Multiple Culture Identity: Comparison of Two Stories - Essay Example

Multiple Culture Identity: Comparison of Two Stories 1. Introduction: 1.1: Overview Cultural identity is the most overwhelming thing for a human being. The stories under consideration are A Good Fall and Brave We Are by Jin and Naqvi respectively. Both of these tales have a similarity which draws them together. In both stories a metamorphosis of identity is revealed. In Jin’s story the life and adjustment issues of an immigrant are discussed. The immense inferiority complex of immigrants is portrayed which help in understanding the dilemma of identity crisis. The enormous misery of identity catastrophe is discussed by the fact that living in America for decades does not make a person American. The hardships of Chinese immigrants are envisaged in the most peculiar way. Brave We Are discusses another form of cultural identity in which a mother tries to keep her Pakistani culture alive in America. In doing so she does not become rigid so that her children adapt themselves to the country they are living in. By doing so she makes sure they do not get totally free from their cultural identity. Her son investigates about the word hybrid; this makes a series of events to unchain. Dealing with the identity crisis in this story reveals the amount of difficulty a mother goes through. Language, code of conduct, way of thinking, and interpretation of things all play a major role in making cultural identity. When a human being shifts from one country to another, he displaces his cultural identity. He has to adjust with the new environment so that he does not look like an alien. In adjusting to the new society, it becomes difficult for him to keep both ends of his identity together. This is where identity crisis comes in. the person who learns to deal with the problems in the correct way and has creates an equilibrium of personality. According to Lafromboise, Coleman and Gerton (1993, pp. 395), it is not necessary that people who live in two cultures always suffer. Control over personal, communal and economical expectations brings about a balance in the life of a “marginal person”. Both stories under consideration show the alien identity crisis with equal emphasis but in different nature. For example Ganchin was pushed to the level that he became suicidal whereas Kasim or his mother was not affected to the level of giving up their lives. However, the amount of problems they get because of identity crisis is the same. 1.2 Research Statement: Hybrid identity makes people lose their own “self” whereas innate culture always acts as a binding force for humans. Distinct Themes of Both Stories 2.1 A Good Fall a. Living an alien life A Good Fall deals with transformation of a normal person into a devastated person who finds refuge in dying. Ganchin, a Chinese Kung Fu teacher got fired from his job due to poor health. His boss refused to pay him anything and called him an “illegal alien, a law breaker” (Jin, 2009, pp. 222). This triggered the response of Ganchin understanding where he stands. Leaving everything behind which made him happy was of no use now. Coming to a new place, in a new culture and putting in so many efforts became useless. He did it all for money and because he wanted to put a smile over his parents face. The self realization of man consists of a “web” of different relations. The “self” of a human being is hence embedded with the help of “culture” (Kristjánsson, 2010, pp.169). Human beings relate to their environments and the places they live in. therefore, when they move out of their “comfort zones” they feel more depressed at hardships than they would be otherwise. b. Binding force of culture When a person migrates from one place to another to make a “new start”, he forgets that all he is doing is subtracting the happiness while all he wants is to multiply it. Cultural identity draws people closer. It is bliss to find people from your own innate culture at a new place. This can be proved by the immense amount of pleasure and support Ganchin got from Fanko who shared the same culture as his (Jin, 2009, pp. 226). He found that in order to survive or make a living in America he has to have the necessary language skills (Jin, 2009, pp. 225). Morris (2010, pp.281) discusses that language learning should be a free choice given to a person. French and English both are major languages of Canada. People should have a free will to choose between both whereas in real world we know that one has to learn English because it is an international language. This is another factor which makes one stick to his innate culture. c. Cultural identity The amount of pressure over an immigrant to earn is so much that he would embrace death over going back home empty handed. Ganchin lost everything, money, time and health. Staying away from his parents and home for making a living was the only motive of his life and now he had to leave empty handed (Jin, 2009, pp.229). This is written beautifully by Jin, “If I went back empty-handed, I’d be a great disappointment to them. I’d prefer to die here” (Jin, 2009, pp.229). Indeed this is the most difficult of all times for a human being when he does all he can and gives up all he has. Ganchin left his loved ones back in China to earn handsome amount of money for them and at this point all his sufferings were of no use. The ultimate happiness for Ganchin would be if he is able to take some money for his parents and live his life with them. The choice of a human being is always living closer to his culture because it draws himself together. 2.2 Brave We Are i. The Hybrid Kasim asks his mother about what hybrid means. His mother told him that it is a combination of different things (Naqvi, 2001, pp.928-929). This makes the nine year old brain ponder over the fact that do plants, animals all can be hybrids or not. Further, he takes human beings into account. The cross of Macintosh apple and Golden yellow can be called Macintosh Yellow (Naqvi, 2001, pp.930) therefore a girl having an American mom and a Pakistani dad must have a hybrid self. If it is taken into account then the culture in which Kasim is living is also hybrid because both of his parents have a different mindset whereas the country and people he lives with share different set of ideas and beliefs. The do’s and don’ts of both cultures differ greatly. Lindner (2010, pp. xiv) claims that cultural diversity is a good addition to the world. This however comes with immense amount of confusion of “un-belonging”. The “imagined community” which is called country is glued together by a set of common ideas and beliefs. This brings about a “homogenity” in the society. Multicultural identities can therefore be referred to as hybridism because different cultures don’t exist together within peace. Kasim’s parents moved to America for a good lifestyle. Kasim’s mother feels that she has tried to mix two cultures together which have made