Talk too much about identity, plz help me focus on ” Are they really find the place they live or they idealized”.

Tracy Zhou

EAD 1
Section 10
Mr.Akey
2-26-2020
Paper 2

Identity Shape Our Choices, or Our Choices Shape Our Identity

The term “identity” is a relatively new concept defined in the twentieth century, allegedly

coined by American psychologist and psychoanalyst Eric Ericsson. (It is said that Ericsson was

worried about his upbringing, such as his experience of discrimination, which had a great

influence on the idea of ​​the concept of “identity” and his research itself.) Cultural assumptions

greatly define the identity of an individual and allow us to identify others. Social and cultural

identities still play a great role in shaping the sense of identity of human beings, and it still

includes the ideas that are based on our gender, race, and bodies. The personal identity of an

individual cannot be separated from the social contexts that everyone lines in. It is important for

human beings to be encouraged to examine how most of the taken-for-granted aspects of

identity, which include ethnicity, gender, and the able-bodiedness, are shaped or even impacted

by the larger cultural forces. In “Home At Last,” Dinaw Mengestu shared about his amazing and

painful journey from Ethiopia refugee to a member of the Kensington community in Brooklyn.

Mengestu was living in many places until he realized his community in Kensington. In “The

Fifth Flavor,” Ronald Kelts charts the history of his childhood, which was spent separately

between Japan and the United States. His experience of two worlds left him feeling different in

each one. Kelts makes a decision to live in Japan instead of America. All the three authors

Latterell, Mengestu and Kelts discussed concept of identity as Latterell explained in her article

assumption.

In Latterell’s article various assumptions present the concept of identity and community

the first assumption is identity is controlled by culture. Identity primarily answers the question of

‘who I am’. It should not be seen as a permanent feature, but it would be useful to see the

development of one’s identity as an ongoing interactive process. “From the view of cultural

attitude and assumptions mainly describe identity and let us label or recognize others”( Lateral

pages l8). Identity can be considered both personal and social. Identification is made up of the

qualities that make us unique. These qualities may include, for example, social groups, cultural

norms, clothing, food, language, etc. The next hypothesis has to do with personal choice. On the

other hand, the concept of one’s own identity emphasizes aspects of social identity (including

differences and relationships with others), while the concept of personal identity requires the

inheritance and maintenance of consciousness. Personal identity can be thought of as a unique

feeling. Based on the article: “By understanding identity we must examine the choices we make

in our daily lives-choices about our social relationships and anything”( Latterell 10). Group

membership, in turn, is a central part of the social aspect of identity. This aspect of personality

needs to belong to and identify with specific groups such as occupations, hobbies, culture,

language, and the role of history. It is characterized by sustainability, such as common

knowledge and memory, the cultivation of “we” consciousness, and the emphasis on concept

formation. An identity experience based on a good sense of self can be an important asset, but if

it is based on, for example, perceived negative qualities, identity can also be a challenge to

happiness. How we understand ourselves also affects our behavior. This is why it is essential to

be aware of the qualities and components of one’s identity and strive to develop self-awareness

throughout one’s life. Identity mainly answers the question, “who am I?” It should not be seen as

a permanent feature, but it would be useful to see the development of one’s identity as an

ongoing interactive process. Identity can be considered both personal and social. Personal

identity is made up of the qualities that make us unique. These qualities may include, for

example, your values and interests. Personality can also develop around, for example, any school

or club or gym we join. Therefore, it is important to recognize and question how and by what

group or quality you define yourself. Through problematic and conscious self-reflection, it is

possible to develop a person’s identity throughout life.

