Cultural identity is developed through many activities you love to do and grow to learn more about. For example, playing the piano is a way to form your cultural identity by expressing yourself, through the way, you play. Jing-mei formed her cultural identity following her mother’s idea because if it wasn’t for her mother she wouldn’t have given the piano a chance and not be able to gain her cultural identity. Frida Kahlo formed her cultural identity by painting her feelings. Pat Mara formed her cultural identity by writing poems about how she felt about society. They all similarly discover their cultural identities because they both found an activity they liked and used it to express themselves. This cultural identity essay allows individuals to delve into the multifaceted aspects of their personal backgrounds, experiences, and passions, ultimately leading to a deeper understanding and appreciation of their cultural identity. Through various creative outlets such as music, art, or literature, individuals have the opportunity to express themselves and forge connections with their heritage, contributing to the development and enrichment of their cultural identities.
Jing-mei developed her cultural identity by playing the piano. When she was young she didn't care about playing the piano because she never gave herself a chance. When her mom died she realized she should have given it a chance. In chunk fourth, she said, “So maybe I never really gave myself a fair chance, I did pick up the basics pretty quickly, and I might have become a good pianist at a young age. But I was so determined not to try, not to be anybody different, and I learned to play only the most ear-splitting preludes, the most discordant hymns,” (p39). This is Jing-mei saying that she never gave herself a chance because she was so determined not to try because she was trying to show her mother that she didn't want to be what her mother wanted her to be. This is important because it’s showing how she realizes she's good at playing piano after her mother passed away. This supports my topic sentence by showing that she didn't like to play at first because she wanted to show her mother that she, didn’t want to be what her mother wanted her to be. Then they realized she was good at it when her mother passed away. at the end of, Chunk 8 it said,” It looked more difficult than I remembered. I played a few bars, surprised at how easily the notes came back to me.”(p81 ). This is Jing-mei saying that she gave herself a chance when her mother died and found out how easy it was for her. The quote is important because this is her developing that she’s not that bad at the piano and her realizing that her mother just wants her to do good in life. By showing this, it supports my topic because it’s showing how her mother helps her throughout the development of her cultural identity. Jing-mei developed her cultural identity by first really not caring for the piano because she wanted to show her mother that, she didn’t want to be what her mother wanted her to be and then her mother passed away and gives the piano a chance.
Frida Kahlo's cultural identity is painting because she expresses how she feels about society in her paintings. In paragraph 4 it states,” I paint my reality,” she said. “The only thing I know is that I paint because I need to, and I always paint whatever passes through my head, without any other consideration, What passed through Frida Kahlo’s head and into her art was some of the most original and dramatic imagery of the twentieth century.” This is how Frida Kahlo says she paints whatever passes through her head onto a canvas because society is not a nice place. The quote is important because it’s saying how she expresses herself in paintings and society is the reason. This supports my topic by showing how she expresses herself and how that develops a cultural identity. In paragraph4 it says,” Painting herself bleeding, weeping, cracked open, she transmuted her pain into art with remarkable frankness tempered by humor and fantasy. This is Frida Kahlo’s showing how she expressed her feelings in her paintings by painting how she feels during the 18th century and how society is a cruel world. This is showing how the painting made her feel safe and made her feel like she could express herself and society wouldn’t have to punish her for it. This is important because it's said that her cultural identity was painting because she could represent herself through her art. These quotes support my topic by showing how the painting was a way she expressed herself and society. Society helped Frida Kahlo develop her cultural identity by making her want to paint about how cruel it was.
Pat Mora's cultural identity is writing poems like Legal Alien because she gets to express how she feels about racism. (p.10) “viewed by Anglos as perhaps exotic, perhaps inferior, definitely different, viewed by Mexicans as alien..” Pat Mora is saying that Mexicans viewed Americans like aliens. She is showing how the two raises didn’t see each other equally. This is important because she is writing about how she feels about racism in a poem. This supports my topic because her cultural identity is writing poems because which allows her to write how she feels. (line 15-20)”a Mexican to Americans handy token sliding back and forth between the fringes of both worlds by smiling by masking the discomfort of being pre-judged Bi-laterally.” This is explaining how Mexicans are judged for trying to be like an American. She is showing the Mexican point of view on how they mask their discomfort of being pre-judged bi-laterally. This quote is important because it shows us how she feels about the racism against Americans and Mexicans. This helps my topic by showing how her cultural identity is writing poems by showing how she feels in her poems. Pat Mora develops her cultural identity by writing poems like Legal Alien.
Cultural identity is formed by an activity you do.
Pat Mora developed her cultural identity by writing poems about how she feels about racism.
Frida Kahlo developed her cultural identity by expressing herself and society in her paintings.
Jing-mei develops her cultural identity by expressing herself when playing the piano.
This helps my claim because they all found an activity to do and then developed it as their cultural identity. Finding an activity like a habit of yours, something that you find interesting or love to do. Cultural identity is formed by an activity you do like Jing-mei, Frida Kahlo, and Pat Mora. This helps you express who you are as a person and not have to worry about anything because it's an activity for yourself.