Stereotypes In Robert Lake's 'Where Worlds Collide'
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Culture on Perspective The world is filled with many aspects of culture, each one different from the others. When we are young, our parents show us their culture so that we grow up under their influence and incorporate their cultures into our own. These cultures set up our ethics, values, morals, and more. Although there are many things that go into creating one’s perspective, it all comes back to one’s culture; the most important element that shapes one’s views on the world and other people. Culture is made up with the basic principles of how we live our daily lives. Things like education, traditions, and even language all derive from our culture. In a quote from “An Indian Father’s Plea” by Robert Lake, Lake explains how his son’s heritage makes him special and how he can show the teacher and other students new ways of seeing things if they gave him a chance. Lake said, “He stems from a long line of hereditary chiefs, medicine men and women, and ceremonial leaders whose accomplishments are still being studied in contemporary books.” (Lake 79.) In this quote, Lake is describing how…show more content… Stereotypes about cultures can shape the way people see others, for better or for worse. An example of this can be found in the story “Where Worlds Collide” by Pico Iyer. In the story, Iyer describes immigrants coming to America from different places and already having a vision of what they might see. He said, “…with the maps their cousins have drawn for them and the images they have brought over from Cops and Terminator 2…” (Iyer 50.) This quote describes what the immigrants believed that they would see in America because back in their country, this was all that was available to them. Thus, their cultures created stereotypes about living in the United States. By having their expectations be so different, their perceptions of the United States changed from what they thought back at