We All Are Multicultural People
The reading I felt made a very strong claim was The Chinese in all of us by Richard Rodriguez. The strongest claim I see in this piece is the claim that we collect cultures or become multicultural. There is a suggestion that the culture of America is a blend of all cultures. The text supports this claim, as Rodriguez mentions that he lives in San Francisco, which has come to have many people of Asian and particularly Chinese descent. He states that he considers himself Chinese because he lives next door to people who are Chinese and he is becoming like them, and them like him. Another example from the text that supports the claim is the author's mention of visiting Ireland and realizing he felt at home because he attended Irish catholic schools and had Irish- America friends. He then considered himself Irish as well.
Rodriguez mentions that America is a melting pot. He talks about the pain of becoming an American as it makes him different from his parents. The author talks about some of that pain, such as the way he was taught to speak English more and the realization that he had changed when he did not realize his parents were speaking Spanish until they switched to English upon seeing him.
If I were to write an essay about this, I would look for various outside evidence to support the claim. I enjoy using facts that have been reported, so I would look up any type of research that has been done about how immigrant children change from their parents when they move here. I would also look into studies about multiculturalism. Lastly, I could use some of my own examples. I'm not an immigrant, but I understand a bit where the author is coming from when he talks about being Irish as well due to his upbringing. I always felt close to Asia due to my family having ties there and Asian friends.
I grew up surrounded with movies and shows from Japan, and stories of how pretty Japan was, or how there are Cobras in Thailand, how kind Korea is and such. This left an impression on me, much like the Irish Catholic schools did to Rodriguez.
