The Melting Pot - 1277 Words

The â€Å"melting pot† metaphor explains how societies â€Å"melt together† to form a common culture. This process can be seen throughout the world even with some of the most heterogeneous societies now becoming more homogeneous. It is very true that change is persistent in all societies and the possibility of progression is endless, thus creating grounds for new playing fields globally. This growing interconnectedness known as globalization shows how the world we live in is full of innovations that bring us closer together than ever imagined before. Whether it be economically, politically, culturally, technologically, ecologically or socially, there’s no doubt globalization has become one of the strongest forces behind cultural homogenization. Globalization brings about opportunities such as richer societies through trade, and the sharing of knowledge and information from people. However, scholars have challenged just how one-dimensional these notions can truly be. How can one effectively create meaning and remain an individual with such a socio-political and political-economic driven world? This particular debate is outlined by three fundamentally different paradigms of cultural difference in Pietere’s text. Cultural differentialism is the idea that differences are lasting (Piterse 2009:4), cultural convergence is the awareness of growing sameness, and cultural hybridization is an ongoing mix of the two, ultimately creating new differences. Well known author Samuel PhillipsShow MoreRelatedAmerica Is The Great Melting Pot1122 Words   |  5 Pages America is the great Melting Pot. From an early age every American is taught that America contains a mixture of the world s cultures in a perfectly blended mixture. We honor and respect all cultures and invite them to bring their customs here to the United States. But do we really? Take for instance, the Hmong refugees who involuntarily moved to America. Cultural Assimilation seemed to be forced down the refugees throats. Keeping their native customs was looked on with horror and disgustRead MoreEssay on Melting Pot or Mosaic, Which One?616 Words   |  3 PagesMelting Pot or Mosaic, which one? Culture is a behavior that consists of several critical elements, such as language, religion, race and ethnicity, clothing and politics. Culture is what one does in his/her daily life. In order to understand others, we must first keep in mind that every culture carries its own set of values and assumptions. Culture is an evolving, ever changing civilization, which includes several different groups people. For immigrants, America is a land of opportunity; for othersRead MoreAmerica, Melting Pot or Salad Bowl Society?1980 Words   |  8 Pagesis called a melting pot; however, I would argue that America should no longer be called a melting pot. The term melting pot suggests that immigrants should assimilate into American culture. Instead, America should be looked upon as a salad bowl society or a mosaic work of art allowing our newcomers to bring their racial and ethnic differences to the country. This allows our newcomers to â€Å"retain their own national characteristics while in tegrating into a new society† (â€Å"Melting Pot America†). WeRead MoreAmerica s The Great Melting Pot1952 Words   |  8 PagesAmerica the great melting pot. Some have argued that the melting pot analogy is inaccurate. Instead America is like a tossed salad. A person can see all the individual ingredients that make up the salad. People will argue of what can go into a salad and what cannot go into just as people will argue about the place of certain groups with America. Some find disgust in certain groups of people and praise other. The situation is dynamic. The way people interact with groups are constantly changing andRead MoreAmerica: Melting Pot vs. Salad Bowl2318 Words   |  10 PagesAmerica: Melting Pot vs. Salad Bowl Multiculturalism is also known as ethnic diversity relating to communities containing multiple cultures. The term is used in two different broad ways, descriptively and normatively. By using the descriptive term, we usually refer to the simple fact of cultural diversity. This can be applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place and sometimes at the organizational level such as schools, neighborhoods or nations. The normative term is often referred toRead MoreEssay about The Mosaic of American Culture, Its No Melting Pot590 Words   |  3 PagesThe Mosaic of American Culture, Its No Melting Pot Culture is a behavior that consists of several critical elements, such as language, religion, race and ethnicity, clothing and politics. Culture is what one does in his/her daily life. In order to understand others, we must first keep in mind that every culture carries its own set of values and assumptions. Culture is an evolving, ever changing civilization, which includes several different groups people. For immigrants, America is a land ofRead More Immigration: Is America Really a Melting Pot? Essay example1822 Words   |  8 Pageswhere all races and nations come to labor and look forward.† This is an exert from the play â€Å"The Melting Pot.† Israel Zangwill was Jewish born in England, January 21, 1864 in London, England. Besides the â€Å"The Melting Pot,† Zangwill used his pen to defend women’s suffrage, Jewish emancipation, assimilation and Zionism. Zionism is the Jewish liberation movement (Wikipedia, 2012). In 1909, â€Å"The Melting Pot† was opened in Washington D.C. It was a hit. President Theodore Roosevelt gave the play high reviewsRead MoreThe United States has Changed from a Melting Pot to a Vast Culture with Varying Racial Backgrounds602 Words   |  3 PagesThe United States has Changed from a Melting Pot to a Vast Culture with Varying Racial Backgrounds The United States, created by blending or melting many cultures together into one common man, known as an American. Modern communication and transportation accelerate mass migrations from one continent . . . to the United States (Schlesinger 21). Ethnic and racial diversity was bound to happen in the American society. As immigration began to explode, . . . a cult of ethnicity erupted both betweenRead MoreMelting Pot6314 Words   |  26 PagesMetaphor of the Melting Pot Peggy Ruth Geren The melting pot has been used metaphorically to describe the dynamics of American social life. In addition to its descriptive uses, it has also been used to describe what should or should not take place in American social life. How did the term originate? How was it used originally? How is it used in contemporary society? What are some problems with the idea of the melting pot? How is public education connected to the idea of the melting pot? How doesRead MoreThe Myth Of The Melting Pot1352 Words   |  6 PagesProfessor Lianna Manukyan ESL 101 Essay 3: â€Å"The Myth of the Melting Pot† 13 November 2015 The Myth of the Melting Pot It is popularly believed that America is the biggest and most famous melting pot in the world. American history began with waves of immigrants bringing their own traditions, and culture to a new country. America is not the only country that is known as a melting pot, other countries like Russia are also practicing the melting pot; however, America is the only place that has such a diverse

