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Diversity In American Literature

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Introduction: As America grows ever more diverse, the question of what it means to be an American yields an increasingly complicated answer. Nevertheless, Diversity is a key part of the answer. Whether cultural , religious or racial diversity. Thus the American identity had always been a crucial topic in the Academic field. Leading to researches about the American identity formation, each of them advancing a hypothesis. Literature can play an important role in the formation of various form of social identity, including national, ethnic and religious identity. This often happens through a fixation of literary tradition, in other words the establishment of a canon of literary works. American Literature as a discipline was the culmination …show more content…

2) The extent to which the prevailing context provides ground for comparison between groups.
3) The perceived relevance of the comparison group, which itself will be shaped by the relative and absolute status of the in-group. Individuals are likely to display favoritism when an in-group is central to their self-definition and a given comparison is meaningful or the outcome is contestable.

National Identity National identity comprehend an idea of time and space continuity of a nation , national identity is not the condition of being different from other nations, but rather about the content of differences. National identity is the nation cohesive link by traditions, language, history, culture and politics. In psychology national identity is the awareness of the differences in the same community but in the same time the ability to group the population under the “we and they” pronoun. National identity is not innate but rather acquired by the person interactivity with tradition language and national …show more content…

They face the complexities of determining one 's own identity. Erikson said this crisis is resolved with identity achievement, the point at which an individual has extensively considered various goals and values, accepting some and rejecting others, and understands who he or she is as a unique person. Once an adolescent has attained identity achievement, they are ready to enter the next stage of Erikson 's theory "Intimacy versus Isolation" where they will form strong friendships and a sense of companionship with others. If the "Identity versus Role Confusion" crisis is not solved, an adolescent will face confusion about future plans, particularly their roles in adulthood. Failure to form one 's own identity leads to failure to form a shared identity with others, which could lead to instability in many areas as an adult. The identity formation stage of Erik Erikson 's theory of psychosocial development is a crucial stage in

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A German psychoanalyst known as Erik Erikson examined three aspects of identity such as the ego, personal, and cultural identity. Erikson also establishes stages of development theory across the lifespan and the psychosocial approach. At each stage of development, there is a representation of a psychological obstacle known as the psychosocial crisis, in which an obstacle can be accomplished or denied for individuals. As the individual is conflicted with a task, it contributes to a major aspect of their personality. However, Newman and Newman added three extra stages to the developmental theory.

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In the article “Why Literature Matters” by Dana Gioia builds a claim about how the literature in America is declining. Although, people may say that there are no consequences, Dana proves that there are consequences. Throughout the essay Dana uses many references to persuade the audience. In the beginning of the essay he talks a lot about the education of the ages between 18-24.

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Patrick Buchanan’s essay on the diverse demographics in modern America targets Conservatives and those skeptical about the benefits of diversity, and persuades those people that the pursuit of diversity and equality is self-destructive. Buchanan instills fear into his audience by referencing conflicts that occurred when people of different backgrounds and ideas diverged. Buchanan makes us feel insecure with our government by referencing past empires to prove our democracy will inevitably fail. Finally, by offering data and a logical explanation, Buchanan persuades us that diversity threatens the nationalism and unification that we value so dearly. Buchanan dissuades his audience from supporting diversity by instilling the common emotion of

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Goodbye, Columbus is a novella which was written by the American author Philip Roth and was published in 1959. It tells the story of Neil Klugman, a young, Jewish, lower-middle-class man, who meets and falls in love with Brenda Patimkin, a young, Jewish, upper-middle-class woman (France 83). The social differences between them are an essential theme in the novella which, as a result, examines the development of identity, in particular, Neil’s “struggle to develop and preserve an identity of his own amid different environments and conflicting impulses within himself” (Nilsen 97). An analysis of Philip Roth’s Goodbye, Columbus illustrates the construction of cultural identity.

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In this period of adolescence based upon Erikson’s model, however, I found myself in periods of both stability and instability when understanding my identity. Unsuccessful resolution of the psychosocial challenge regarding identity is at first glance, a negative result. Erikson explains it may be difficult when advancing to the next developmental stage as a result of unsuccessful resolution; what he does not explicitly explain, however, are the ups and downs of development that occur within each stage. Acknowledging the constants that remain as one progresses to new developmental stages as well as growth that occurs, his theory helps me understand development is not linear. In understanding how continuity within change works by connecting it to Erikson’s theory in the lens of my own personal experience, I learn my identity development and the crisis I faced can be framed in a different manner than previously thought.

