Identity – I am an American, not an Asian-American

I am an American, not an Asian-American. My rejection of hyphenation has been cal lead race treachery, but it is in truth a demand that America deliver the promises of its dream to whole its citizens equally.What is identity? legion(predicate) of us would deliberate that the answer to this question is simple but at a time placed on the stop and asked to answer it, the answer creates more(prenominal) of an expose than the question. identicalness can be defined in many antithetic bearings and in that location is more than unrival guide identity. The most obvious of these is an several(prenominal)(a) identity, regarding one person and their ability to establish their identity and locate themselves. on that point are likewise social identities, and collective identities.Usually identity is to do with ideas that are derived from companionship and often requires some reflexivity as it is to do with being a social being part of a society. It is generally acquired through s ocial interaction and the meanings we decide of social positions and is often mark through symbols. Identity is all about similarities and differences. These help one localise their mother wit of self in relation to others who are similar or different. For example it can help identify distinctive characteristics that make one different from others, or identify a shared viewpoint or physical features that make one similar to others. Identity is about how we think about ourselves, other people almost us and what we think others well-nigh us think of us, many people would imagine social demeanor unimaginable without a social identity.Mukherjee grew up in a Hindu, Bengali-speaking and bourgeoisie neighbourhood. The general belief in her birthplace was that ones identity was fixed, derived from religion, caste, patrimony, and mother tongue. matchless did not need to discover their identity because it was unchangeable and one hardly had an individual identity. As the society was on e consisting of similar people, there was a sense of a shared and collective identity, even out if not socially, at least(prenominal) within ones family it was shared.Her neighbourhood had influenced her identity greatly, especially when regarding social divisions. For example gender. In the article, certain sentences make it clear that Mukherjee comes from a male-dominated society.Men provided and women were provided for. My start was a patriarch and I a pliant daughterI didnt calculate myself to ever disobey or disappoint my father by displace my get goals and taking charge of my future.It also seems that class played an classic role in the social divisions of the collective identity where she lived. Two commands my father had written out for memarry the bridegroom he selected for me from our caste and class. She also claims that intercaste, interlanguage and interethnic marriages were forbidden within their traditional farming. Even emigration was frowned upon in Bengali t radition as it was seen as a form of diluting uncoiled culture.It seems that a womans identity was set by the identity (or status) of her father, or later marriage her husband. Mukherjee also states I was who I was because I was Dr. Sudhir Lal Mukherjees daughter. It should also be noted that Mukherjee chooses to use the word was rather than am. This suggests that she has in a way cut get rid of ties with her previous identity.She now sees her main identity as being American. Once in America, Mukherjee regarded herself as an Indian foreign disciple who intended to return to India to live. Her short and impulsive marriage ceremony led her into a whole bracing world regarding identities and their importance. She felt cut off from the ways of her life in Bengal as she had done something she never would hold up ever dreamed of doing. She now felt as if she had conflicting loyalties among two extremely different cultures. In America, women have more rights and get in in society j ust as much as men. This was new to Mukherjee as she now struggled to visualize her true identity something she had never really paid attention to before.There had been a recent uproar in America concerning things such as who is an American? and what is American culture?. These led to issues involving the scapegoating of immigrants which further pushed Mukherjee into adopting America as her new homeland and traceing American culture. However, Mukherjee done all with her own choice and therefore takes her citizenship very seriously.The unify Nations adds new members almost every year, many old nations now find themselves challenged with sub nationalisms. It looks more and more likely that there will be a creation of more nationalities and people may lack true galvanic pile of what their nation once was. Many people in one society do not know each other or even of one anothers existence, yet there is a sense of a community. Anderson (1983) describes this agency as an imagined community. Members cannot know each other and despite inequality there is still an imagined meaningful friendship.One can, and does have more than one identity. Goffman (1971) duologue about impression management and gives life the metaphor of a drama. humankind are seen as actors and play many different roles. He believes that they follow certain scripts which are relevant in some situations but not in others and interaction is seen as a performance to the audience. This is known as his dramaturgical analogy. William Shakespeare once famously wrote All the world is a stage, And all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and entrance Each man in his time plays many parts. This means that a concept, even if not widely agreed with, to do with Goffmans idea has been around for a long time.In the debate of culture and identity, the notion of agency is a central theme. berth is about choice, the ability to exercise this choice in order to regulate our own identitie s. Agency is highly related to reflexivity a come in modern idea. Reflexivity is to do with the capacity of humans to reflect upon themselves, their actions and others around them in order to change or improve themselves. Mukherjee was brought up in an environment where the notion of agency in regards to identity did not exist. Identity was fixed, and one could not change it. Therefore, when she adopted her new found culture in America, she automatically was using agency to choose and shape her own identity.Identity is ever-changing it changes with time, place and an individuals perception of reality (Vithu Jeyaloganathan Sri Lankan born Canadian, b. 1991).An Indian politician and founder of the Indian Constitution ( B.R.Ambedkar) once said that impertinent a drop of water which loses its identity when it joins the ocean, man does not lose his being in the society in which he lives. Mans life is independent. He is born not for the development of society alone, but for the develop ment of his self. This may be representative of Indias changing views on the topic of identity and more importantly, individual identity.