The Global Cultures Research Paper.
First person perspective is used in Howe’s story as signified through the use of “I”
throughout the story. This is used to indicate the narrator’s point of view making the story relatively reliable. The Global Cultures Research Paper. In essence, the narrator presents each account of the story. Such a point of view makes the whole story not only reliable but also understandable. The setting of the story contributes by making readers get a picture of the multicultural nature of the city and confusion
that arises as residents interact. For instance, narrator’s expectations were never realized after finding a rather disorganized New York City in which trash is piled on every corner. In another instance, narrator’s encounter with the New Yorker was rather awkward because the New Yorker could not believe she was Indian.
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In a third instance where a character’s expectations failed to
match the reality is when she worked as a waitress rather than appear as a business person. The Global Cultures Research Paper.
Without a doubt, the story could have been different if its narrator was not Native American
because the tone could have portrayed minorities as part of the society. Rather, the Native
American lens of the narrator implies that immigrants from all over the world populate the city.
Howe’s ideas of “half-breeds” hold up against Anzaldua’s “borderlands” in a rather interesting
way because they are not the same to a certain degree. Howe’s half-breeds indicate half-and-half
of majority of residents (a sense of belonging) in the city whereas Anzaldua’s borderland is all
about oppositional identity (notion of the other person or race). Immigrants are represented negatively in the story possibly because of a Native American lens. For instance, the narrator insists it is “our society” and some newcomers cannot be assimilated into it. The narrator
changes in this story as evidenced by her softening perception of immigrants towards the end. The Global Cultures Research Paper.
The point of view in Ortega’s story is third person because readers are told about another
person. This perspective is omniscient making the narrator seem reliable in all accounts of the
story. In essence, the point of view in the story contributes by building the character “s” in
reader’s eyes. The setting of the story contributes by presenting the readers with a character and
building up the story in his environment (the kitchen). Indeed, the story is all about a man who is
detached from his past due to cultural erosion and he can barely associate with it. The association
between the narrator and the child is probably father-child because at one point he reminds the
child about their visit to the grandparents. In addition, they plan to visit the place once more. The Global Cultures Research Paper.
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Certainly, the relationship is similar to that between the narrator and his dad because his dad also
used to cook on Sundays when the narrator was young. Examples of transformation in this story
include the Peruvian potatoes that “turned into flowers in the flames” and a secret flowering all
of which add beauty to the story. In essence, the story does not appear flat and boring to the readers because of these transformations. The potato symbolizes their different lives. The child has grown in a different culture from that of the father – and thus different from him. In addition,
it symbolizes the different cultures including Chinese, Indian and Spanish. Everything associated with such cultures is different including their foods and tastes. The narrator explains the loss of so many varieties of potatoes through global lens in which cultures have been eroded altogether. The Global Cultures Research Paper.
The narrator buries a potato to signify cultures that have remained, and the boy laughs because he cannot understand why the father believes in it. The character in this story is rather static because the father’s personality never changes as evidenced through his complicity at the end. In sum, his believes about cultures are unwavering throughout the story. The Global Cultures Research Paper.
34624453_Ortegas_Las_Pappas_-_Story_2.
The Global Cultures Research Paper.