Appreciation and Understanding

The appreciation and understanding of one’s culture is a common theme found in the short story “A Father,” by Bharati Mukherjee as well as the poems “A Bedtime Story” by Mitsuye Yamada and Joy Harjo’s “The Path to the Milky Way Leads through Los Angeles.” Each piece of literature tells the story of one’s experiences in a place of origin and the scenes and feelings they witness. They are all presently in an American setting and examine the change in scene.

In Mukherjee’s “A Father,” Mr. Bhowmick is a man living in America, but stuck in his Indian ways and culture. His wife, also from the same background and area in India, does not believe in nor support his constant praying and strong beliefs. For this reason it is interesting that when she finds out their daughter is pregnant she is the one who reacts so hastily at first. She cannot believe her daughter is having a child and unmarried. This angers her so much that she threatens to hit her with the rolling pin. “His wife had a rolling pin in one hand. His daughter held up a National Geographic as a shield for her head.” On the other hand, initially when the father first realizes his daughter is pregnant, he seems to be excited. “All the same, he could see a chubby baby boy on the rug, crawling to his granddaddy.” Though he does worry about the shame that this could bring to their family, the thought of him having a grandchild excites him. At the end, however, the father’s belief in his culture comes back into play when his daughter mocks their marriage procedures of being arranged. He winds up the one to be defending his values and punishes his daughter for the mockery.

Mitsuye Yamada’s “Bedtime Story” is a poem that gives a young girl insight to her foreign culture. The story her father tells her focuses on nature and the appreciation one should have for it. The story also means that though sometimes things are not going the way you would like, if you give it a chance and look around, you will find the silver lining. The Japanese woman finds the silver lining in her appreciation for nature and the night sky. In the second to last stanza, she thanks the village people and actually calls them kind for refusing to help her when she thought that all she needed was a bed to sleep in. At the end of the poem, the child does not understand the meaning of the poem and comically says “That’s the end?” In this piece of work the father is trying to teach the child values and admiration for the natural world around her.

The second poem, entitled “The Path to the Milky Way Leads though Los Angeles” by Joy Harjo focuses on the American culture and surroundings. Here, the author focuses on material things rather than spiritual beliefs. She often mentions gold, money and buying objects. At the end, the speaker asks a “Crow” which is “a mythic Native American trickster character” what the point of their presence there. The Crow responds with laughter and tells the speaker to “wait, wait and see.” The Crow is trying to tell the speaker that acknowledging her surroundings, which is what makes America. That is the reason for her being there. To realize that culture does not always focus on spirituality and natural beings; rather it can also describe the hectic lives going on all around you, with everyone just trying to get by and survive and this crazy place.

In each of these pieces of literature, culture is a common theme. Each author focuses on different ethnic backgrounds and values and then connects them to life in America. There is always a character that has a great admiration and love for his or her own culture and is challenged by another who does not understand.