Two Kinds By Bharati Mukherjee Belonging

Culture incorporates many different aspects of life such as religion, food, language, ethnicity, and many more. All of these aspects influence the way a person lives and acts. Although culture provides a positive influence by bestowing self worth, it could also negatively affect someone’s life. Culture affects a person in many ways by creating internal and external conflict, which influences the way others view them and therefore affects their actions and how they feel about themselves.

Have you thought of someone’s culture as weird? Have you thought that you are completely different from them? If so, what prompts us to make that assumption. Culture is a very good reason for this. So, to what extent does one’s culture inform the way one views others and the world? Culture informs a person on the way others are and the world.

Culture is a set of ideals and values about life that are widely shared among people and that guide specific behaviors. Differences, as well as similarities, can be seen when comparing world cultures. We communicate with each other, we feed ourselves with food, and when we sleep we often dream. However, we speak different languages, eat different types of foods, and dream different ways. We call these cultural differences. What causes them is not always obvious to the ordinary person (Nancy). I feel culture is what really sets us apart from each other and what makes us unique as individuals and families.

Culture is a very vital part of the world as we know it today. There are very many different cultures all around the world. In the USA, we have a mix of all the different cultures and and family values. From the original Native Americans that inhabited America to the Middle Eastern people in Afghanistan. These people groups have brought their language, food, values, and customs with them.

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.

Jacques Derrida had once said that culture is something in which "everything is arranged so that it is this way." I believe that culture is the opposite as it creates the way in which you perceive external forces rather then it being the external forces arranged in a specific way. Culture therefore allows one to become informed about foreign cultures to which one is then to perceive the culture a specific way. Culture is the multitude of many factors in which it consistently informs one 's perception of the world surrounding them as well as the individuals.

“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

Culture plays a big part on how you are as a person. A person beliefs are made up by their own unique cultural identity. Identity is what makes you who you are as person, and how does it defines you. Your identity doesn’t have to be just your ethnicity or how you look like, it’s way much more than that. While my culture is mixed with American and Asian aspects, Asian culture is most influential in my life because it helps me be motivated in school, affect my views on religion, and makes me have good deportment.

Your culture has a huge influence on how you perceive the world. Our culture gives us a sense of who we are and where we stand in society. In Chapter 3: The Trouble We’re In, by Allan Johnson, he explains that our experiences that we claim to be real are actually cultural creations and that we see it to be a norm even if we haven 't actually experienced them (p.21). An example that Johnson gave in the first reading was the idea of a black woman in Africa, she doesn’t consider herself black because she hasn’t experienced it, she identifies herself as African and a woman, but if she were to go to America, she would be identified as black because that’s what is practiced in American culture the example shows us that although we don’t really experience things first hand we 're taught to relate to it because of our culture. In the Chapter 9: Getting off the hook, Johnson talks about the idea of one race being better than the other and that is instilled into us through our culture. He explains this by talking about two guys, one black and one white and how they were both treated in social environments. This also shows the power we give others when we allow these cultural norms to influence us. These influences help shape who we become and play a huge part on our social interactions with one another.

However, some people may say that culture sometimes informs the way one views other and the world. For example, in the essay “Two Ways to Belong in America” written by Bharati Mukherjee two Indian sisters come to America for educational reasons. At first believing in their Indian culture and having their father pick husbands for when they returned to India.

Culture is basically a way of life of a group of people the behaviors, beliefs, values, and symbols that they accept, generally without thinking about them, and that are passed along by communication and imitation from one generation to another and so on. In most culture you find pro and cons, so a person culture have great impact on his or her life, because whatever you do affect you like people always you are what you eat, and your life style is your lifespan. In the African American culture, basically the black culture. You find many good and bad things.

Culture in definition is: “the beliefs, customs, arts, etc., of a particular society, group, place, or time” (Merriam-Webster’s Learner’s Dictionary). Thus, based on these certain beliefs, customs, traditions, and arts, a person’s thoughts, ideas, and views can be greatly affected since they lived with a lifestyle based around a specific culture. Therefore, it can be coherent that the culture of a person is paramount to one’s views of the world and of others as seen throughout many texts such as, “An Indian Father’s Pleas” by Robert Lake and “Where Worlds Collide” by Pico Iyer. To begin with, the effect of culture on one’s views of the world and of others can be seen throughout the essay, “And Indian Father’s Plea” by Robert Lake (Medicine

Culture affects the way many people put things into perspective. They see the world in different ways which is based on how society is raised, making us oblivious to our surroundings. They influence how we see ourselves and others (identities) and how we make meaning of our lives and relationships. Writers such as Elise Trumbull and Maria Pacheco, explain the meaning of cultural identity. Meanwhile, Amy Tan writes a story about her mother wanting her to be with someone else based on culture and ethnicity. As a nation, there will always be judgements. This is why culture does affect how you see the world or others.

Culture makes up every aspect of person’s life and can range from moral ideas such as values, beliefs, and laws to physical traits like specific objects, behaviors, and symbols. Kerry Ferris and Jill Stein further explains, in The Real World: An Introduction to Sociology, that culture “acts as a lens through which one views the world” (73). Culture allows people with similarities to come together, and others with different cultural views to experience different perspectives. Giving people a sense of belonging, culture defines people’s way of life.

1. Culture is perceived as a way of thinking that influences the behaviors of a group of people.