By Any Other Name Essay

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“Culture makes people understand each other better. And if they understand each other better in their soul, it is easier to overcome the economic and political barriers. But first they have to understand that their neighbour is, in the end, just like them, with the same problems, the same questions.” Paulo Coelho's words give a sense of what culture can do for everyone in a community. It can benefit not only a small community but,the nation in general,because culture is so strong and intense.Culture can be defined as someone belonging to a social group,and it can have a significant impact on the decisions and things many people make. Many authors,like Coelho, also realized that culture is so powerful that it impacted them as authors. In addition,they have realized how influential cultural experiences impacts one’s persecution as a whole. Ethnicity, socioeconomic status,personal group culture,language,nationality,appearances and family are just a few things that influence one's perceptions.Throughout this essay, various experiences will be debated and most importantly justify …show more content…

An example of this is shown through the memoir, By Any Other Name, in which a teacher changes their names. The result was shocking, “Suppose we give you pretty English names. Wouldn’t that be more Jolly.” (Rama Rau, 3-4)Names play a huge role in defining who a person is. It is representing who they are and it may symbolize something bigger. Indians are raised with an American culture in majority of non-boarding schools. They are taught to be this race that is desperate for anything that America has,which lead to many Indians changing their goals to America goals.As a result, Indians are so alike the United States culture in their own unique ways,such as the names for instance. In other words,they are “copycats”. Therefore,Indians cultural trait of resemblance prevents most Indians from moving forward and making the right goals and