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Essay / Common Qualities of Opposite Sides of a Border: How Cultural Relations Can Merge Characteristics Between Different Groups
Cultural and geographic boundaries within any society are believed to create boundaries that limit similarities between those on the sides opposites. Contrary to the belief that the qualities of one side are not the same as those of the other, we note, however, that certain characteristics can be shared by different groups of people. Through cultural relationships, certain qualities can come to represent two or more groups that no one would believe to have anything in common with each other. In the books The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman and The Unredeemed Captive by John Demos and the 1996 film Lone Star by John Sayles, certain qualities are combined between different groups, showing that even the most different people in the world may have certain things in common. In the above works, similarities are observed between Hmong parents and American doctors, Iroquois Indians and Protestants, and Americans and Mexicans, thus showing that these groups are ultimately not so different from each other. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why violent video games should not be banned"? Get an original essay Defending and maintaining one's cultural traditions is extremely tiring when living in another country, as Anne's book shows Fadiman, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. . The Hmong people living in the United States were surrounded by other people who did not understand their beliefs; they simply wanted to practice their own traditions and be their own group of people: "What the Hmong wanted here was to be left alone to be Hmong: grouped together in all-Hmong enclaves, protected from interference by the government, self-sufficient and agrarian. » (Fadiman, 183). The proud Hmong simply wanted to live their lives and practice their beliefs without interference from the surrounding American population. Hmong parents, Foua and Nao Kao Lee, however, had to accept changes in order to help their daughter Lia Lee, who was suffering from epileptic seizures. The parents had to learn English to communicate with doctors and understand how to administer American medications to their daughter to help control her seizures. American doctors, in turn, had to learn to deal with Hmong beliefs to help Lia. The doctors had to learn how to communicate with the Lees and figure out how to approach each problem with them, all for Lia's sake. Medicinal and community boundaries crossed common qualities established between the Lees and the doctors, all for Lia Lee's health to help control her seizures. Although many problems may arise, it is possible to embrace a new culture and reject old values. , as seen in The Unredeemed Captive by John Demos. Many Protestant citizens were captured by the Iroquois Indians who adopted their culture and did not want to return to their ancient religious traditions: “the captive children had no choice in these matters [of appearance]; just as they were forced to accept the native language of their captors, they were also forced to adopt a native appearance” (Demos, 147). This was the case of Eunice Williams, a young Protestant girl captured by the Iroquois Indians at the age of seven. After living for several years with her Iroquois captors, Eunice Williams did not want to return to her former Protestant life; she had adopted Iroquois values and had no intention of returning to her old way of.