Write an essay explaining whether the mother in La Tortillera or the grandfather in Ta-Na-E-Ka did a better job instilling the heritage culture in the main character.

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April 13 , 2008

Instilling the cultural heritage of a people to the next generation requires more than simply teaching the history , rules , and belief systems of the cultural group to these young ones . They need to be imbibed willingly and voluntarily by the individual . They need to feel good about their people . In the story entitled The Tortilla Maker , a mother attempts to instill the cultural heritage of their Latin people to her daughter using the laws of her kitchen and the steps in making the

tortilla as framework for her teachings and philosophies . In Ta-Na-E-Ka , a grandfather makes her grandchildren undergo a Native American rite of passage to make them understand the value of this tribal custom and at the same time , make them proud of their Kaw heritage . Of the two characters , it is the grandfather who successfully inculcates the cultural heritage of his people to the younger generation

The individual should regard his cultural heritage positively if it is to be practiced and handed on to the succeeding generation . This becomes difficult to realize , however , when the members of the cultural group live in a society where the majority of the people living there have a different culture , like in the two stories being discussed . The tendency is for the young to adopt the culture of their peers instead of their parents ' for reasons like peer pressure or simply the need to be like everyone else . After her Ta-Na-E-Ka experience , Mary would surely be prouder of being a Kaw Indian , she would promote her heritage to others and pass it on to her children because of the positive impact the experience brought her . She learned to rely on herself and make her culture understood to non-members , just the values the cultural rite is supposed to teach . The approval she gained from her grandfather in the end of the story , in spite the fact that she did things differently , is also very important in that this reinforces the good feeling she got after the five-day rite . Patricia , on the other hand , would have a harder time at it because of the kind of reaction that she gets from her mother , a far cry from that of Mary 's grandfather . Instead of being encouraging and consoling of her daughter 's failed attempts at making perfect tortillas , her mother 's reactions consist of sighing , a sign that she is simply containing her patience with her . This disappointment is further compounded when Patricia 's children exclaims about how much better their grandmother 's tortillas look . Furthermore , the laws of her kitchen do not have clear-cut rationales for their being imposed . For example , the necessity for a starched tablecloth instead of placemats is not defined in practical terms , even as a symbolism of real-life lessons . In contrast , the aim of the Ta-Na-E-Ka , to build strength of character to the participant , is clearly explained by the grandfather to the young participants and understood by the latter

The second reason for...