Response Essay 'An Indian Father's Plea'

Thesis: one’s personal culture and sense of tradition will always be a strong part of the self, regardless of external factors which can have a profound influence on one’s life.

The father believed the teacher though his son was a slow-learner because Wind-Wolf is shy and quiet and it takes time to adjust to a new environment and culture. Wind-Wolf’s experiences are different then that of his Western society peers and the Western school culture is unfamiliar. The children growing up in Western culture are prepared to excel in Western school culture because they are taught lessons even before they start attending school. For example, a child understands that there are 12 months in a year. Wind-Wolf was taught that there were 13 due to his cultural beliefs. It would be hard and

Dee does not truly value the heritage, and her interest in the quilts seem to reflect a cultural trend. This cultural trend becomes evident when the mother says, “I had offered Dee a quilt when she went away to college. Then she had told me they were old-fashioned, out of style”(Walker 96). We learned early in the story that Dee acquired a style at a young age, and she allowed the world around her to alter and manipulate that style.

Sherman Alexie, in “Indian Education” tells his experiences in school on the reservation. Some of his teachers did not treat him very good and did not try to understand him. In his ninth grade year he collapsed. A teacher assumed that he had been drinking just because he was Native American. The teacher said, “What’s that boy been drinking? I know all about these Indian kids. They start drinking real young.” Sherman Alexie didn’t listen to the negatives in school. He persevered and became valedictorian of his school.

Do you think that your culture impacts your decisions more than your personal opinion does? Or maybe that your culture has nothing to do with your viewpoint? There is a lot of controversy on this topic. A person 's culture majorly affects how one views the world, however personal opinion, experiences also play a role. Personal experiences help to shape people into who they are today.

During Dee?s visit with her family, she asks for the two quilts, and her mother refuses. The mother had offered them to Dee before she went to college and she did not want them. Back then, Dee had called the quilts "old-fashioned, out of style" (Walker 1154). This shows that Dee was not interested in the quilts until they were considered fashionable, trendy, and "in style." This also shows that Dee is a "stylish" person who is trying

Here the tone shifted from prideful to authoritative. Dee demanded to own the two quilts. Mama said the quilts had been made by her ancestors and she “hung up on them on the quilt frames on the front porch and made them (762).” The quilt frames symbolize the object which helps organize and keep the family's generations alive, and the front porch symbolizes the connection of the family with the world. Mama knew the quilts were what kept the generations together, regardless of what the people around thought or did.The quilts needed to be used in order to keep the family traditions alive. Soon after, the protagonist came up with an excuse and said the “lavender [pieces], [came] from old clothes” which had been “handed down (762).” The lavender symbolizes love and devotion. The old clothes symbolize the legacy of the family's heritage. Although Dee only wanted to the quilts, Mama felt her past family's love and devotion through the quilts. Dee wanted the quilts because to preserve them, not because of an emotional connection to them. In addition, the young woman continued to offend her mother to the point where Mama told her the quilts were for Maggie, the youngest sister, and Dee exclaimed how her sister could never “appreciate the quilts.” She continued and said “She'd probably be backward enough to put them to everyday use (762).” Everyday use represents the “everyday use” of customs and true purpose of the quilts. Although Dee thinks her sister will destroy the blankets through sex and daily use, Mama wanted her to understand how everything she wanted had a special purpose in their

Mama had been so excited for Dee’s visit because she hadn’t seen Dee in years, “You’ve no doubt seen those TV shows where the child who has “made it” is confronted, as a surprise, by her own mother and father, tottering in weakly from backstage,” Mama had dreamed of this day to come because she knew she had done something good for her child, something to be proud of. But upon Dee’s arrival both Mama and Maggie had noticed her change as if she was better then them and understood more of African culture because she had an education, “ I couldn’t bear it any longer, being named after the people who oppress me.” Dee had converted not only her name but her clothes and jewelry to make a statement of what “real” heritage is. This quilts led to a controversy between the meanings of their heritage. Ironically for Dee, Mama had offered her the quilts a long time ago but was too interested in appearance rather than the legacy left behind, “ I had offered Dee a quilt when she went away for college. Then she had told they were old- fashioned, out of style.” Then when she comes back, she wants to hang them as décor and doesn’t want Maggie to have them because she’ll ruin them, ““Maggie can’t appreciate these quilts!” she said. “ She’d probably be backward enough to put them to everyday use.”

Culture is one of the most relevant elements that can define not only a society but also a country’s cumulative beliefs and system. Often noted as the origins of a country, culture is definitive in the sense that it harbors all the elements that can provide justification on the traditions and norms set by the society for its members. More often than not, the society members follow norms in order to create a harmonious community, and the beliefs and the traditions serve as the poles or grounding rules for each member to follow. Culture is very dynamic in the way that it can change over a variety of foreign influences but what is permanent about it is that original elements about it often lingers with the influences, therefore making it multi-faceted and broad. More importantly, culture serves as an individual and unique trait each society has, and therefore sets it apart from other countries and other societies.

All things considered, we believe that ones culture may or may not inform the way he or she views others and the world around them. Some people do let their culture inform the way he or she views others and the world around them as shown in the story "An Indian Fathers Plea" by Robert Lake. Though many people do not let their culture inform the way he or she views others and the world around them as shown in the story "Everyday Use" by Alice Walker with Dee straying from how she was raised. Yet those are just a few people who do or don't let their culture inform them about the world or others. Everyone is different and people should understand that yes some people do use their culture for information about things, but many people this days

Culture is a large part of every person’s life, it is what makes each person unique. Within culture there are many aspects such as food, music, clothing, tradition, and many more. Since culture makes up such a large part of our day to day lives, it is almost always responsible shaping and informing our view on the world.

In the short story“Everyday Use”, the character Dee has made a cultural transformation from her African-American culture to a more African culture. For example, when her mother calls her name, she responds with, "Not 'Dee,' Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo [...] I [can’t be] named after the people who oppress me." In actuality, her mother named her after her grandmother Dee. This story’s setting is during a time that is of a lower degree than the 1800s slavery era. Dee arrives at her mother’s house with a different cultural clothing clothing as evidenced by her mother’s description,“A dress down to the ground, in this hot weather. A dress so loud it hurts my eyes. There are yellows and oranges enough to throw back the light of the sun [...]. Earrings gold, too, and hanging down to her shoulders. Bracelets dangling and making noises when she moves her arm up to shake the folds of the dress out of her armpits.” Dee is not a true African person she is African-American. Discovering Bristol explains, “[A] culture, formed by Africans in the Americas, was a mix of the cultures and beliefs of the different ethnic groups, sometimes adding in European and Christian ideas.” Her African roots were removed when generations and generations before her were coerced to assimilate into a more African-American culture by the enforcement of slavery. The quilts are a true meaning of African-American culture, not African culture.

“Culture is sometimes described as a lens through which we view the world, meaning that one’s culture influences their perceptions and interactions in everyday life” (Davis, 2006). Every culture has different beliefs and customs

Several factors affect the formation of one’s culture, Palispis, E. (2007) quoted Sir Edward Tylor, “Culture… refers to that complex whole which includes knowledge, beliefs, arts, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as member of society.” (Palispis, E., 2007) In this context culture is something we acquire from the people we have lived with since we were born, it is not something a person can learn overnight nor can be disposed effortlessly.

Mahatma Gandhi once stated, “A nation's culture resides in the hearts and in the soul of its people.” In this quote, Gandhi is stating how culture is important to a nation and its people. A person’s culture consistently influences the way they view the world as seen in Every Day Use by Alice Walker, By Any Other Name by Santha Rama Rau, and When Worlds Collide by Pico Iyer.