Saturday, February 29, 2020

Belonging in Romulus My Father and Looking for Alibrandi

Belonging in Romulus my father and looking for alibrandi: Belonging represents the need for individuals to find their identity and place within a society. This results in the growth of individuals and their understanding of the world around them. Through reading the novels, Romulus, My Father and Looking for Alibrandi, we are helped to get a better understanding of the concept of belonging, belonging to a country, belonging to family, and belonging to a racial group. As well as the struggles of not belonging and being an outcast because of race. Romulus, My Father, written by Raimond Gaita, is a true story about Raimonds father, Romulus. Gaita explores the concepts of belonging to a family, belonging to the Australian landscape, and not being accepted because of the fact that Romulus was an immigrant. We belong when we feel connected to others and the world. Romulus found it hard to fit in when he arrived to Australia. This is understandable as immagration invariably involves detachment, loneliness and isolation. His first two years in Australia saw him working for the government, isolated from his family. Romulus did not physically belong to the community due to his appearance, everybody noticed his eyes, almond-shaped, hazel and intense. Colour imagery is used here to contrast the lighter colours of the stereotypical Australian. Romulus was embaressed about his dark complexion, he called himself gipsy and later in Australia, an Aborigine. We see here that Romulus changes his story, in a plea to belong to a community or environment. Romulus doesnt dwell over the isolation he feels, instead he has come to accept what fate dealt him. He feels he is not owed anything better then what he currently has. As time progresses and members of the community realise the blacksmithing and handyman skills he has, he earns respect. It was because Romulus treated everyone with great respect that he was eventually accepted and finally felt a sense of belonging. Similarly, in Looking for Alibrandi, written by Melina Marchetta, we see the pain of a 17 year old girl, Josephine, as she is stuck in between two worlds. She earnt a scholarship at an upper class private school where everyone is judged by how rich their families are. Josie is embaressed of her Italian background, she has been bullied through school and steers away from her Italian traditions. Josie endures pain over her background, and thinks no matter how smart she is, shes always going to be the little ethnic girl from Glebe as far as these people are concerned. She feels that she doesnt belong within society and The use of the words these people highlight the cultural divide and differences between the white anglo-saxon community and the Italian community. When Josie calls upon her father for legal help after assaulting Carly Bishop, her father asked her the reason why she hit Caly with a book, she called me a wog, amongst other things, her father then went on to say You are a wog Josie, does it offend you to be one? . From this point forward, Josie was forced to reconsider her perspective on being Italian. Eventually, a pride in her Italian heritage emerges, although she is selective and doesnt want to be a long suffering Italian woman as earlier generations of women had. However, she didn;t want to be a rebel Italian because she hates the thought of being outcasted by her Italian community, she wants to belong. A sense of belonging can be created with an environment. In Romulus, My Father, we feel Romuluss pain has he longs for the generous and soft Eurpoean foliage. Although the Australian landscape is beautiful, he has no connection or sense of belonging to the environment as he is used to the lush and green bush of Europe. Words with negative connotations such as scraggy and desolate are used to describe the harsh Australian environment and to highlight the fact that Romulus feels no sense of belonging with it. In contrast to this, we see how Raimond finally appreciates the rare beauty of the Australian environment. He now realises that how beautiful it is and feels a connection to it, he has finally stopped looking through his fathers European eyes, the scraggy shapes and sparse foliage actually became the foci for my sense of its beauty and everything else fell into place. In both texts we see the concepts of belonging to a family or close friends. In Romulus, we see the strong bond not only between Romulus and Raimond, but also Hora. The strong bond between father and son is symbolised solely by the memoir, the fact that Raimond wrote the novel about his father emphasies the strong bond they had. Romulus motorbikes were used as a symbol to show the sense of belonging they feel amongst each other, i was nervous when i rode with Mitru and entreated him to slow down on the gravel roads. When i rode with my father, no matter how fast he drove, i always urged him to go faster. Romulus and Horas relationship has stemmed from a cultural bond to a strong friendship based on respect and trust. They became close because of the similar cultures, and they were both aliens in a foreign country. Horas friendship rubs off onto Raimond, who he has great affection for. This is shown by Hora making sure Raimond had an orange for school every day. The fact that Hora would do anything for Raimond is a reflection of the deep sense of belonging that Hora feels towards Romulus. Similarly, in Looking for Alibrandi, we see the strong bond between Josie, and her mother Christina. Although they fight at times because of their fiery personalities, the bond will always be strong because of the hard times they have been through together. As Josie matures on her road to an inner sense of belonging, she becomes close to her grandmother. This is partly because of the fact she has accepted her Italian background, which means she can now tolerate her Nonna more. At the agof 17, she also meets her father for the first time. Initially, she resents him. But after spending time with him she realises how alike they are and they form a tight bond, therefore belonging with each other.

