Where Worlds Collide By Alice Walker Analysis

Author Robert Anton Wilson once stated: “We all see only that which we are trained to see”. The quote illustrates that perception influences how people see things, but what is perception influenced by? The authors Alice Walker and Amy Tan would argue that culture – by developing one’s beliefs and attitudes – is the most important element in shaping one’s perception. Culture forms an individual’s perception by evolving his or her beliefs. In Alice Walker’s short story “Everyday Use,” one of the major characters, Dee, changes her name to Wangero because she “couldn’t bear [it any longer], being named after the people who oppress me.” (Walker 79). She is not actually named after people that oppress her because she was named after her aunt, …show more content…
One of those people would be author Pico Iyer. Through his short story “Where Worlds Collide,” it seems that he believes that experiences, not culture, affects perception. Iyer uses experiences: “men shaking tins that say “Helping America’s Hopeless,” “the snack bar where a slice of pizza cost $3.19,” and “This Terminal Is in a Medfly Quarantine Area.” (Iyer 64). The experiences represent poverty, inflation, and disease, respectively. Furthermore, the experiences symbolize the negative aspects of the United States. Also, it goes against the idea that everything in the United States is amazing, and that the United States has a better quality of living than every other country. The immigrants have a different interpertation though: “Overhead, they can see the all-too-familiar signs of Hilton, Hyatt, and Holiday Inn; in the distance, a sea of tract house, mini-malls, and high rises. The City of Angels awaits them.” (Iyer 64). The quote insinuates that this is what the immigrants focus on the most because it is a part of the last paragraph in the passage which causes it to leave a lasting impression on the reader. The immigrants do not pay as much attention to the undesirable aspects of society because these immigrants have already gone through that. In fact, they have most likely seen worse because immigrants usually emigrate from their country because they are in a dreadful situation. This leads them to having a positive outlook on the world because a lot of other societies seem better in comparison to the society they are coming from. For an immigrant, culture can also be a major part of opinion towards the United States because they might identify the culture of the United States to be more suitable. The old culture might have certain beliefs that the immigrant disagrees with. This leads to the Western culture being a lot more appealing. Experiences do shape perception; however, culture shapes