“Our identity has already been chosen for us; but it’s up to us to accept it, or fight and change it.” (Mia). Cultural roots will always be apart of who you are. No matter how you’re portrayed in society, or treated by others, it is ultimately influenced by your roots. Whether you’re trying to flee from cultural restrictions, balance an old or new culture, or trying to fit into your main roots, it is all impacted by where your cultural roots are from.
Older generations value and respect the rules of their cultures however, younger generations are easily influenced by other cultures. The older generations that first immigrate to Canada aren’t very open to the idea of making changes in order to adapt to canadian culture. Lin expresses that …show more content…
The main people you try to impress are family members and peers; furthermore to becoming socially accepted you must act a different way in comparison to home. Sun-Kyung Yi was known as Angela outside of her home, adapting to cultural norms of her peers. Depending on where Sun-Kyung Yi was, she had to put on her best face that would please the people she is with. While staying connected with cultural roots is ideal, strict cultures allow for no manipulation in rules; it’s either there culture or no culture as it is portrayed. Sun-Kyung Yi has been told be fellow canadians from outside her culture to just “[t]ake the best of both worlds and disregard the rest.” (23). Though in her mind she sees reason, her culture demands complete conformity allowing no room to maneuver for new ideology. When trying to please everyone, you will fall short of being the greatest you can be. Sun-Kyung Yi realizes that she “remains slightly distant from both cultures, accepted fully by neither one. Since Sun-Kyung Yi never fully committed herself to one or the other, she was not trusted fully be either, leaving her still in her own lost world torn between two cultures. Her culture heavily influences her to try and maintain strong connection while opening new doors for greater …show more content…
In a public setting, people automatically make a judgment and stand by it. In the story Pretty like a White Boy, we see Drew Taylor suffering trying to convince a young girl that he is truly native. In a hurry, he denies her offer of tea and she exclaims he isn’t native cause all natives drink tea; it's at this point Drew had to actually show his status card for proof. Instead of the young girl asking questions on his background, she made a first impression judgement and stuck by it until she was proven wrong. Even those within your own culture will turn their noses if you do not look like them at it is embarrassing to embrace a white man within a native culture. It started when Drew was a young boy; when he would play with his fellow playmates, they would always make Drew the white cowboy chasing after them since he best fit the role. Drew was already being characterized and put into a category by his own people; being separated from your own culture hurts one's cultural identity. Physical features also affect job offers as people make judgements on cultural background. Drew tried out for many roles as an actor, and managed to get none due to the fact he never fit the “native” role criteria. Directors made judgements on how he looked instead of how he sounds, acts or how comfortable he is on camera; it didn’t matter because he wasn’t fit for the role
Older generations value and respect the rules of their cultures however, younger generations are easily influenced by other cultures. The older generations that first immigrate to Canada aren’t very open to the idea of making changes in order to adapt to canadian culture. Lin expresses that …show more content…
The main people you try to impress are family members and peers; furthermore to becoming socially accepted you must act a different way in comparison to home. Sun-Kyung Yi was known as Angela outside of her home, adapting to cultural norms of her peers. Depending on where Sun-Kyung Yi was, she had to put on her best face that would please the people she is with. While staying connected with cultural roots is ideal, strict cultures allow for no manipulation in rules; it’s either there culture or no culture as it is portrayed. Sun-Kyung Yi has been told be fellow canadians from outside her culture to just “[t]ake the best of both worlds and disregard the rest.” (23). Though in her mind she sees reason, her culture demands complete conformity allowing no room to maneuver for new ideology. When trying to please everyone, you will fall short of being the greatest you can be. Sun-Kyung Yi realizes that she “remains slightly distant from both cultures, accepted fully by neither one. Since Sun-Kyung Yi never fully committed herself to one or the other, she was not trusted fully be either, leaving her still in her own lost world torn between two cultures. Her culture heavily influences her to try and maintain strong connection while opening new doors for greater …show more content…
In a public setting, people automatically make a judgment and stand by it. In the story Pretty like a White Boy, we see Drew Taylor suffering trying to convince a young girl that he is truly native. In a hurry, he denies her offer of tea and she exclaims he isn’t native cause all natives drink tea; it's at this point Drew had to actually show his status card for proof. Instead of the young girl asking questions on his background, she made a first impression judgement and stuck by it until she was proven wrong. Even those within your own culture will turn their noses if you do not look like them at it is embarrassing to embrace a white man within a native culture. It started when Drew was a young boy; when he would play with his fellow playmates, they would always make Drew the white cowboy chasing after them since he best fit the role. Drew was already being characterized and put into a category by his own people; being separated from your own culture hurts one's cultural identity. Physical features also affect job offers as people make judgements on cultural background. Drew tried out for many roles as an actor, and managed to get none due to the fact he never fit the “native” role criteria. Directors made judgements on how he looked instead of how he sounds, acts or how comfortable he is on camera; it didn’t matter because he wasn’t fit for the role