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IDENTITY AND OTHERNESS what defines us? - Coggle Diagram
IDENTITY AND OTHERNESS
what defines us?
language
Sujata Bhatt: Search for my tongue
the fear of losing the mother tongue, the pressure of assimilation, the connection between the native tongue and self-expression
shared cultural background, nationality
What makes a typical American?
change
individualism, the fulfilment of the self, sense of achievement
informality
practical sense
equality of rights
belief in the
AMERICAN DREAM
success
Barak Obama 2008 the first black President
failure
Arthur Miller
, Death of a Salesman
the difficulty of being who you really want to be
your social position, the son of a failed salesman
pressure from your parents' expectations
comparing yourself with other more successful people
rejecting the ethics of success
how far do your actions define who you are? (Biff steals and ends up in jail but doesn't want that)
the burden of disappointing your father's expectations
escaping into a dreamland of projections and expectations the past was a better place in which he still had illusions, not frustrated or mortified by the present
accepting that your past choices determine who you are
the difficulty of assessing your real human value
Willy defines himself in terms of how much he can sell
misunderstanding conflicting emotions
confusing love with money, Willy's worth is the insurance money at his death
Russel Wayne Baker
, Growing up
the privilege of being a male in a man dominated world, your sex defines you and your opportunities
*Francis Scott Fitzgerald
The Great Gatsby*
creating a new identity to match one' s dreams and ambitions (from James Gatz to Jay Gatsby through a plan for self improvement)
different versions of himself WHO IS HE?
what he tells Nick, studied at Oxford, wealthy family
rumours about him, killed a man in the war
the mysterious telephone calls and his illegal activities
what his father discloses at the end
the American dream is an impossibility and unattainable
the dream was created by the Dutch who first landed where now is NYC (last words of the book)
the dream was actually created before America itself
1 more item...
you cannot bring back the past
all the characters are in one way or another dishonest
Gatsby fails because his dream does not concern the future but takes him back into the past to a promise filled moment
failure due to false values and hypocrisy
money and wealth
shallow society no true love/friendship/loyalty
new money vs old money
his parties crowded but no one attends his funeral
status attained through illegal trafficking
all the characters are dishonest
John Steinbeck
, The Grapes of Wrath
skin colour and religion
Thandie Newton
: denial of the self. search for a form of expression, acting and dancing as a way to plug into another self, the need to fit in, the dread of being an alien
uncertainty in times of change