Vocabulary is a VERY important part of
life. Finding the right words to express what you want to say can be
challenging. My teacher wants me and my class to improve our vocab.
I'll try to use as many vocab words as I can. I don't want to sound
bombast or prattle but who knows. =)
Let's jump into this post, shall we? How does
culture help or hinder the creation of your identity? Depending on who you ask,
culture can mean a lot of different things. Culture is very important to some
and can shape the way an individual views the world as well as themselves. During
the first couple weeks of school, my sociology class had to come up with the
definition of culture. Culture is a way of life society lives by. It is passed
on from one generation to the next and varies by location. Sometimes culture
can have a negative effect, especially on those who are viewed as outsiders.
This can help and/or hinder a person's development in identity. Identity or
finding who you are and where you belong is a critical part of life. What
people around you recognize as you can affect the way you see yourself. Identity
is created by your surroundings, which includes culture, and experiences. The
novel, Native Son, has a mainly white culture, in which the
protagonist lives, that hinders his creation of identity. His surroundings have
a negative effect on him. Obviously he has a tough time finding himself and
where he belongs in a society that doesn't accept his people. The gradation of
the protagonist's identity takes a little while.
The protagonist, Bigger, is a product of his
environment. The place and experience along with the culture he grew
up in shaped the way he saw himself. This culture was prejudice and
stereotypical, Bigger became the image that culture was trying to display. The
culture sees black men as violent and dangerous, even uneducated and not
capable of much. Bigger fulfills this stereotype. He has a violent temper
which leads him to commit murder. In turn that makes him dangerous. Bigger also
is not educated and it is said in the novel he wouldn’t be capable of much. The
way the characters treat Bigger show that they do not see him as amounting to
anything. When he killed Mary and was being questioned, they did not believe
that Bigger was smart enough to come up with a plan. This angered Bigger.
Bigger wants to be successful and have a better life for himself and his
family. The culture though is prejudice against black people and in a way keeps
them down.
Take for example Mr. Dalton. He owns Southside Real
Estate Company. This company owns Bigger's one room apartment in the slums of
Chicago called the Black Belt. Now Mr. Dalton is clearly confused or not true
to his word. He claims to be a member of the NAACP, which is for the
advancement of color people. How are you for the advancement for black people
but work for a company that doesn't put these people in conditions to help
them? Hm. *sips tea*
This society and it's culture makes Bigger the violent and dangerous person he is. This violence becomes apart of his identity. He is the stereotypical black man and is seen like this in society. It leads to his punishment and the severity of it as well as Bigger coming to his own self realization.
