The short story “A Father” by Bharati Mukherjee and the two poems “A Bedtime Story” by Mitsuye Yamada and “The Path to the Milky Way Leads through Los Angeles” by Joy Harjo all bring up the concept of contrasting cultures. The story and the poems show what can happen when cultures are mixed primarily with the culture of the United States. Since the customs and traditions from varying countries contrast so much from that of the customs and traditions of the United States, the stories successfully create conflict and generate a problem worth reading about.
To begin with, in the short story “A Father” by Bharati Mukherjee the culture of the United States is compared to that of India. An Indian family who had moved to America undergoes a life changing experience that is hard to handle because of their new surrounding culture. The couple’s daughter becomes pregnant and the father finds out almost immediately without the knowledge of his daughter. However, because of her strict parents, she chooses to not tell them until it is physically clear that she is pregnant. The story ends with the daughter being hit by the father because he is furious at her for wanting to have the baby without any father at all. The Indian culture that he was brought up in had taught him that it was wrong to have a child before marriage, and because of this he becomes far to strict on his daughter who is now living in a completely different culture whether he likes it or not.
The two poems also show a strong sense of culture throughout the story. First, “A Bedtime Story” by Mitsuye Yamada is a poem comparing Japanese story to the culture present in the United States. In this poem a story is being told to a child in the United States and it ends with the child saying “That’s the end?” This shows how the way children are being brought up today in America is leading them away from what is truly important in our everyday lives. Then, in “The Path to the Milky Way Leads through Los Angeles” Joy Harjo is attempting to show how in American culture, we are becoming far to caught up in material goods and things that are not truly important to lead a happy life. Today in the United States, people are becoming far to concerned with what type of clothes they wear, how big their house is, how much money they have, etc.
The culture that is present in the United States today is heading down a dangerous path. While America is one of the most successful countries, the culture and attitude of the citizens is heading in the wrong direction. We are becoming far to concerned for things that do not truly give us happiness. “A Bedtime Story” by Mitsuye Yamada, “The Path to the Milky Way Leads through Los Angeles” by Joy Harjo and “A Fahter” by Bharati Mukherjee all contrast various cultures to show what is wrong with the United States in today’s world.
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