Anzaldua and Nasr on Western Culture Comparison Essay
A comparison of Gloria Anzaldua's and Seyyed Nasr's conceptions of Western culture.
# 150636
| 1,114 words
| 2 sources
| MLA
| 2010
| 
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Description:
The paper discusses how Gloria Anzaldua argues that Western culture rejects all "non-whites" and discriminates against those of difference, creating overwhelming prejudices throughout the West. The paper then explains how Nasr argues that Western culture is un-unified due to the lack of God in their lives, which separates their communities and families. The paper highlights how Anzaldua and Nasr both believe that the West is destructive in a multitude of ways, but they have key differences in how they believe it to be so.
From the Paper:
"Gloria Anzaldua lived on the borderland between Mexico and the U.S., a place, described by Anzaldua, of displacement and prejudice. According to Anzaldua, the whites consider, "...the inhabitants of the borderlands transgressors, aliens--whether they possess documents or not, whether they're Chicanos, Indians, Blacks. Do not enter, trespassers will be raped, maimed, strangled, gassed, shot" (Anzaldua 25). Here Anzaldua is showing how the Western culture has created this sense of superiority, an invisible border of who is allowed and who isn't based off their skin and ethnic background. Anzaldua goes on saying that, "The only "legitimate" inhabitants are those in power, the whites and those who align themselves with whites" (Anzaldua 25-26). To be white is to have power in Western culture. "Non whites" are looked down upon and forced to climb an invisible wall of prejudice and stereotypes."Anzaldua also goes on to show how Western culture has given the power to the men, "Culture forms our beliefs. We perceive the version of reality that it communicates. Dominant paradigms, predefined concepts that exist as unquestionable, unchallengeable, are transmitted to us through culture. Culture is made by those in power -men. Males make the rules and laws; women transmit them" (Anzaldua 38). Anzaldua says that culture is appropriated by those in power, which just so happens to be the males in Western society. This mindset leads to, "The loss of a sense of dignity and respect in the macho breeds a false machismo which leads him to put down women and even to brutalize them" (Anzaldua 105)."
Sample of Sources Used:
- Anzaldua, Gloria. Borderlands/La FronteraThe New Mestiza. New York: Aunt Lute Books, 2007. Print.
- Hossein., Nasr, Seyyed. The Heart of Islam Enduring Values for Humanity. New York: HarperOne, 2004. Print.
Cite this Comparison Essay:
APA Format
Anzaldua and Nasr on Western Culture (2012, March 28)
Retrieved December 02, 2023, from https://www.academon.com/comparison-essay/anzaldua-and-nasr-on-western-culture-150636/
MLA Format
"Anzaldua and Nasr on Western Culture" 28 March 2012.
Web. 02 December. 2023. <https://www.academon.com/comparison-essay/anzaldua-and-nasr-on-western-culture-150636/>