A Clash of Cultures

Paper Summary:

The paper compares and contrasts three stories, "The Lesson" by Toni Cade Bambara, "The Man to Send Rain Clouds" by Leslie Marmon Silko and "El Tonto del Barrio" by Jose Armas, all covering some aspect of a clash of cultures and the way this clash affects the minorities who are involved. The paper shows how all the characters are from some minority group; black children, Native Americans and Hispanics of a small town.

From the Paper:

"The three stories under discussion -- "The Lesson" by Toni Cade Bambara, "The Man to Send Rain Clouds" by Leslie Marmon Silko and "El Tonto del Barrio" by Jose Armas -- all present a clash of cultures, with the majority culture downgrading the minority culture, with minority characters who resent the dismissal of their culture superior white attitudes and with a lingering resentment created in these minority characters, a resentment that may last a lifetime. This is quite evident in the story by Toni Cade Bambara, which presents a class on a field trip. The students are black children in New York City, being transported from their ghetto neighborhood downtown to the shopping district well-known to more affluent whites. The story involves a journey through unfamiliar territory, with relatively naive characters who learn a lesson from their journey, a lesson that opens their eyes to some aspect of life."

More papers on A Clash of Cultures:

• Book Review # 24229 : "Postville: A Clash of Cultures in Heartland America" by Stephen Bloom"
• Persuasive Essay # 124213 : "The Clash of Cultures"
• Essay # 55202 : "Genocide or Clash of Cultures?"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: