'Identity – I am an American, not an Asian-American\r'

'‘I am an Ameri pot, non an Asian-American. My rejection of hyphenation has been c exclusivelyed race treachery, further it is really a demand that America exile the promises of its dream to all its citizens equally.\r\nWhat is individuality? umteen of us would think that the execute to this question is simple provided once placed on the stop and asked to answer it, the answer creates more(prenominal) of an issue than the question. individualism can be defined in umpteen divergent panaches and in that respect is more than adept identicalness. The almost obvious of these is an individual identity, regarding virtuoso person and their powerfulness to establish their identity and locate themselves. There ar besides favorable identities, and incarnate identities.\r\nUsually identity is to do with ideas that are derived from society and often requires some(prenominal) reflexivity as it is to do with being a brotherly being part of a society. It is mostly acq uired through social fundamental interaction and the meanings we decide of social positions and is often marked through symbols. individuality is all ab come forth mistakableities and differences. These help one severalize their soul of self in relation to others who are similar or assorted. For example it can help identify distinctive characteristics that assoil one different from others, or identify a shared viewpoint or physical features that make one similar to others. individuation is about how we think about ourselves, other plenty approximately us and what we think others around us think of us, many people would imagine social deportment unimaginable without a social identity.\r\nMukherjee grew up in a Hindu, Bengali-speaking and middle-class neighbourhood. The general thought in her birthplace was that ‘ones identity was fixed, derived from religion, caste, patrimony, and mother tongue. superstar did not need to ‘discover their identity beca engagemen t it was unchangeable and one hardly had an individual identity. As the society was one consisting of similar people, there was a sense of a shared and collective identity, even if not socially, at least within ones family it was shared.\r\nHer neighbourhood had influenced her identity greatly, especially when regarding social divisions. For example; gender. In the article, certain sentences make it clear that Mukherjee comes from a male-dominated society.\r\n‘Men provided and women were provided for. My father was a patriarch and I a pliant lady friend…I didnt expect myself to ever disobey or disappoint my father by setting my bear goals and taking charge of my future.\r\nIt also seems that class vie an important role in the social divisions of the collective identity where she lived. ‘Two commands my father had written out for me…marry the bridegroom he selected for me from our caste and class. She also claims that intercaste, interlanguage and interethni c marriages were forbidden within their traditional culture. take down emigration was frowned upon in Bengali tradition as it was seen as a form of diluting true culture.\r\nIt seems that a womans identity was set by the identity (or status) of her father, or after marriage; her husband. Mukherjee also states ‘I was who I was because I was Dr. Sudhir Lal Mukherjees daughter. It should also be noted that Mukherjee chooses to use the word ‘was rather than ‘am. This suggests that she has in a way cut off ties with her previous identity.\r\nShe now sees her chief(prenominal) identity as being American. Once in America, Mukherjee regarded herself as an Indian foreign student who intend to return to India to live. Her short and impulsive marriage ceremonial occasion led her into a whole spick-and-span human beings regarding identities and their importance. She felt cut off from the ways of her life in Bengal as she had do something she never would gift ever dream ed of doing. She now felt as if she had conflicting loyalties between two extremely different cultures. In America, women impart more rights and participate in society just as much as men. This was new to Mukherjee as she now struggled to find her true identity; something she had never really paid assistance to before.\r\nThere had been a recent uproar in America concerning things such as ‘who is an American? and ‘what is American culture?. These led to issues involving the scapegoating of immigrants which further pushed Mukherjee into adopting America as her new homeland and following American culture. However, Mukherjee done all with her own choice and therefore takes her citizenship in truth seriously.\r\nThe United Nations adds new members almost every year, many ‘old nations now find themselves challenged with ‘sub †nationalisms. It looks more and more likely that there will be a creation of more nationalities and people may unload true sight of what their nation once was. Many people in one society do not fuck each other or even of one anothers existence, yet there is a sense of a ‘community. Anderson (1983) describes this situation as an ‘imagined community. Members cannot know each other and despite inequality there is still an imagined meaningful friendship.\r\nOne can, and does have more than one identity. Goffman (1971) talks about impression management and gives life the metaphor of a drama. Humans are seen as actors and play many different roles. He believes that they follow certain ‘scripts which are relevant in some situations but not in others and interaction is seen as a performance to the audience. This is known as his ‘dramaturgical analogy. William Shakespeare once famously wrote ‘ All the serviceman is a stage, And all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and entrance; Each man in his sequence plays many parts. This means that a concept, even if not widely agreed with, to do with Goffmans idea has been around for a long time.\r\nIn the debate of culture and identity, the concept of agency is a central theme. histrionics is about choice, the ability to exercise this choice in order to shape our own identities. Agency is extremely related to reflexivity; a post juvenile idea. Reflexivity is to do with the capacity of humans to muse upon themselves, their actions and others around them in order to change or improve themselves. Mukherjee was brought up in an environment where the notion of agency in regards to identity did not exist. Identity was fixed, and one could not change it. Therefore, when she adopted her new found culture in America, she automatically was exploitation agency to choose and shape her own identity.\r\nIdentity is ever-changing; it changes with time, place and an individuals perception of reality (Vithu Jeyaloganathan †Sri Lankan born(p) Canadian, b. 1991).\r\nAn Indian politician and founder of the Indi an paper ( B.R.Ambedkar) once said that ‘Unlike a deteriorate of water which sustains its identity when it joins the ocean, man does not lose his being in the society in which he lives. Mans life is independent. He is born not for the information of society alone, but for the development of his self. This may be representative of Indias changing views on the topic of identity and more importantly, individual identity.\r\n'