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Diversity and Cross-Cultural Issues Diversity, Cross-Cultural Issues in Literature Introduction The world is in a continuous transition and fast becoming multi-cultural. Multiculturalism in the world basically has been fuelled by constant displacements and the ease of mobility that individuals have experienced since time immemorial. Diversity has come with a lot of unnoticed good to the United States of America. Most minority American writers have themed their works towards highlighting the presence of diversity in the society and how diversity and multi-cultural nature of the nation has enriched the culture, beliefs and norms in America.
This paper discusses diversity by minority writers with their views on stereotypes, cross-cultural issues and the merits of diversity to the nation (Behschnitt, De & Minnaard, 2013). Sandra Cisneros in her work “Geraldo No Last Name,” describes diversity as a national resource that has not fully been utilized to attain the desired results. In the plot of “Geraldo No Last Name”, Marin, who is the protagonist, is portrayed as the character that understands the trends of diversity, and appreciates those trends.
In the short story, Marin assists an unknown man whom she only knows by his first name, Geraldo. Courtesy is manifested when Marin aims a lending hand to Geraldo when Geraldo gets knocked by a car, she does not know him anyway, but she values diversity. In a bid to illustrate this, the author says, “His name was Geraldo. And his home was in another country. The ones he left behind are far away, will wonder, shrug, remember” (May, 2004, p. 1485). The manifestation that Geraldo works in a restaurant symbolizes development.
Sandra is trying to bring out the information that diversity has aided in economic development. Different cultures bring with them different techniques which, when put together bring about the uniqueness in production (Behschnitt, De & Minnaard, 2013). Judith Ortiz is another minority writer from Puerto Rico. Judith, in her short story “The Witch’s Husband,” highlights the importance of cultural diversity by comparing lack of diversity to colonialism. A young girl is sent to take care of her grandparents in Puerto Rico from New York.
It’s predictable that naivety will play a part in the young girl’s handling of her grandparents. To the surprise of every reader, the knowledge the girl gains from New York plays a huge part in her handling of the grandparents. This is evident when the narrator says, “I have travelled to Puerto Rico at my mother’s request to help her deal with the old people” (Cofer, 1992, p. 56). The Narrator says this to enlighten the reader on the reason why she went to Puerto Rico. Notably, in this new setting, the narrator would experience cultural diversity as the story progresses to reveal.
In her work on “Constructing Mestiza Consciousness”, Kynclová Tereza offers a critical analysis of the writing style of Anzaldúa who has experience from multiple cultures. From her argument, it is evident that the authoress who is her subject has benefitted immensely from cultural diversity, a factor that enhances her work. In the whole story, Kynclová Tereza criticizes the poor literary approaches that have been handed to cultural and sexual diversities. The literature work by Kynclová Tereza gives a different dimension on culture and what diversity has really achieved.
In emphasis, Kynclová Tereza highlights that, “ Having operated along these move-able boundaries, Anzaldúa is infused with an alternative insight—or the Coatlicue state as she calls it”, a factor that makes this author have outstanding expertise in writing (Kynclová, 2006, p. 51). Conclusion For a long time, critics of literature have negatively criticized the approaches that writers have taken in addressing cultural diversity in their (the writer’s) literary works. From this paper, it is however manifest those minority writers have played a huge role in creating the space of diversity in the society.
Different minority writers view diversity and multicultural nature of the society, though varying but positive lenses. The diversity holds the pillar to development as expressed in this paper. Reference Behschnitt, W., De, M. S., & Minnaard, E. (2013). Literature, language, and multiculturalism in Scandinavia and the Low Countries. Amsterdam: Rodopi. Cofer, J. (1992). The Witchs husband. The Kenyon Review New Series, 14( 4), 56-61 Kynclová, T. (2006). "Constructing Mestiza Consciousness: Gloria Anzaldúa’s Literary Techniques in Borderlands/La Frontera—The New Mestiza," Human Architecture: Journal of the Sociology of Self-Knowledge, 4(3), Article 7. May, C. E. (2004). Masterplots II: : short story series.
Pasadena, Calif. [u.a.: Salem Press.
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