essay about culture and identity

Culture Identity in Mr . Z

The theme of a poem or short story is the idea or point formulated as a generalization . The dominant theme of this poem is society /individual Mr . Z ' is an ethnic character denying his race , culture , and identity because he was taught early that his mother 's skin was the sign of error . He shuns the cultural norms of his heritage throughout the piece presenting to the world an Anglo-Saxonized ' version of himself He has no roots to his ethnicity , an airborne plant , flourishing without roots p

Character is perhaps the most important element of literature and is defined as an imaginary person created by the writer . In this piece , M Carl Holman uses the techniques of explicit and implied judgment to tell us about the main character . Using explicit judgment , he gives facts and interpretive comment and also uses implied judgment where we , the readers , are to make judgments from the narrator 's s . He cites examples of ways that Mr . Z does not fit the stereotypical mold of his ethnicity , such as where he disclaimed kinship with jazz and spirituals ' and his palate shrunk from cornbread , yams , and collards ' The reader could conclude that Mr . Z blatantly denies his culture and identity but could also say he had eclectic interests . M Carl Holman uses explicit judgment with his interpretive comments . He uses implied judgment throughout the piece

Plot is the arrangement of ideas and /or incidents that make up a piece of writing . The writer uses exposition by giving background information regarding the setting , characters , and plot . Holman begins his exposition by glossing the natural life progression of Mr . Z going through his school days , marriage , and death , outlining the specific instances where he acts outside of the cultural norm . The bride of Mr . Z goes through her own metamorphosis as well . Both characters lived in safe places around the world and shunned places where people of their superficial background were not welcome . On the contrary , they also did not want special treatment from anyone because of their ethnicity

Point of view pertains to who tells the story and how it is told . Mr Z ' is written from an objective point of view since the narrator is unnamed and unidentified (a detached observer . M . Carl Holman does not assume the character 's perspective and is not a character in the piece He reports the facts and lets us supply the meaning

The language and style of a piece is the verbal identity of a writer and is usually based on the author 's word choice and of words in a sentence . M . Carl Holman 's use of language reveals his tone , or attitude toward the subject matter . For example , when describing Mr . Z 's bride he says His bride had somewhere lost her Jewishness , but kept her blue eyes :an Episcopalian Prelate proclaimed them matched chameleon Holman 's word choice hints at a negative tone toward the character

The writer presents irony , a contrast or discrepancy between one thing and another , throughout this piece . Ironic Vision is an overall tone of irony that pervades a work , suggesting how the writer views the characters . The most striking piece of irony in this piece is the last line 'Not one false note was struck-until he died . His subtly grieving widow could have flayed the obit , ringing crude changes on a clumsy phrase `One of the most distinguished members of his race ' All through his life , Mr . Z . was not living the life as a member of his race but of another , but was remembered for his character as an ethnic man . Mr . Z ' is a verse about losing one 's identity as defined by his culture...