Melting Pot Of Amaica Kincaid Analysis

Crack open a dictionary and there would be a bountiful of adjectives to describe me. I am quirky but well composed, shy but very loud, and sometimes a bit dimwitted but also secretly a genius. Unfortunately people do not take time to learn things in depth, they simply judge from looks. As a result, to people I am a hispanic girl; a person who probably barely graduated high school, probably lives in the bad side of town, and may indulge in some illegal hobbies here and there. News flash, I am much more than than what hollywood depicts my culture to be. Although some of those stereotypical ideas presented by the media may apply to some individuals, my individual culture is so broad that it can not be depicted with ease. I am a melting pot of …show more content…
Kincaid stated in her poem, “this is how to hem a dress when you see the hem coming down and to prevent yourself from looking like the slut”. Although the statement is crude and very direct, it can be analyzed that the mother in the poem is worried about what others may think about her daughter and that is why she is constantly advising her to present herself in a poise and womanly manner. My own mother expresses similar comments to me, they can be profane and also direct, but her words have definitely stuck onto me. Her advice usually revolves around the same idea about being a proper lady. Unsurprisingly, these comments are rooted from our culture, she always refers to her old life in Mexico when she makes her comments; such as, she could not be seen talking to guys alone because people would think wrong of the situation. Although times have changed and people have a more open minds about things, her comments still don't change. Her advice also revolves around religious issues, such as being a virgin until marriage. In Mark Behr’s poem Boy the father advices, “Never …show more content…
Due to my culture I have been exposed to a multitude of things that overall have made me a well rounded person. My immigrant culture, includes my parent whom have a very limited english vocabulary; this resulted in me having to learn how to do tasks at a very young age. Amy Tan expresses her own experiences as being a child of an immigrant parent, “When I was fifteen, she use to have me call people on phone, to pretend I was she”. Tan as a child was exposed to situations well beyond her years. Although these tasks seemed tedious and annoying, now as an adult I am thankful for being exposed to them because I am able to do them with ease. Some of these tasks included learning to drive at the age of fifteen because my parents would be too tired from working to take me in the morning, learning to pay bills, learning to use a bank account online and the list goes on. I now feel fortunate to have experienced these things because I am able to go into the adult world with some knowledge. While other children who may have had parents who never had the them do anything, are clueless as to what to