Los Pobres -Richard Rodriguez

 Los Pobres -Richard Rodriguez

In this autobiographical story, the writer expresses his own experience as a construction worker. In order to experience the pain and pleasure of the ‘real work’, he joins the summer work but he is unable to feel the real experience of “Los Pobres” i.e poor and powerless. Only after seeing the pathetic condition of the Mexican Migrant workers, he realizes the real condition as well as exploitation of Los Pobres.

In this autobiographical story, the writer speaks for the rights of Los Pobres i.e the poor and powerless people. Although this story is related with the writer himself, there is a great empathy with the working class people for the writer himself tried to feel the real experience of the hard work. Besides, the writer, in the beginning thought that the workers were different from what his mother told him about but later he realized that the real workers were truly poor and powerless.

During his graduation, the writer was in search of the summer job and one of his friends suggested him that he should get a job as a worker. In fact, the writer would like to experience the suffering of the ‘real work’ because he would like to show his father that he even had the experience of it. During his interview with the contractor, the writer aid that he had the experience of physical labor though he had never worked physically in his life. Undoubtedly the people have told him that the physical the physical labour was beyond his capacity but he enjoyed the work very much. Moreover, unlike his expectations, he found the workers not being ‘Los Pobres’ but being middle class as well as like himself. He was ever surprise that the workers were not of similar interest and skills even though they were daily wage labours. They had diverse interest and skills for example some of them were abstract painters where as some others were poet and the writers.

The writer, in the beginning felt that he had got the experience of the ‘real work’ but later he realized that an educated person could never feel the real experience of the Mexican Migrant work as made him realized that they lack public identity remain completely and they were the people falling apart. Due to the lack of proper communication and the language, problem they were acting like the puppet in the command of their contractor. Moreover, they were unaware of the minimum human rights and consequently they were victimized rudely. Their quietness was the indication of how helpless they were in the foreign land. Their sweating face and the hard harsh body really invited the sympathy from the writer. He obviously got the answer which he was searching for from his childhood. He clearly knew that he could never be the ‘Los Pobres’.

This story is very powerful not only in depicting the life of the poor and powerless but also in advocating for their rights. Indirectly, the writer speaks for the poor and the powerless people and against their exploitation by the employers. Despite being an autobiographical story, this story is able to generalize the common experience of the working people. Similarly this story changes the perspective of the people towards the working class people. Instead of heretic and mockery, they deserve love and respect.

AMERICAN VALUES AND ASSUMPTION - Gary Althen

 

AMERICAN VALUES AND ASSUMPTION - Gary Althen

The main point

Individualism:

          The most important thing to understand about Americans is probably their devotion to individualism. They are trained from many early in their views to consider themselves as separate individuals who are responsible for their own situations in life and their own destinies.

Competition:

          Individualistic Americans neutrally see themselves as beings in competition with others competitiveness pervades the society. It is obvious in the attention given to athletic events and star athletes who are praised for being real competitors.

Privacy:

          Also closely associated with the value they place an individualism is the importance American assign to privacy. Americans assume that people “need some time to them” or “some time alone” to think about things or recover their spent psychological energy.

Equality:

          Americans are also instinctive in the degree to which they believe in the ideal as stated in their declaration of independence that all men are created equal.

Informality:

          The sense of equality makes the Americans to be informal we rarely see the Americans being in formal dress up. They use slang o address each other they never show to the serious. They attend the public ceremonies even in casual dress.

The future, change and progress:

          The American ignores the past and focus in future. Look ahead is their main slogan. They never regret for the past but see the future besides they believe in changed though the effort of the people. They believes that time is under the control of human beings.

Time:

          For the American “motion is progress and labor is money. They appreciate the people who make well use of time well organized people get social respect.

Achievement, action work and materialism:

          For the Americans a person is more important than who the person belongs to the work that a person does aspects are ignored.

Directness and assertiveness:

          The Americans are opening minded and they speak directly to others. Besides they are clever mined and devoted to their works.