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Identity is an important part of our lifestyle. Showing our identity is a fundamental part of life; it is the way we communicate with each other. As citizens, we showcase our identity through our attire and statements. Nations use other methods to showcase their identity. Canadian identity has often been a popular theme with historians and social scientists over the years.

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National identity, itself is often difficult to conceive, but can only be explained in terms of racial. US national identity is sadly a combination of external and internal racisms. External racism occurs when powerful racial groups aim to remove the weak racial groups from schools, jobs, neighborhoods, and social spaces. Native people are likely to experienced external racism—being treated as foreign invaders. By contrast, internal racisms occur when powerful groups subordinate the weak racial groups in order to maintain their standard of living.

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After an examination of Erik Erikson and Daniel Levinson’s theories at first sight not much is alike, since the stages both differ, but digging deeper in Erikson's and Levinson’s theories have similar ideas in social development; after all, these two studies differ in the outcome. Erik erikson's theories have a greater underlining on child-adolescent development, he believes that early development of a child is the foundation and is the greatest impact on a person's identity and personality later on in life. Erikson presents the stages from childhood to adulthood, but in his theory the only significant development is during childhood, which is the problem, since an individual goes through life experiences throughout life they may have a great impact as an adult too. On the other hand Daniel Levinson’s theory signifies changes throughout all of life's experiences, from childhood to adulthood and continuing. Levinson’s theory believes that we adapt ad we let go of certain things as we move on in life and move from one stage to another.

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Identity speaks of who we are as individuals but it also comes from two different groups: social and cultural. These groups are connected to power, values and ideology. Social identities are related to how we interact with people and how we present ourselves. Meanwhile cultural identities relate to society in whole such as religion, values, etc. In this paper I will talk about the dominant and subordinate identities.

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America’s identity is defined differently by every individual. Ideally it was to be a place of freedom and acceptance, identified by its message of liberty and hard-work, however the question arises whether America is a melting pot in which only one culture dominates or it a mosaic of many peoples’ histories. America’s potential and true identity lies within its ability to assimilate and create a natural individualism despite race, class, and immigration standing. A country as powerful and influential as America is within industry, politics, and socioeconomics cannot be abstract in definition.

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As well as some religious and economic practices, besides, families, community and political systems. “The Harlem Renaissance and the Black Arts movement are only two of many periods in black history that have shaped the African American experience” (tnj.com, 2010). The previous sentence confirms that black history is not only impacting the African American history or culture but also this shaped their American experience. Eventually, culture refers to the way of life in what they are from, what dialect they talk and their religion, while identity means their nationalities and in to which country they belong. Both parts can’t be separated from one another, and both play important role in defining one character.

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Each individual has their own different social identity. One’s social identity is constructed based on the different influences around them. The development of social identity is influenced by various factors such as the historical, cultural and religious beliefs of the society, community or family where one is brought up. It is influenced by the behaviours and attitudes of authority figures such as parents, teachers and community leaders around them, it is also influenced by external factors such as the media, one’s peers and the overall exposure one has (Carrim, 2006, p56).

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The online article, Erik Erikson's Theory of Psychosocial Development from Psychology

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Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development Many researchers have tried to revise after Freud 's psychoanalysis, to show the value associated with the process and I have to follow their development (Kail, Cavanaugh, 2004). The most prominent of the so-called ego psychology was Erik Erikson. As with other postfreydistov for Erickson the greatest importance was the self and its adaptive capacity in connection with the problem of the individual. However, this does not mean that he neglected his theory of biological or social factors (Kail, Cavanaugh, 2004).

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Due to challenges as well as issues confronted by adolescents they may have identity confusion which is comprised of identity foreclosure, negative identity and diffusion. Identity foreclosure alludes to the identity crisis being resolved by making a series of premature decisions about one’s identity, based on other’s expectations of what and who one should be. Negative identity alludes to adolescents who form an identity contrary to the cultural values and expectations and diffusion refers to a kind of apathy in which the youth lacks any kind of passion or commitment (Louw&Louw, 2007). However, this challenge could be overcome by positive role identity or identity achievement which is “the sense of really knowing who one is and in general, where one is headed in life” (Fleming, 2004: 9).Erikson’s theory states that, throughout life, individuals go through various stages during which one will meet ever changing psychosocial challenges.

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