Fish Cheeks vs. Its Hard Enough Being Me

Fish Cheeks vs. Its Hard Enough Being Me In the new wave of globalization, movement across borders has become the norm. Most importantly, children often find themselves in unfamiliar territories when their parents relocate to other countries. In such situations, they experience cultural identity confusion as they try to redefine their identity amidst conflicting cultures. However, while redefining identity may attract challenges for adults, it is quite daunting for children and youths; since they are already struggling with developmental identity crisis.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on â€Å"Fish Cheeks† vs. â€Å"It’s Hard Enough Being Me† specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More On the same note, Amy Tan â€Å"Fish Cheeks† and Anna Raya â€Å"It’s Hard Enough Being Me† essays explore the subject of cultural identity struggle from the perspective of young people, who find themselves at cultural cross-roads in foreign soils . Against this milieu, this essay will provide a critical analysis of the two essays in an attempt to bring out the similarities and differences therein. To begin with, Raya finds herself in New York in pursuit of a university degree at the Columbia University. While here, she undergoes an array of conflicting experiences as she tries to redefine her identity amidst numerous occasions of misidentification. Although Raya has always identified herself with her Mexican and some Puerto Rican roots, she is thrown into identity confusion when her peers regard her as a â€Å"Latina† (Raya 1010). Due to this label, peers expect her to have a grasp of Spanish language, know how to dance salsa, and be knowledgeable about Mexican history. However, Raya confesses that she knew none of those things (Raya 1010). Correspondingly, in ‘’Fish Cheeks† Tan exposes the struggle she endured while growing up in America as a Chinese teenager. Tan was always embarrassed about her background, and to some extent she perceived her traditional family as primitive (Raya 102). During teenage, individuals are always struggling with identity issues. Consequently, these two stories clearly depict that for young people, redefining identities in multicultural surroundings can be quite strenuous. On the same note, isolation and loneliness themes are constantly featured in these two stories. When circumstances compel Raya and Tan to grow up alongside white American culture, the feelings of isolation becomes inevitable. Raya (1010) confesses that her peers expected her to exhibit some aura of â€Å"Latin-ness’’. Similarly, Tan avoids interacting with her peers because she is embarrassed of her Chinese roots. As a result, she avoided situations that could compel her to reveal her ‘tainted’ culture. (Tan 102). Although Tan’s embarrassment can be attributed to teenage-hood issues; she clearly confesses that she wished she had ‘a slim American nose’ that would enable her to be regarded as a Native American (Tan 102). Noticeably, the two authors do not mention about their interaction with people outside their respective culture. Obviously, this insinuates that identity crisis is coupled with feeling of loneliness.Advertising Looking for essay on american literature? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Furthermore, isolation as a result of cultural identity disparities is clearly accentuated in â€Å"It’s Hard Enough Being Me.† The above title indicates that cultural identity is a complex phenomenon that is often challenging to most people. However, it becomes even harder when one is forced to coexist with individuals who portray little or no element of cultural empathy. Raya feels isolated because her peers associate her with a culture she knows little about. Interestingly though, after a long struggle with cultural identity confus ion, Raya and Tan successfully reconciles with their rich heritage. Eventually, Raya realizes that trying to conform to the American culture only brought pain, loneliness and unhappiness to her life. Therefore in order to eliminate feelings of inadequacy and unhappiness, she decides to pass herself off as a woman with a rich heritage rather than trying to imitate American culture (Raya1011). Contrastingly, the protagonists in these two stories portray some element of diversity. Although Ray is caught up between cultural identity dilemmas, she is not embarrassed with her past. As a matter of fact, she is angered because her peers do not seem to understand the difference between her Mexican/ Puerto Rican and Latina background. Her only concern is that she is associated with a culture she knows little about. Contrastingly, Tan perceives her Chinese background as embarrassing. She is embarrassed about the way her family celebrates Christmas. Most importantly, when her parents invite a w hite family for Christmas dinner, she is angered because she assumes that they would definitely find their Chinese meals and mannerism disgusting (Tan 103). She confesses that she wished to ‘disappear’ rather than undergo those ‘embarrassing’ moments, when minister’s family would interact with their â€Å"shabby† culture (Tan 103). The above analysis depicts that unlike Raya, Tan wished to be regarded as an American instead of being associated with Chinese roots, which she perceived as embarrassing and primitive. In a nutshell, Raya’s and Tan’s essays depict numerous similarities than differences. Inspired by the concept of cultural identity, the two authors explored themes of isolation and loneliness from a young person’s perspective. Raya’s cultural confusion arises when peer pressure compels her to behave like a Latin native while in real sense she is of Mexican/ Puerto Rican origin. However, while Tan is seeming ly embarrassed by her Chinese background, Raya is proud of her roots. Raya, Anna Lisa. â€Å"It’s Hard enough Being Me.† Literature and Composition. Ed. Sylvan Barnett et al. 6th ed. New York: Longman, 2003. 1010-1011. Print.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on â€Å"Fish Cheeks† vs. â€Å"It’s Hard Enough Being Me† specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Tan, Amy. â€Å"Fish Cheeks.†. Amy Tan: a literary companion. Ed. Mary Ellen Snodgrass. London: McFarland, 2004. 102-103. Print.

