Identity for an Outsider
Nowadays, the world is a mixing pot, which contains people with different races and different skin colors. In each one of categories, we are able to further divide people into more specific groups based on regions and languages. In order to verify our identity, institutional organizations issue the identification for everyone and list out our legal name, the birth of date, nationality, and a series of numbers. However, a great number of lifeless identity cards fail to provide us with a satisfiable identity, especially for those who have multi-cultural backgrounds.“In search of Black Identity in Uganda” was written by Julian Hill, an African-American, who shows his curiosity and eagerness to trace his root …show more content…
Hill takes advantage of being black, successfully building an intimate relationship with Frank’s family. Frank calls Hill brother because Frank is confident about Hill’s ancestry, which they have in common. Based on the skin color, Frank can easily get clues from Hill’s geographic origin and racial categories since he knows about the history. What’s more, since Frank and Hill are both dark and tall men, Uganda woman has mistaken Hill’s identity and consider him as Frank’s brother. As we all known, it is not the first time that Hill was labelled as an African due to his skin color. In general, people tend to determine one’s identity by looking their physical appearance and make a connection with them. Zach and Timony, Frank’s sons, have questioning many times about Hill’s real identity. In their innocent criteria, the same skin color is the typical element to determine one’s identity. Thus, Timony is open enough to accept this stranger and warm up with Hill quickly, because he realizes that they are the same. Sharing the physical appearance, in fact, gets rid of the boundary between obvious differences and makes a certainty that there must exist any inexplicable …show more content…
In order to make new friends and learn more about his heritage, he searches for different ways to fit into the Uganda society. Hill changes his behavior to act more like a local Uganda and skillfully applies his language to negotiate the price with the conductor on the way to Nakumatt. Ultimately, receiving the compromise from the conductor means that Hill is treated like local people and get accepted from the society. What’s more, in an attempt to change other’s views and fulfill his hope to gain self-recognition, the narrator tries to isolate himself from his own people--American, and he used to “throw in a few of my patented Lugandan phrases with a local,” so that he “ felt less like the alien . . .among Ugandans”(59). It is obvious that Hill more likely to become an African since he believes that he meets the basic requirements of obtaining the black identity. Additionally, he shows his favoritism toward Uganda culture, which makes him act as a Uganda among American. Therefore, speaking a few Lugandan phrases grants a sense of belonging to the narrator and shows his uniqueness of identity that needs to be accepted by people around
Nowadays, the world is a mixing pot, which contains people with different races and different skin colors. In each one of categories, we are able to further divide people into more specific groups based on regions and languages. In order to verify our identity, institutional organizations issue the identification for everyone and list out our legal name, the birth of date, nationality, and a series of numbers. However, a great number of lifeless identity cards fail to provide us with a satisfiable identity, especially for those who have multi-cultural backgrounds.“In search of Black Identity in Uganda” was written by Julian Hill, an African-American, who shows his curiosity and eagerness to trace his root …show more content…
Hill takes advantage of being black, successfully building an intimate relationship with Frank’s family. Frank calls Hill brother because Frank is confident about Hill’s ancestry, which they have in common. Based on the skin color, Frank can easily get clues from Hill’s geographic origin and racial categories since he knows about the history. What’s more, since Frank and Hill are both dark and tall men, Uganda woman has mistaken Hill’s identity and consider him as Frank’s brother. As we all known, it is not the first time that Hill was labelled as an African due to his skin color. In general, people tend to determine one’s identity by looking their physical appearance and make a connection with them. Zach and Timony, Frank’s sons, have questioning many times about Hill’s real identity. In their innocent criteria, the same skin color is the typical element to determine one’s identity. Thus, Timony is open enough to accept this stranger and warm up with Hill quickly, because he realizes that they are the same. Sharing the physical appearance, in fact, gets rid of the boundary between obvious differences and makes a certainty that there must exist any inexplicable …show more content…
In order to make new friends and learn more about his heritage, he searches for different ways to fit into the Uganda society. Hill changes his behavior to act more like a local Uganda and skillfully applies his language to negotiate the price with the conductor on the way to Nakumatt. Ultimately, receiving the compromise from the conductor means that Hill is treated like local people and get accepted from the society. What’s more, in an attempt to change other’s views and fulfill his hope to gain self-recognition, the narrator tries to isolate himself from his own people--American, and he used to “throw in a few of my patented Lugandan phrases with a local,” so that he “ felt less like the alien . . .among Ugandans”(59). It is obvious that Hill more likely to become an African since he believes that he meets the basic requirements of obtaining the black identity. Additionally, he shows his favoritism toward Uganda culture, which makes him act as a Uganda among American. Therefore, speaking a few Lugandan phrases grants a sense of belonging to the narrator and shows his uniqueness of identity that needs to be accepted by people around