Where do you stand?- Lisa Davis

 Where do you stand?- Lisa Davis

          In this essay the writer is trying to show how the body position can have non- verbal communication. Through the position of the body, the people also communicated their cultural differences not only between the countries but also within the same country.

          The people from Middle East make physical intimacy where the Americans maintain a distance. When a businessman of Middle East steps forward, the American steps backward as far as possible.

          The difference of personal space is within access. The male and the female of the same location show different physical intimacy. The female would like to come quite closer than the males.

          The cultural differences can be seen in classroom environment. The American culture teaches the students to make a direct eye contact with the teacher whereas the Asian student feels it as disrespect to the teachers. On the other hand an American teacher feels it as insult if the students break the eye contact. Similarly, a Japanese unless feel quite uncomfortable when his American partner deals with him informal manner.

Key points.

a)      Americans use more eye contact than do the Japanese.

b)    South Americans conjure at a close distance then do the northern Europeans.

c)     Saudi Arabians show more physical contact than the Americans. They show intimacy by holding hands walk in the street joining the hands but the American hate it.

d)    Men keep greater distance than the women and women tend to make more eye contact than the man.

e)     The Asian try to understand a person through sense perception and they go quite close to a person but the Americans try to understand through gestures.

f)      The Asian students show respect to the teacher by breaking the direct eye contact with the teacher there as the western students maintains it through direct eye contact.

Main theme

          Where do you stand? Is an essay by Lisa Davis in which she is focusing on the importance of intercultural studies, specially the location of the body. It is obvious the meaning of the body differs from culture to culture group to group within a country even between the gender and so on, there is a greater chance at misunderstanding about body position and consequently there is a disaster in order to prevent the misunderstanding at the detail It is necessary to study inter-cultural practices.

          In the present time the entire world has became a global village and the people have earn inter-cultural practices to avoid the possible misunderstanding, specially the people of business world are prone to each misunderstanding. They have to deal with people from different world and might be showing the sense of intimacy but the same manner might be unnatural for the others.For example holding hands is a sign of showing affection to the other in the eastern culture but they look really unnatural in American culture , similarly making on eye contact with the teacher or concern person is a sign of respect in American cultural Whereas it is a sign of disrespect in eastern culture. If a Nepalese student those to Americans classes he finds the classroom environment really strange unless he is given the version of intercultural studies.

          Therefore the unlike justifies the need for inter-culture studies has became essential part in the modern situation especially with globalization. It would be much easier for the people of alliance culture to appreciate the culture of the other people of they know that keeping physical intimacy and despair differs from people to people.

Time Talks with an Accent - Robert Levine

 Time Talks with an Accent - Robert Levine

          In his essay Robert Levine discusses about cultural differences in regards with the concept of time and the intercultural misunderstandings and conflicts that owns the variations in the temporal concept of time.

This essay is based on the personal experience of the writer himself, as a writing professor at Brazil. In the essay he discusses about the difficulties he had had in a college to a new concept of social time, which reflects different cultural beliefs, assumption and values then he was habitual in his native country i.e. us. After his experience with Brazilian student teachers and other people, the writer realized that the people did have different concept and values about the time. These people were unable to materialize the time and follow its pace.

        Unlike American students, the Brazilian student ignored the time value and came in the class, without hesitation, even long after the commencement of the class. Besides they were in no hurry after leaving the class for they surrounded the teacher for a long time. Moreover the writer also found that even the professions were not punctual. They made the guilty for turning up late likewise his experience with the landlord suggested the same. Although he waited for him for a long time, he was unable to meet him, Undoubtedly the people of Brazil make apartments but they never travel themselves respecting the valves of time obviously they understand their social time but it make a great confusion to the people like the writers, who is accustomed to the exactness of the time.

 

·       As a child, the thought that time was measured by a clock but later in his maturity he know that it was measured by culture.

