Extra Credit :)

                A few days ago, when I got to choose between responding to “Two Ways to Belong to America” or “The Meaning of Life,” I chose to write about the second essay because I thought the author made an interesting point. However, I really did like Bharati Mukherjee’s essay so I am taking this opportunity to express my opinion on it. Bharati’s essay compares and contrasts her sister’s life in America to her own.  She clearly states that she’s accepted and embraced the American culture however; her sister still keeps her culture alive (she still follows the Indian customs).  For Bharati there is only two ways to belong to America, either you completely transform and follow the American culture (like she did) or you live as an outcast  in this foreign country (like her sister, Mira).  I don’t think this situation is so “black and white.” I believe that in America immigrants can be (and are) a mix of their old nation’s customs with the new customs embraced in America.  For example, my family is from Ecuador, and to this day their old customs/culture is still a part of them but they have embraced many aspects of this country (like the English language). I was born in this country but my family raised me through an Ecuadorian culture. I speak Spanish very well, I eat Spanish food more than anything else and I listen to Ecuadorian music. But I was raised in this country, so of course through the American education/environment I learned to speak English and learned its history (better than any other nation’s) and even adapted the fast food eating habits everyone in this country has. I could easily say I feel more American than Ecuadorian, since I have never stepped a foot in Ecuador but I do respect the fact that it’s my parent’s old home. Plus I do love the culture. The simple fact that I can say I am not just a plain American but an American with a twist, makes me special.

                Sheila Jasanoff responded to Bharati’s essay with the same point I used, the point that there is more than two ways to belong to America. She also shares her experience of not just being American but also being South Asian and how she embraces both cultures.  Bharati uses definition, compare and contrast and of course pathos in her essay, to make her point. Sheila Jasanoff does as well by defining what being American is for her, contrasting her idea to Bharati’s and sharing her own experiences.  Even though Sheila Jasanoff did not write as much as Bharati she still made her point clear enough for me to understand it and agree with it. Plus I can safely say that most people don’t think of this situation as so “black and white” like Bharati does.