Culture is a crucial aspect of literature
Culture is a crucial aspect of literature and authors are greatly affected by the culture of their societies. Dwight Okita and Sandra Cisneros are some of the authors who have gotten a primary impact of culture. “Response to Executive Order 9066” by Dwight Okita and “Mericans” by Sandra Cisneros bring out the impact of American culture on both authors. Okita bases her poem on the experience of culture while Cisneros talks about the difference between being an American and one’s cultural background. The main theme in the works by Okita and Cisneros is that of culture and the authors have different as well as similar ways of building the themes to pass message to their audiences.
Dwight Okita and Sandra Cisneros have employed the use of other themes to develop the main theme in their works. The theme of family has been used by the two authors to bring out their different reactions towards the American culture. Cisneros uses her grandmother to show the nature of the American culture. Cisneros’ grandmother dislikes America and continuously prays for her family because she thinks America is barbaric and unsafe. Okita on the other side uses a little girl to show how her family behaves differently compared to other American families. The use of the theme of family brings out the different perspectives held by the authors concerning the American culture.
The authors to “Response to Executive Order 9066” and “Mericans” have both been affected by the American culture and use their influence to express their points of view. The authors use their experience in the American culture to show how an individual’s background may or may not influence their perspective of culture. Cisneros appears to differ in opinion from her grandmother by using the American-like words. The words show that Cisneros’ grandmother has developed hatred for the American culture, which should not be the case. The fact that Cisneros is not affected by her grandmother’s perception shows that one’s background does not determine their experience in the American culture. Also, Okita uses the little girl to show that an individual will experience the reality of the American culture despite their background. Besides, people will interact with others and the American culture will be realized.
The use literary devices such as anecdotes are also not left out in the works by Okita and Cisneros. The authors show how the interpretation of culture changes among people. For example, Okita gives her experience as a student when the Executive Order 9066 was signed by the then US president affecting Japanese who lived in the US. On the other hand, Cisneros shows the response from her grandmother to the American culture and how her judgment was independent of her grandmother’s impact.
In sum, cultural influence is the main theme in “Response to Executive Order 9066” and “Mericans” by Dwight Okita and Sandra Cisneros and its development happens different in both works. Both authors have been affected by the American culture and their response to the impact by culture changes differently depending on theindividual’s background. The authors use other themes and literary devices to build the theme of culture.