·       As a writing prof. he knew that Brazilians Report everything for tomorrow. ‘Amanha” was highly valued in their culture.

·       He also noticed that exactness of the time was not possible in Brazil. The people had their own concept of time and them more accordingly.

·       The Brazilians didn’t have the concept of early and late. They seem almost indifferent to the valve of time.

·       Not only were the students, the prof. also indifferent to the value of time. They were found of making appointments but never turn up on time.

·       The writers also noticed the high people or the landlords display their value by not being punctual. He waited for his landlord for more than two hours but the landlord didn’t wait for him even for the minutes.

·       In conclusion he realized that Brazilian concept of time was taking. They wasted their time in talking.

·       Levin in this narrating essay describes cultural differences in concept of time and inter cultural conflict and misunderstanding that after worries from these temporal variations. In order to enhance the intercultural experience Levine stresses the importance of learning unwritten rules about time in a new culture.

·       Levine in this essay means that rules of punctuality are strongly shaped by cultural values and believes.

·       Levine clarifies the concept of social time and says that social time is a cultural tempo. Orientation reflects unconscious values believes and rules. The components of social time and concept of punctuality, pace of life and orientation of past, present and future are discussed.

·       Adjusting to a forming concept of time is different because it reflects values, believes and rules that are after very different from those of the writers culture and that are unwritten or hidden.

·       In this place of writing Robort Levine maintains that there are cultural differences in concept of time reflecting values and believes which often lead to intercultural conflict and misunderstanding. By learning about a new cultures pace of life rules of partiality and orientation to past, present and future a writer can minimize problems and facilitate cultural adjustments.

TU BA 2nd year Compulsory English 202

Polite But Thirsty - By: Yaping Tang

Polite But Thirsty - By: Yaping Tang

In this essay “Polite but Thirsty” the writer has explained some of the cultural variations in between Chinese and American society. Especially she has tried to make the Chinese students aware about the American culture so that they could be adopted very easily in American culture.

Usually a new comer feels like a baby or an idiot in a new culture because of culture misunderstanding. There are several language problems but in addition to this the cultural differences make the problem even worse. Thus it is necessary to learn the cultural differences. The writer found some fundamentals differences between the Chinese and the American cultures.

a)     The Chinese classrooms are in proper discipline. There are certain rooms and values of the classrooms that they aren’t allowed to anything but in American classroom the students eat like in a canteen. As an eastern student, it was really a strange experience and a great adventure to be adopted in the American classroom.

b)    The second fundamental differences that the writer noticed were the directness of American people. They responded just in two ways; Yes or No.  They never show the so-called politeness which is highly esteemed eastern culture.

c)     The American people believe in the informality. They break the hierarchies and treat every individual equally. They address even their professor by their first name without adding the title Sir/Madam.

d)    The Americans never hide their feelings when someone praises the food, the house, the cloth, etc. They never reject it but rather they accept it happily which is very much ware in the eastern culture.

e)     The Americans open the gifts just in front of the host, he opens it and praises by heart but it is taken as uncivilized manner in the east. In eastern culture, gifts are given usually at the end of the party and they are opened after the departures of the guest.

f)      In American societies tipping system is highly popular as even as it is taken as necessary work in a restaurant. But in eastern society especially in China leaving a tip is rarely found. The Chinese students are ashamed when they aren’t leaving the tip to the workers. In this way Yaping Tang has tried to ease the problems of Chinese students in America. Her main intention is to reduce the cultural misunderstanding and to enable the Chinese students to learn the American culture before they come to America.

 

·  Cross cultural differences in the United States and China.

ü Informality / formality

ü Equality / social hierarchy

ü Direction / indirection

 

-         Self asserts / modern

·        Culture shocks – feeling of love and change and so suffering – food, climate, language, mannerism, communication

Symptoms of culture shocks:

          Absent, mindedness a feeling of hopelessness, fits of anger, excessive fear of being cheated, robbed or ignored, homesickness.