Additionally, “Home at Last” by Mengestu reveals the realities associated with the

concept of home and in other words home as identity. He started his story with his search in

which he was looking for a home after reaching New York as a refugee. Then he tells how his

personality and identity changed due to community . and he called it “home”. The writer Dinaw

Mengestu (1978) has always been a foreigner. Even in his homeland. His father, an executive of

Ethiopian Airlines, fled the country when he was 2 years old, after a Marxist colonel with a name

tragically similar to him and he overthrew the emperor and began a bloody campaign of ‘social

cleansing’. Until 1991, Ethiopia experienced a succession of armed conflicts; he would return,

alone, 23 years later. Our idea of ​​home arises from a sentimental, ideal, passionate relationship

with our roots and with our place of origin. According to the article, “I can’t say when

accurately, I first became conscious of that emotional state—that I was continually going to and

not ever from”( Mengestu 124). The fact that he had grown up in the United States that he had

never felt at home here (especially when he was younger), made him begin to create an idea that

Ethiopia was his other home, his true home, a place in the that there was no racism, in which

everything was perfect, that he had no problems, and to whom he could always return. It was a

home in a utopian sense. “Here , there was a similar scene , this one played out on a Brooklyn

corner with a culture and history different from the one I had been born in too” (Mengestu126).

A set of distinctive characteristics that distinguish the culture of an ethnic or social group from

that of other human groups. A set of distinctive, spiritual, material, intellectual, and emotional

characteristics of a society or social group over a given period of time. The term “culture” also

includes lifestyles, rituals, art, inventions, technology, value systems, fundamental human rights,

traditions and beliefs. Through culture, humans express themselves, become aware of

themselves, question their own achievements, seek new meaning, and create works that

transcend themselves. That’s what Mengestu revealed after finding a new home and a final one.

In fifth flavor the author Kelts tells the story of his childhood experiences that he spent between

Japan and then in the USA. The existence of the unique taste of umami indicates that Japanese

people’s taste is strongly influenced by cultural factors. For humanity, food is considered to have

both “natural” and “cultural” factors. Based on the ‘scientific’ fact that umami is the fifth taste,

what is umami culture and non-umami culture, and the relationship between people’s perception

of umami and culture / cultural classification in each? Traditionally, in the West, where the word

and concept of “Umami” did not exist clearly, umami feature articles can now be found in major

media . Umami, the fifth taste added to sweetness, sourness, saltiness, and bitterness, has begun

to be learned academically, and is called “Umami”. Based on the article, “My memories of those

days ….-and-terrarium set”( Kelts 42). Umami, the fifth taste, provided an opportunity to

reconsider the relationship between food culture, classification, and taste. While various dietary

habits and cultures exist simultaneously around the world, many are currently affected by

globalization. In the context of the growing interest in the taste of “Umami” in modern Western

societies, various factors such as expectations for new tastes and interests in different food

cultures including Asia can be said to be hidden.This quotes also mention the same thing, “The

concept of umami, the so-called fifth taste, after salty, sweet, sour, and bitter, still feels, at least

on paper, like a bit of pseudo”( Kelts 43). However, it is desirable to continue research on umami

and taste from a further sociocultural perspective.

Concludingly, the initial definition of identity is a subjective and frequently

self-reflective process by which individual subjects define their differences with respect to other

subjects by self-assigning a repertoire of cultural attributes generally valued and relatively stable

over time . All the three authors Latterell, Mengestu and Kelts discussed the concept of identity

as Latterell explained in her article “assumption”. Latterell proceeds to explain the implications

of this definition, pointing out as a starting point that the subject seeks to differentiate himself

from others and that his effort must be recognized by others. There are two types of cultural

attributes to which the subject resorts to draw the boundaries of himself: those related to the

social belonging he shares with others and the individualized, who individualize him. The most

important membership groups for this purpose are social class, ethnicity, territorialized

collectivities, age groups and gender. The particularizing attributes, on the other hand, include

the characteristics, those that derive from a lifestyle (understood as a sign system) associated

with a particular consumption habit, the network of intimate relationships (family, friends,

colleagues), objects ( possessions) and a unique personal biography. After briefly discussing

each of these attributes, Latterell emphasizes the fact that identity is dynamically constituted

while the perception of oneself must be recognized confirmed or rejected by others, so much so

that sometimes others enjoy the power to define it.