Matthew Hoang
Martin/ English 3P
21 September 2017
“Blaxicans Analysis” In his essay “’Blaxicans’ and Other Reinvented Americans,” Richard Rodriguez asserts that culture, not race, is what gives people their identity. This is shown when Rodriguez spoke with the Laotian child and stated, “I suddenly realized that they were speaking English with a Spanish accent” (Rodriguez 91). Rodriguez’s point is that even though the Laotian and Mexican children dislike each other because of their differences, they still share similarities like their accent. By stating this it reinforces his point that culture is more important than race because culture is what you are exposed to in your environment and it gives you your identity. Additionally, another example is when the author states, “I am Chinese, and that is because I live in a Chinese city and because I want to be Chinese” (Rodriguez 91). By saying this, Rodriguez is proving that people should identify themselves with a culture instead of a race. When people identify with a race, they are grouping themselves by their appearance and …show more content…
For example, my cousin married a Caucasian man who had no clue about our family’s Vietnamese culture. However, after he spent time with us he started to do certain things he had not done before like taking off his shoes before entering a house and bowing when greeting someone older than him. This shows that as you spend time around different cultures you start to adapt, therefore making culture more important than race. Another time I noticed this is when it comes to holidays like Tết when people are saying “Chúc Mừng Năm Mới” which means Happy New Year in Vietnamese. Not only are Vietnamese people saying it, but also people around that catch on and start saying it to as well. This just further reinforces the idea that culture is more important than race because culture can alter how a person
Martin/ English 3P
21 September 2017
“Blaxicans Analysis” In his essay “’Blaxicans’ and Other Reinvented Americans,” Richard Rodriguez asserts that culture, not race, is what gives people their identity. This is shown when Rodriguez spoke with the Laotian child and stated, “I suddenly realized that they were speaking English with a Spanish accent” (Rodriguez 91). Rodriguez’s point is that even though the Laotian and Mexican children dislike each other because of their differences, they still share similarities like their accent. By stating this it reinforces his point that culture is more important than race because culture is what you are exposed to in your environment and it gives you your identity. Additionally, another example is when the author states, “I am Chinese, and that is because I live in a Chinese city and because I want to be Chinese” (Rodriguez 91). By saying this, Rodriguez is proving that people should identify themselves with a culture instead of a race. When people identify with a race, they are grouping themselves by their appearance and …show more content…
For example, my cousin married a Caucasian man who had no clue about our family’s Vietnamese culture. However, after he spent time with us he started to do certain things he had not done before like taking off his shoes before entering a house and bowing when greeting someone older than him. This shows that as you spend time around different cultures you start to adapt, therefore making culture more important than race. Another time I noticed this is when it comes to holidays like Tết when people are saying “Chúc Mừng Năm Mới” which means Happy New Year in Vietnamese. Not only are Vietnamese people saying it, but also people around that catch on and start saying it to as well. This just further reinforces the idea that culture is more important than race because culture can alter how a person