Double consciousness encompasses more than just one group of people. The process of partitioning someone’s mind causes a huge strain on any individual. I believe that always focusing on one side causes them not to accept themselves as who they are. We see double consciousness in Asian American culture through “The Woman Warrior” and we see it in Dominican American culture through ‘Oscar Wao”
Double consciousness is a term first coined by W.E.B DuBois in In “The Souls of Black Folk”. The term is used to describe an individual whose identity is divided into different parts making it hard to just have one identity. When DuBois writes:
“It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one’s self through …show more content…
This idea of always having to act a certain way to be accepted in society. If you are woman or man from Asia in America you have to act Asian. If you are Latino/Latina in America you have to act that way. Instead of being just an individual. We can see how double consciousness plays a role in how Kingston sees herself in “The Woman Warrior”. Her double consciousness is being a Chinese woman in American society. When Kingston writes:
“Normal Chinese women 's voices are strong and bossy. We American-Chinese girls had to whisper to make ourselves American-feminine. Apparently we whispered even more softly than the Americans. Once a year the teachers referred my sister and me to speech therapy, but our voices would straighten out, unpredictably normal, for the therapists” (173)
In the American culture at the time women really did not have a voice. They were supposed to be demure, but in her culture woman had strong voices. American culture looked down at woman who spoke loudly and it was seen as unattractive. Knowing this she tried to change to fit it. Even going as far as to being quieter than American women. That in itself must have been taxing on her. Always having to speak a certain way to appease American culture just to be …show more content…
Not knowing who or what she will become. This shows how double consciousness affected her mentally. Having to be defined by a rigid structure forces her to feel alone. All she wants is acceptance for who she is, but she keeps messing up. Double consciousness is keeping from being an individual in the sense of her not being able to just be happy with who she is.
The double consciousness in “The Woman Warrior “is a little different in “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao”, but they both deal with the struggle of individuality. Yunior the narrator of the story tries to act and be just like a “normal” Dominican. “A home-run hitter, a fly bachatero, a playboy with a million hots on his jock” (11). His identity is divided into the way he should be as a Dominican and his nerdiness. He always had to act a certain way because he was supposed to. Making sure that he did not show the other Dominicans that he was like Oscar because he knew he would be made fun of. When Diaz
Double consciousness is a term first coined by W.E.B DuBois in In “The Souls of Black Folk”. The term is used to describe an individual whose identity is divided into different parts making it hard to just have one identity. When DuBois writes:
“It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one’s self through …show more content…
This idea of always having to act a certain way to be accepted in society. If you are woman or man from Asia in America you have to act Asian. If you are Latino/Latina in America you have to act that way. Instead of being just an individual. We can see how double consciousness plays a role in how Kingston sees herself in “The Woman Warrior”. Her double consciousness is being a Chinese woman in American society. When Kingston writes:
“Normal Chinese women 's voices are strong and bossy. We American-Chinese girls had to whisper to make ourselves American-feminine. Apparently we whispered even more softly than the Americans. Once a year the teachers referred my sister and me to speech therapy, but our voices would straighten out, unpredictably normal, for the therapists” (173)
In the American culture at the time women really did not have a voice. They were supposed to be demure, but in her culture woman had strong voices. American culture looked down at woman who spoke loudly and it was seen as unattractive. Knowing this she tried to change to fit it. Even going as far as to being quieter than American women. That in itself must have been taxing on her. Always having to speak a certain way to appease American culture just to be …show more content…
Not knowing who or what she will become. This shows how double consciousness affected her mentally. Having to be defined by a rigid structure forces her to feel alone. All she wants is acceptance for who she is, but she keeps messing up. Double consciousness is keeping from being an individual in the sense of her not being able to just be happy with who she is.
The double consciousness in “The Woman Warrior “is a little different in “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao”, but they both deal with the struggle of individuality. Yunior the narrator of the story tries to act and be just like a “normal” Dominican. “A home-run hitter, a fly bachatero, a playboy with a million hots on his jock” (11). His identity is divided into the way he should be as a Dominican and his nerdiness. He always had to act a certain way because he was supposed to. Making sure that he did not show the other Dominicans that he was like Oscar because he knew he would be made fun of. When Diaz