Two Ways To Belong In America Summary

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Look at yourself. How do you see yourself? They say the way that you see others is a reflection of yourself. Since your culture represents a major amount of your identity, doesn’t that mean the way you see others is a reflection of your culture? In the text, “By Any Other Name”, two Indian girls were looked down upon by others who thought they were inferior based on their culture. In the letter, “An Indian Father’s Plea”, a father informs his son’s teacher that his son is not slow just because he is culturally different. In the short story, “Two Ways to Belong in America”, an Indian strived to chain away from her original culture to feel belonged in America. A person’s culture highly affects their perspective on the world to the extent of the way they view others. Going to a new school can be hard at times, but it was especially challenging for two Indian girls who got by while quietly being discriminated by the British for their culture. Embarrassed by her own dialect, the older sister, Premila, tells her younger sister to not speak their dialect,…show more content…
A person’s culture may open their minds to new cultures. In the story, “By Any Other Name”, yes the British teachers and students were judgmental towards the Indian girls because their cultural difference, but Premila and Santhra were open to learn in their new school with new cultural backgrounds in their new environment. Secondly, in the letter, “An Indian Father’s Plea”, even though the teacher too was judgmental to Wind Wolf, the father did not view the teacher differently then he would to someone with a common culture. Lastly, in the short story, “Two Ways to Belong in America,” Mukherjee was very open in accepting the new cultures she was exposed to in America. She did not view others differently than she would view someone of her cultural background. Instead she embraced everything with open

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