We Must Keep Our Own Identity Essay

The concept of Identity is complex through the exploration of relationships and a sense of belonging. This is explored within Tim Winton’s short stories, ‘ Neighbours’ and ‘Big World’, and in Robert Walker’s poem ‘Okay, Let’s be Honest’. Identity can change and evolve depending on belief, change, language and shifting influences.

Someone can live in a multicultural society and fit very well. Ethnocentrism entails being centered or considering your own culture as right, and negatively evaluating other people’s cultural practices. One can avoid being ethnocentric by striking a balance between cultures and tolerating other groups with their cultures without judging them based on their practices. Civilization and education systems have contributed a lot in impacting knowledge of cultural relativism to the young generations. This has been a vital tool to fight ethnocentrism, for instance, being an immigrant in the United States, where there are different cultures, it can be challenging. I have encountered a lot of cultural shock in the process of adjusting. There is a lot of difference between my culture, and the American culture. I have had to adapt some values, and just tolerate other norms so I can fit in the American society, and live in harmony with

Most people, unless they choose to be an outsider, want to be considered “cool.” Whether it’s to fit in with a peer group, or clique, or to impress someone in particular, like a member of the opposite sex, or a potential mate. Or possibly to gain something from an individual for financial or social gain (see “Scamming”).

Language is not the only factor affecting the assimilation of people into American society, but one?s traditions also have an effect on the willingness and on the degree to which one assimilates. Some people have found that certain customs they have are not accepted in American culture and might

Historical events distinguish the change in the behavior and identity of a society. The United States is no exemption from this idea, as the events throughout American history has shaped the behavior and values of the American identity. Since the formal independence from Britain in 1783, to the compromise that ended Reconstruction in 1877, American identity has changed drastically through shifts in the American understanding of politics, ideology, economics, culture, and society.

Identity is what defines us as a person. Everyone one on earth has their own unique identity. To showcase my identity, I created a collage of images and descriptive words, called an identi-kit. This identi-kit shows what I feel like is my identity to myself and the others. My identi-kit identifies me as a mixed martial artist. The identi-kit has images of a deadly shark with mixed martial arts gloves on that say mixed martial arts on the front and fight shorts with the words competitor and warrior on them. It also has descriptive words like “killer instinct” and “fight” which describe my spirit. There are three assumptions that come to question when asking about one’s identity. The first is if you were born with this

In conclusion, in place of the "melting pot", American culture satisfies the term "mosaic". If true assimilation were to occur, immigrants would have to abandon all their cultural practices and act in accordance to one set American ways. But, immigrants do not completely give up their traditions and practices. Their identity remains unique because of their distinct

Something immigrants should never give up is their traditional cultures, arts and celebrations. As mentioned above, it is these traditions that add in to the melting pot, making America such a wonderful and diverse country to live in. We get to celebrate Chinese New Year, eat moon cake and play with lanterns in Vietnamese Lunar

As a nation we seem to expect everyone to assimilate into the “American Mainstream” by adopting our values, our politics, and our way of life. But assimilation is not a one-way street, and our culture is not done evolving. When two cultures meet, there should be a give and take from both sides - each one looking to learn something valuable from the other. No culture ever stops changing. We are constantly adopting new ideas and lifestyles. As travel is made easier and technology continues to connect the world, we are even more exposed to cultural input from other nations. It is incredibly ignorant to claim that any people group would be better off to abandon their own culture and adopt the culture of another nation, yet we have asked -- even forced -- Native Americans to do this for generations.

For immigrants in America, two radically different choices of culture exist. First, the immigrants can choose to stay loyal to their ancestral roots and deny mainstream culture. Instead of contributing to the melting pot of opinions present they isolate within themselves by refusing to learn both the English language and American culture as a whole. Because they cannot communicate with a majority of the population, they don’t maintain any amount of control over American ideals including both politically and socially. The second opportunity available would be to embrace this new found culture, no matter how foreign it is to them, and develop a sense of unity with America. If immigrants wish to break the currently controlled system of power and privilege in America and truly become a part of American customs, they must learn to assimilate culturally.

In American society, there are multiple cultures and races exist. Since immigrants bring the various cultures to America, Americans face a highly controversial problem. Some of the Americans believe all of the ethnic groups assimilate into a common culture can help Americans distinctly identify themselves. Others argue that ethnic groups should not abandon their cultural heritages background. As a result, merging different cultures into one new culture will cause America lose its cultural diversity which is one significant charm of this country. On the contrary, if every ethnic group only focuses on building their own community and resists communicate with others, it will aggravate the separation of a nation. Although people often argue about these two ways which one is more appropriate to Americans, I think Richard Rodriguez's idea is more realistic in nowadays American society. Rodriguez resists the idea of the melting pot, and believes that assimilation is inevitable and reciprocal. In the essay Does America Still Exist?, Rodriguez explains his thought to us through his experiences.

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.

Identity is a state of mind in which someone recognizes/identifies their character traits that leads to finding out who they are and what they do and not that of someone else. In other words it's basically who you are and what you define yourself as being. The theme of identity is often expressed in books/novels or basically any other piece of literature so that the reader can intrigue themselves and relate to the characters and their emotions. It's useful in helping readers understand that a person's state of mind is full of arduous thoughts about who they are and what they want to be. People can try to modify their identity as much as they want but that can never change. The theme of identity is a very strenuous topic to understand

Firstly, diversity is the greatest capability which adds all different flavors in that society. Different religions, lifestyle, background and values are coming together and building new unique culture. Each person brings experience and thoughts. They want to have something also they have some perceptions which they don’t want to have in their life. Because of that in my opinion United States is the country which is not attached to the fixed culture. But, it is culture like a growing child. It changes to the best side according every evolution. In the United States different religions also irreligious people are able to live together without any problem and

Cultural differences effect many aspects of our daily lives. With the many different cultures embedded in the United States, it is important that everyone has an understanding and respect for the melting pot that is encountered daily in our communities, workplaces and schools.