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Barbie DollRepresent What A perfect American Woman Is Free Essays

Jennifer Perez ENC 1102 Research Paper Marge Piercy ever herd this name before? Well if you have, did you know she was the founder of Leap track Press? Marge Piercy is very well known as an American poet, novelist and social activist. Many of he founded work has been graded as best-selling. Piercy has a goal to have her feminist voice be herd by society. We will write a custom essay sample on Barbie Doll:Represent What A perfect American Woman Is or any similar topic only for you Order Now She shares her opinions threw the characters she makes in her writing and poetry. Piercy wrote the poem Barbie Doll, and in this poem she states woman do not need to fit into society’s point of view of what a woman should look and act like. Piercy has a fascinating history and high valued awards, but what was Piercy’s message to her audience when Barbie Doll was published in 1973. Piercy was born on March 31, 1936 in Detroit, Michigan into a family that was greatly affected by the great depression. As a child Piercy lived in a segregated neighborhood. Piercy has a half-brother from her mother’s side who is fourteen years older than her. She was raised in the Jewish religion by her grandmother and her mother. Till this day Piercy still remains a Jew. Piercy attended a public school in Detroit and half way through grade school she became sick with the German measles and rheumatic fever. When she got ill Piercy was disabled from doing what all of the other kids were doing as a result she built an unconditional love towards the world of literature. Piercy attended the University of Michigan and was the first in her family to attend college. At seventeen, Piercy won a Hopwood award for poetry and fiction. The scholarship money that she had won because of the award enabled her to finish college. She enjoyed the college style of life but found it very difficult to find her comfort zone because of all of the political decisions government had made for woman. Her schooling finished with an M. A from Northwestern University. After her first marriage Piercy lived in Chicago. She proceeded in writing and tried her best to develop poetry and fiction she was not yet able to produce. As a woman society had a horrible out-look on her. Piercy was a twenty three divorce woman living pay check to pay check on multiple part time jobs. She became and activist for the civil rights movement. She wanted woman to be valued not minimized. Piercy’s early work was omitted because of her feminist viewpoints. In 1982 Piercy married Ira Wood. As soon as her marriage was finalized the couple moved to Cape Cod. Wood and Piercy are both a part of the same work field. Wood is an author, teacher, a former publisher, and the host of a weekly radio talk show called â€Å"The Lowdown. † The due wrote a play titled â€Å"The Last White Class† and a novel called â€Å"Storm Tide. † In 1997 they founded a small literary publishing company called Leapfrog Press. Piercy and Wood have a very intimate and loving relationship, till this day the couple is still living in Cape Cod. Piercy never considered herself to fit into the image of what a woman was supposed to be like in the 1950’s. Piercy published her first novel called â€Å"Going Down Fast† in 1969. It was very difficult for Piercy to publish her first book because many did not agree with her feminist viewpoints. Piercy is the author of seventeen novels including four of New York Times best sellers and eighteen volumes of poetry. Piercy has played major roles in progressive political battles of our time. She was in activist in the anti-Vietnam war and the woman’s movement, and most recently an active participant in the resistance to the War in Iraq. Her novels â€Å"Woman on the Edge of Time† and â€Å"He, She and It† have great political commitment and imaginative power. With the Baby Boom era in play woman were becoming wives and mothers rapidly. During the Mid fifty’s thou 35 percent of all woman were working and a quarter of them married. Piercy was divorced, unsuccessful, and had multiple part time jobs at a young age. She worked as a secretary, a switchboard operator, a clerk in a department store, an artist model, and a faculty instructor. Consequently society looked down upon her and fell into the 35 percent of working woman. Piercy’s poem â€Å"Barbie Doll appears in her collection, â€Å"To Be of Us,† published in 1973. Piercy fundamentally states how humanity classifies woman for their stereotypical demeanor. Piercy uses a Barbie Doll to represent what a perfect American woman should appear as. The Poem begins with a normal young â€Å"girlchild† who plays with dolls, miniature kitchen items and pretend make-up. The poem takes an unsuspicious turn when the young girl was criticized by an outsider. He or she claimed she had to â€Å"exercise, diet, smile and wheedle† (page 647 line 14). The poem continues and there is a visual moment of her lying in a casket without her nose and legs â€Å"So she cut off her nose and her legs and offered them up†(page 647 line 17-18). Piercy uses the young child’s image as a representation of a Barbie Doll. The young child shows description that challenges were being faced by women of all ages who do not feel as if they do not fit society standards of being a woman. Despite of how sorrowful she felt the truth is she was healthy, happy, intelligent, and beautiful. How to cite Barbie Doll:Represent What A perfect American Woman Is, Essay examples