her son question about hybridism. She wants to keep her Pakistani culture alive and dear to her children but it seems like she is not successful in this. She does not want to become rigid towards her child accepting or living with the American culture. But at the same time she does not want her children to completely embrace it. She expects them to have the Pakistani values in their heart and American social interactions should not influence them. In my opinion, this is too much of a demand from little minds. ii. Living Two Cultures Immigrants who go to America in search of a good living come across number of problems. One of which is the cultural identity crisis. They love the benefits they get, the handsome amount of salary and the improved ways of living. But it is very hard for them to give up their ways of living. As Kasim’s mother told him about Helen and Amjad. They got married and come from different cultures. When it comes to children they have to undergo the highest amount of tension. An example is naming their daughter to Mary or Miriam. Also, Amjad cannot think of his son having girlfriends whereas it is a common practice in Helen’s American culture (Naqvi, 2001, pp.931). Children of immigrants are exposed to an entirely new culture. Their little brains understand how to get information and comprehend them in the way they are “told” to. Living in a new culture, they get variety of do’s and don’ts. Parents are there to guide them but what they are telling them is a kind of fiction for them. This is because they have not been living in the same culture and values their parents have been living in. they can just “hear” or experience them for short intervals. This happens when their parents tell them something about the culture or visit their homeland for vacation. Children are therefore exposed to the place where they are residing. In this case, it is America therefore they adopt and understand the American culture. When they interact with other Americans another thongs dawns upon them. This is the reality of them not being an American as they have brown eyes, dark hair and yellow skin. Genetics make them realize the reality of their origin. At this moment they start questioning their parents. They want to do what is done in the culture they reside in. However, parental expectation is generally opposite to that. iii. Brave to respond The amount of confusion which comes to the mind of Kasim’s mother when she accidently adds oregano to the spaghetti which has cumin in it represents what their children have to go through. They are from a Pakistani culture but their parents have added the American ingredient in them. This will never make them American. They will always have to live with their innate identity. They come from a different world and America is totally a new world. Parents can survive in the new culture as they are strong enough to have the ability to decide whereas children who do not have idea of what they are born with are influenced greatly (Naqvi, 2001, pp.932). Parents are brave enough to draw explanations out of things they know would cause chaos in a child’s life. 2. Conclusion There is a huge amount of similarity between both the stories. There is a chaos which exists in both the immigrants. They have gone to America for a better living. Ganchin is exploited by his boss who keeps his passport and offers him no money when he fires him. This makes him feel like an alien in the country he has been living. Similarity in this alien feeling is found in Kasim’s mother who tries to keep her culture alive in USA. It is not possible to keep both cultures alive at the same time. Sooner or later the effects of one come to the other. Ganchin has to live away from his loved ones and so does Kasim’s mother. Living in another country to make both ends meet is a difficult job at psychological level. One has to compromise at his “self” level. Early habitation plays a major role in development of moral self development. This creates a strong link towards “self” and “culture” of a human being (Kristjánsson, 2010, pp.170). Hence, culture is indispensible from a human. One might “migrate” in order of good living but cannot cut his connections from his culture. The concept of right and wrong remains the same. Therefore, Kasim’s mother does not want his child to embrace the idea of hybrid and to justify his future acts by referring to the same term. That is why she tells him this word cannot be used for humans. The reason given is vague however the child is clear in his idea generation and implementation. Same goes with Ganchin, who is unable to learn the English language which is part of the American culture. Also, dating girls is something not appealing to him as he has been living in a monk culture. It is difficult for a human being to break free of rules and customs he believes in. It is not an easy task to transform from “illegal aliens” to “legal immigrants” (Jin, 2009, pp.230). “Except for Indians” phrase refers to the amount of prejudice that is found in America regarding cultures. Hybrid identity makes people lose their own “self” by making them compromise over their happiness. For example one has to learn the language, ways of dressing, work etc in order to live in a new country which has a different culture than theirs. Innate culture always acts as binding force for humans. This can be proved with the amount of satisfaction a human being gets when he finds his fellow country people at a new place. Ganchin’s Chinese friend is an example in this context. According to Epstein and Gang (2010, pp. 2-3), culture of the people who migrate from one country to another affects their lives greatly. They can perceive this quest of finding a good life as “separation” from their roots or as a “new section” of their lives. People feel good when they find others who share the same culture as theirs at a new place. It is hence concluded that both the stories are based on a similar theme which deals with the amount of psychological pressures immigrants have in order to sustain life. They give up things dear to themselves to live a good life. In the quest of better life, they live without things which otherwise they would have not compromised with. Settling in a new environment with a new culture is complex thing. 4: Works Cited Naqvi, T. “Brave We Are”. NY: TSAR. 2001 Jin, H. “A Good Fall”. New York: Pantheon Books. 2009:1 Lafromboise, T., Coleman H., L., K., and Gerton, H. “Psychological impact of biculturalism: Evidence and Theory”. American Psychological Association. 1993:.114. Kristjánsson , K. “The Self and Its Emotions”. NY: Cambridge University Press. 2010 Morris, A., M. “Canadian Language Policies in Comparative Perspective”. USA: McGill-Queen's Press. 2010. Lindner, U. “Hybrid Cultures, Nervous States: Britain and Germany in a (post)colonial World”. USA: Rodop. 2010. Epstein, G., S., Gang, N., I. “Migration and culture”. Bingley, U.K.: Emerald. 2010. Read More