Thursday, February 13, 2020

Latino Culture is Growing Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Latino Culture is Growing - Research Paper Example Latino culture is certainly changing, but it is the aim of this essay to provide evidence that Latino culture is growing within the United States and as such is becoming more influential and powerful than ever before. The hypothesis of this paper is that the literature will support the notion that Latino culture is growing within the United States, and as such the operational definition will seek to define the statement above by describing the number of Latin Americans in the United States and the areas in which their culture is growing. We will define the weight of the Latin American culture in terms of number and evidence provided within the literature that it is becoming more and more influential in all areas of cultural interest. According to our hypothesis, Latino culture is growing and as such we will expect the tests we do (in this case measuring qualitative and quantitative evidence for the growth of Latino culture) to support this, providing us with an operational definition . To understand the growth of Latino culture, it is important to understand what exactly comprises it. Latino culture at its most basic level involves anything cultural that can be found predominantly amongst those within the Latin American ethnic group. It also generally refers to movements that have come from Latin America directly, or modern adaptations of this. For example, Roman Catholicism is generally thought to be a large part of Latin American culture (Phol, 1998). Music is found within all cultures, and Latino culture is no different. Latino music generally refers to music made by those of a Latin American origin, whether it be traditional forms such as salsa or adaptations of more modern American trends such as hip-hop or rock music with a distinctly Latin flavour, such as involving traditional rhythms or singing in Spanish. Language is often associated with culture too, and we will look at how the Spanish language is the most important growing language in the United Stat es and how Spanglish (a fusion of Spanish and English) is becoming more common amongst Latin American and Anglo American teens. It is hard with Latino culture, as with any culture, to pin down exactly what makes it unique, as culture changes so rapidly. However, it is safe to assume that Latino culture can be attributed to those of Latin American origin and as such most of the cultural elements discussed within this essay will be those directly formed under the influence of people of this ethnic origin. It is widely recognised that Latino culture is growing, particularly within adolescent groups. Latino teenagers now have more spending power than Anglo teens, spending over $320 a month, which is 4% more than the average American teenager (Stapinski, 1999). This means that advertising companies have had to adapt and begin to target Latino adolescents to improve profit margins, and new advertising companies such as Lazos Latinos have started to appear, primarily targeting the Latino Y outh. With this increased targeted advertising, more elements of Latino culture have been reaching a wider audience, meaning that Anglo teenagers pick up on the trends that are currently defining Latino culture and as such the trends are spreading to a wider

Saturday, February 1, 2020

Is the solution to having it allfor parents just to have one child Essay

Is the solution to having it allfor parents just to have one child - Essay Example One child theory has been favoured by women due to its rationality and measurable outcomes. According to her theory, problem of mismanagement starts occurring when women in significant positions (professionals) opt for more than one child and end up in losing their health, wealth, joy, sanity and financial stability due to distracted presence (at home and work). A decade ago, when â€Å"Stay-at-home-mom† revolution surged then Linda Hirshman (feminist writer) advised these women to not quit their career completely for upbringing of their children, but instead adapt one child policy to balance both. However, the revolution persuaded them to an extent that they left their jobs for family life. After a decade, â€Å"Stay-at-home-mom† revolution is completely out of picture and women, who left professional life for family life, were interviewed to share their experiences of success or loss. These women who sacrificed their lives for child rearing, nearly after a decade face pressing issues like divorce, single parenting, sole management, financial instability and low professional scores on their resume due to job gap. Kali Goff the author of the article â€Å"Is Having Only One Child The Key To Gender Equality?† also supports Lind Hirshman stance on one child theory as it secures the position of a woman, when she is faced with issues like separation, divorce, single parenting or child custody. Moreover, she suggests that with multiple children dependency of a woman increases on his spouse. And this dependence is negative development for woman, as they tend to comprise bad/abusive behaviour of their spouse for the sake of their children. Thus, financial stability of a woman is a significant matter in all times and to maintain this stability, women have to embrace a strategy, which enables them to be successful as a parent and professional as well. Juggling with high profile career and family