The world people live in today is made up of different cultures co-existing with one another. The interactions between human beings of diverse backgrounds have made the world smaller as cultures blend every day. Various factors, such political, cultural, business, and environmental conditions, influence people to permanently settle in a different community. On the brighter side, individuals have been able to exchange their languages and ideas on making the world a better place. However, immigrants face various challenges when trying to adjust to the new environment. There are many authors analyzed the challenges immigrants are facing, including Eva Hoffman’s “Lost in Translation,” Marilyn Davis’ “Padre Luis Olivares C.M.F.,” Zora Neale Hurston’s
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Identity is the ability to be unique and at the same time to identify oneself with a group of people by drawing significant similarities or differences. It can be social, personal, and enacted. Identity is how one sees himself or herself, and it can also prove that it is impossible to know how others feel. As people try to imagine being someone else, they tend to connect enacted identity and personal identity and express them through language. This aspect is evident in “Lost in Translation.” where Hoffman loses the concept of being herself and cannot communicate herself. For instance, she admits, “The people on the train look at us askance, and avoid sitting close to us” (Hoffman 133). This attitude signifies social alienation that immigrants often experience due to the language barrier and cultural differences, and it can lead to an identity crisis and further …show more content…
Racism involves judging someone based on skin color. It results in discrimination provoked by beliefs that one’s race is superior to the other. In “How It Feels to Be Colored Me,” Huston describes her experiences of racial segregation and the fact that she was constantly reminded that she was a granddaughter of a slave. She grieves, “Someone is always at my elbow reminding me that I am the granddaughter of slaves” (Huston 7). The law undermines defenseless immigrants as they are secluded by the law to be illegal and homeless. In “Padre Luis Olivares C.M.F,” Davis says that “Unfortunately the undocumented have become the victims of exploitation even by those who are supposed to protect them” (142). The issue of prejudice is also exemplified by the assumption that Asian American students are gifted with mathematical and scientific knowledge. In “Thinking about Diversity,” Wu explains, “And some on-Asian students do, indeed, assume that I am gifted with mathematical, scientific or computer programming talents….”(147). This perception indicates prejudice practices toward college and university
Identity is the ability to be unique and at the same time to identify oneself with a group of people by drawing significant similarities or differences. It can be social, personal, and enacted. Identity is how one sees himself or herself, and it can also prove that it is impossible to know how others feel. As people try to imagine being someone else, they tend to connect enacted identity and personal identity and express them through language. This aspect is evident in “Lost in Translation.” where Hoffman loses the concept of being herself and cannot communicate herself. For instance, she admits, “The people on the train look at us askance, and avoid sitting close to us” (Hoffman 133). This attitude signifies social alienation that immigrants often experience due to the language barrier and cultural differences, and it can lead to an identity crisis and further …show more content…
Racism involves judging someone based on skin color. It results in discrimination provoked by beliefs that one’s race is superior to the other. In “How It Feels to Be Colored Me,” Huston describes her experiences of racial segregation and the fact that she was constantly reminded that she was a granddaughter of a slave. She grieves, “Someone is always at my elbow reminding me that I am the granddaughter of slaves” (Huston 7). The law undermines defenseless immigrants as they are secluded by the law to be illegal and homeless. In “Padre Luis Olivares C.M.F,” Davis says that “Unfortunately the undocumented have become the victims of exploitation even by those who are supposed to protect them” (142). The issue of prejudice is also exemplified by the assumption that Asian American students are gifted with mathematical and scientific knowledge. In “Thinking about Diversity,” Wu explains, “And some on-Asian students do, indeed, assume that I am gifted with mathematical, scientific or computer programming talents….”(147). This perception indicates prejudice practices toward college and university