palomo Acosta, Teresa how this quilt that her mother made for her involves all these pieces of her past that are stitched together. In the

    Many people see the world and others differently. Just like the two sisters in “Everyday Use”, the two sisters in “Two Ways to Belong in America”, and the father in the letter/short essay “An Indian Father's Plea”. All these people have different past and things they’re going through. The two sisters in “Two Ways To Belong In America” both have their different stories from their past, one likes America the other does not because they betrayed her. Next, the father from “An Indian Father’s Plea” sees America differently because the school was labeled his kid a “slow learner” which made him upset. In addition, the two sisters from “ Everyday Use” argue about a quilt in which they both view differently

Immigrants’ refusal to appreciate a fused culture promotes division. Mukherjee questions the idea of immigrants losing their culture for American ideals: “Parents express rage or despair at their U.S.-born children's forgetting of, or indifference to, some aspects of Indian culture,” to that Mukherjee asks, “Is it so terrible that our children are discovering or are inventing homelands for themselves?” (Mukherjee, 1997, para. 28). Many immigrants experience anger when their children no longer hold the ideals of their home country. This tension produced within the household hinders the unity within a resident country’s culture and encourages division within families. Using herself as an example, Mukherjee provides another instance of anger directed at her from her own subculture: “They direct their rage at me because, by becoming a U.S.

She explains her thesis by stating “Others who write stories of migration often talk of arrival at a new place as a loss of communal memory and the erosion of an original culture. I want to talk of arrival as a gain,” (360). The key points of the text include Mukherjee describing her transition between Calcutta and the United States, and what it means to be and American and how culture influences that aspect. The information in the text is significant; the people of America are a part of a melting pot, sometimes it is hard for them to find the distinction between American culture and their own. The information in Mukherjee’s story is clear and specific, unbiased, and is relevant to the purpose of the story. I believe Mukherjee has achieved her purpose of informing her audience about cultural differences; she presents certain strengths and weaknesses within the text.

Culture influences people’s perspectives of the world and others through their childhood and how, when, and where they were raised. In the essay, “An Indian Father’s Plea,” Robert Lake writes about how his Indian child’s traditional way of learning is different from those in western education systems and that he's not a “slow” learner but learns in a unique way from his peers. In the personal essay, “Two Ways to Belong in America,” Bharati Mukherjee describes her differing views of living in America with her sister, despite both being raised in India. In the poem, “My Mother Pieced Quilts,” by Teresa Palomo Acosta, Teresa how this quilt that her mother made for her incorporates all these pieces of her past that are stitched together. In the short story, “Everyday Use,” a mother describes the effects of living in a low income community and a certain style of parenting that shaped the way her two daughters view their past and their heritage and how both views are completely different. In all these pieces of writing, they all illustrate the effects of beliefs, heritage, and symbolism within a culture and how it molds the way people interpret others and the world.

Traditions, beliefs, and family structure vary from culture to culture or even person to person. In the short story “Two ways to Belong in America” is about two sisters from India and their individual perspectives on culture, beliefs and traditions in India and America.

Marth E. Keech created her quilt “Baltimore, Maryland, ‘‘Album” quilt” in c. 1861 using wool, silk, and cotton. Just as the title suggests, the painting subject is a quilt. The painting is currently being exhibited at the Dallas Museum of Art in Dallas, Texas. It is unusually large at 85 7/8 by 85 ½ by 1 inches. The piece can only be seen from a front view perspective because it is displayed on the wall.

For example, in a personal essay “Two Ways to Belong in America” by Bharati Mukherjee states, “I was prepared for(and even welcomed) the emotional strain that came with marrying outside my ethnic community,”(pg.83). In this period of the story Bharati, the author, married an American, Canadian man, but is in the knowledge of her breaking the chain of her heritage where her father chooses the groom. The marriage that Bharati has with her non Indian husband, shows that she now sees America as her new home, but there comes to a point where one's culture is left behind and views about others are different. Additionally, in the same story Bharati confirms, “We would endure our two years in America, secure our degrees, then return to India to marry the grooms of my father’s choosing,”(Mukherjee pg.83). Bharati is explaining her and her sister’s, Mira, plan of their stay in America.

Culture gives a person a change of perspective toward people and the world, in “Two Ways to Belong in America” by Bharati Mukherjee, It talks about her and her sister’s views of the current immigrant issues. Her sister Mira is influenced by her Indian culture so she views America different from her sister and still follows Indian traditions. Therefore Mira dresses casual Indian apparel such as a Sari and married an Indian man chosen by her father. When Mira gets older and retires she’s going to return to India, furthermore she does not want to lose her citizenship and ties to India just to stay in America for a little bit. Her plan was to come to America to work on her study of child psychology and after that return to India.

Indian-Americans ranging from ages 16-24 that are first generation Americans undergo the stages of minority identity development. They are commonly placed in environments which force them to question their own identity. As they communicate with peers, they question themselves and their personal beliefs and customs. Occasionally, they view the majority culture as better than their own and may develop negative feelings of their Indian household upbringing. One may feel the need to internalize the values of the dominant culture of the community and change to fit the status quo. This is especially difficult for Indian-Americans because so many things that they are taught within the home are not normal for the majority culture therefore presenting a major division and causing an uproar in the home. Parents tend to view “normal” majority culture attributes as