Cultural Miscommunication

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses Laray M. Barna's theory that cultural miscommunication can occur even between people of the same religion or the same nationality. The paper looks at clashes between German and American Jews and between Native and white Americans. The paper describes the story of German refugee Oscar Gassner. The paper describes how he is conflicted between his sense of German nationalism and the impersonal New York environment. The paper looks at Zitkala-Sa's "The School Days of an Indian Girl" that shows the clash of cultures between an American Indian girl and her white classmates.

From the Paper:

"This is seen poignantly in the fate of the German refugee Oscar Gassner. Oscar is conflicted between his sense of German nationalism, which he still retains within his soul, and the impersonal New York environment, which assumes that everyone who comes to the city, loves the city, and is willing to embrace a new identity, that of an American. Oscar still remembers his wife, a non-Jew, back in Germany, and wonders if "in her heart," she was "a Jew hater," and that all non-Jews are Jew haters (Malmud, p.186) Also, Oscar's fellow Jews assume that he is happy to be in America, and that America is good place for Jews to live. Oscar is assumed to be the same as Americanized Jews, because he is of the same persecuted religion."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Barna, Laray M. "Intercultural Communication Stumbling Blocks." From Intercultural Communications: A Reader. New York: Wadsworth, 1997.
• Malmud, Bernard. "The German Refugee." From Intercultural Communications: A Reader. New York: Wadsworth, 1997.
• Sa, Zitkala. "The School Days of an Indian Girl." From Intercultural Communications: A Reader. New York: Wadsworth, 1997.

More papers on Cultural Miscommunication:

• Book Review # 115236 : "Cultural Competence in Medicine"
• Essay # 19106 : "Cross-Cultural Counseling"
• Term Paper # 68325 : "Culture Differences in Management Styles"

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