Different Cultural Identities Dilemma Essay

The memoir Farewell to Manzanar, written by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston, tells of her experience at Manzanar internment camp after the Pacific War broke out. During the internment of Japanese-Americans, their living standards fell drastically; moreover, they faced Japanese and American values and identity conflicts. It was hard for these Japanese Americans to maintain two different cultural identities for several reasons. In the first place, they suffered from racial discrimination. In the 1940s, mainstream society and the government discriminated against Japanese Americans who were viewed as potentially dangerous people who might betray the US. Thus, Japanese Americans found it was hard to be accepted by others in America. In addition, they largely insisted on their own cultural identities. They were not willing to give up Japanese identities after arriving in America. Chinese immigrants would like to get together and formed Chinatown for the same reason. In the article, â€Å"Two wor lds, one family,† Jen Maldonado was imposed on pressure by her Taiwanese friends who insisted on Chinese culture, when she wanted to develop a cross-cultural relationship with an American. It is hard to successfully balance two different cultural identities because of racial discrimination and the adherence to people’s former culture as will be shown using evidence from Farewell to Manzanar, â€Å"Two worlds, one family† and my personal observations. In the 1940s, Japanese-Americans suffered from racial discrimination; thus, they had a hard time getting into mainstream society and balancing their cultural identities. The government never showed full trust towards these immigrants who were viewed as threats to American national security. In order to supervise Japanese-Americans and prevent any potential danger, the government relocated Japanese Americans to internment camps, which exacerbated cultural conflicts and undermined basic human rights. The racist decision that the government made led Japanese Americans to feel that they were incompatible with American culture. Because of the racial discrimination the government initialized, many Japanese immigran ts thought they were insulted, and so they struggled to accept their American identities. Some of them even wanted to get rid of American identities and went back to Japan. As a result, racial discrimination threatened their American identities. Houston and her friend Radine shared many qualities in common and became the best friends. Although they were socially equal, they were treated in completely different ways because of racism. Houston was not culturally accepted by mainstream society as Radine was. Boys were more likely to ask Radine to the dances, even though they flirted with Houston. Houston was barred from sororities, but Radine was admitted to join them. Houston said that, â€Å"Watching, I am simply emptied, and in the dream I want to cry out, because she is something I can never be†(172). Houston never stopped attempting to retain American identity; however, prejudice of her oriental characteristics obstructed her effort. She looked forward to fulfilling her American identity, but she was too helpless and powerless to challenge enormous racial discrimination, Other than prejudice against Japanese-Americans, another reason that caused people from different cultures to struggle to balance two cultural iden tities was adherence to their own culture. After arriving at the continent and staying there for years, many Japanese immigrants still considered that they were more Japanese than American. They were not willing to give up their own culture, and so they confronted cultural conflicts. A minority of people in the camps labeled members of the Japanese American Citizens League â€Å"inu† for â€Å"having helped the army arrange a peaceful and orderly evacuation†(67). â€Å"Inu† meant collaborator or informer in Japanese. The hatred towards these pro-American Japanese immigrants and disrespectful insult words revealed their strong belief in Japan and hostility towards America. To people’s surprise, the author’s father who stood up to defend the point of view that immigrants should be loyal to American government was assaulted and condemned by his peers. Although these pro-Japan immigrants had been in America for many years, they still insisted that they were more Japanese. It was the thought that some Japanese Americans were not capable of integrating into American culture and balancing two identities. Chinatown exemplified that Chinese immigrants insisted on their own culture. Chinese immigrants were viewed as a group of conservative and un-American people after they first came to America. They showed keen interests in preserving Chinese culture, but they would not adapt themselves to American society. Therefore, their refusal to give up Chinese identity led to their isolation and failure to balance two cultural identities Their adherence promoted the formation of Chinatown, a Chinese world in alien countries. In the article, â€Å"Two worlds, one family,† â€Å"Jen’s Taiwanese friends started giving her grief for dating an American.† They were strict about Chinese culture and rejected the cross-cultural marriage. Jen was also warned that she â€Å"‘needed to stick with someone from her own culture.'† By this, her friends hoped that Jen could retain her Chinese identity by narrowing down her dating range. However, many cases had proven that the cross-cultural marriage played an important role in balancing different cultura l identities. When people with different cultural backgrounds decide to form cross-cultural families, they build a bridge of cultural communication. Thus, her friends’ thoughts undermined cultural exchange. To conclude, it is hard to successfully balance two different cultural identities. Racial discrimination stopped Japanese Americans from balancing their cultural identities. In the wartime, the mainstream society held hostility towards these immigrants, and so they were isolated by the majority. Moreover, some people’s adherence to their former culture became the obstacle of integrating into American society. Chinese always struggled to have cross-cultural communications proceed effectively and successfully due to their insistence on Chinese identity. In the article, â€Å"Two worlds, one family,† Jen was hoped that she could date Chinese persons by her friends. However, their insistence seemed to be stubborn because it blocked effective communication between people from different cultural backgrounds. In order to balance two different cultural identities, people should be more lenient with newcomers and more open to new culture.