The clouds in the sky create a nice cool blanket f Essays

The clouds in the sky create a nice cool blanket f Essays The clouds in the sky create a nice cool blanket from the hot sun. I can smell the rain that was once falling. The sound from the cars and the people create a nice little harmony that one could easily lay down and relax to. Not too far off in the distance I see the old softball stadium. And scattered around the park are huge oak trees. I can also see the playground, and the muddy path that the runners take. Now, the clouds are breaking and shinning just a hint of sun into this wonderful picture. The temperature is one that is dreamed of on the hottest and the coldest days. It is not to hot, and it is definitely not to cold. This new sunlight seems to change the color of everything. The grass which was once a forest green has now turned into green. The trees which seemed dark at first, now actually resembles brown bark and green leaves. Even the metal fence that goes around the softball stadium has turned from grey into silver. There seems to be more movement now, and I hear a bir d chirp every so often. The sun seems to be playing hide-and-go-seek with the clouds. I could definitely spend all day at this heavenly place. The clouds imprison the sun. The trees, in the breeze, shake like little kids on their first day of school. The sound of the cars and people remind you of how busy the world is. An old abandoned softball stadium looks as though it hasna t seen a player in years. The playground, that once held the smiling faces of children, now too is as lonesome as an old widow. The rain has left behind puddles. The mud, as if it were quicksand, waits for peoplea s feet. The mix of the humid air and the smog from the cars seems to clog my nose. This dark day makes me feel like I am lost in eternity. The icy wind whistles through the finger like branches of the bare trees, a light covering of snow lying heavily on their extremities. Brittle autumn leaves dance dramatically around in a great swirl of colour . Children are skating on the icy surface of the pond making large cracks like gaping wounds. Sledges hurtle down the piebald hills, rosy faces glowing and laughing, amidst the flurry of ice particles. Snowball throwing children cry with pain, their swollen red fingers throbbing with cold, their gloves wet and icy. An isolated snowman looks out over the glacial landscape, its coal eyes surveying all before it, somebody's old bob-cap perched crookedly on its cold head. People scurry along, their hats and scarves protecting them from the blustery weather, the sallow sun casting a weak shadow across the deserted play area. Those who can no longer brave the weather take shelter in the cosy warmth of the cafe. Hot drinks are welcoming against the arctic elements outside. They chat about the inclement conditions, all of them looking forward to the first awakening signs of spring. A lone swan walks gracefully towards children throwing bread, its perfect white plumage camouflaged against the crisp whiteness of the snow. Robins perch on the trees waiting for any scraps or crumbs they may find, their feathers dishevelled from the breeze. The gates on the tennis courts are locked, they lie deserted and unused waiting for the first players of the year to arrive. The bowling green and crazy golf have an eerie silence about them, they lie like a forgotten town, deserted and derelict. I leave my lonely bench now. The cold is seeping through into my bones, the blood icy through my veins. My thick coat pulled tightly to keep me a little warmer. Maybe I will come again next week to sit and watch the winter wonderland before me. C hildren run excitedly towards the chiming of the ice cream van, its familiar tune carried on the warm summer breeze, the raspberry sauce dripping blood like down their hands. Families with swimming costumed children paddle in the paddling pool, their faces contorted with laughter and delight. Some baby's lie asleep in buggies their rosy cheeks scorched by

Statistics class Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Statistics class - Assignment Example The manager’s speculation that the true population proportion of customers who live in urban area exceeds 40% does not seem to be correct as the hypotheses testing shows that the proportion of customers may be around 40% or lower. The confidence interval also has a very high range of values and so it means that the proportion can be between 30% to 58% of the customers. The manager’s speculation that the average number of years lived in the current home is less than 13 years does not seem to be correct. The mean number of years lived in the current home is around 12.26 years. This shows that an average customer does seem to spend at least a decade in the same house and because of that will be more inclined to shopping things from the same department store over the years because of convenience. The confidence interval is (10.85, 13.67) and we can be 95% confident that on average a customer would live in the same house for an x number of years that is between those two intervals. The manager’s speculation that the average credit balance for suburban customers is more than $4300 does seem to be correct. The null hypothesis was rejected as the test statistic was higher than z-value during the hypotheses testing. It shows that urban customers also have a high amount of credit against their name and we can be 95% confident that on average an urban customer’s credit amount would lie between $4299.65 and $5051.02. 5) Because the sample size of the data is large enough (n> 30), the Central Limit Theorem will apply, and no assumptions have to be made about the population of the credit customers. The sampling distribution of the sample mean of credit customers will be approximately normal regardless of the distribution of individual credit customers. The confidence interval level is (0.30, 0.58). It means that we are 95% confident that population proportion of customers who live in urban area lie between the lower and the upper limit of the