Lost in Translation - Essay Example

Even though globalization has enabled many individuals to have a culture that they can lean back on as depicted in "Globalization" by Maria Jerskey, there are thousands and thousands of individuals who are caught in between foreign cultures or are surrounded by languages that they can neither comprehend nor understand. Therefore, despite the fact that globalization has brought communities together as shown in "Globalization" by Maria Jerskey, it has also brought identity, cultural, language, and ethical challenges as depicted in "Lost in Translation" Eva Hoffman.

The term identity simply refers to who a person is. This term is however paradoxical in the sense that it can be used to refer to ‘sameness’ (what individuals from different groups have in common) and ‘uniqueness’ (the inimitable and distinct traits of individuals). Identity in Lost in Translation can be taken as being central. The problems faced by Hoffman are much more than merely linguistic ones (Ueda para. 2) since define her identity and self-definition. Globalization has enabled the relationship between an individual’s innate identity, enacted identity and language.

In “Lost in Translation,” Hoffman loses the concept of her individuality through her inability to express herself in a new environment. For instance, she says that she becoming a very serious and stern person thereby ignoring the wit and irony available around her even though the irony is all around her. Although globalization has enabled Eva to interact with individuals from a new culture, it has created an identity challenge. Eva argues that she lives in a society whereby nobody gives her identity and therefore on has to re-invent herself each day (Hoffman160).

Furthermore, Hoffman identifies that the frame of culture in America is stronger and thus it holds the individual personality more firmly as compared to her home country. This too confirms the complex relationship between