My Mothers Pieced Quilts By Teresa Palomo Acosta

Improved Essays
Culture is the attitudes, customs, and beliefs of a group of people that make them diverse. A person’s approaches and opinions will influence their perception. Culture is defined as outlooks, views and customs that make people unique, which means that culture influences perception. Culture always influences a person’s perception of the world because traditions and ideas are shaped by culture.
Cultural traditions influence a person’s perception of the world. In “My Mothers Pieced Quilts” by Teresa Palomo Acosta, quilts are a family tradition and are used to shape their cultural perceptions. The quilts are “sewn hard and taut to withstand the thrashings of twenty-five years stretched out they lay armed/ready/shouting/celebrating knotted with love the quilts sing on” (Acosta 74). The quilts are personified to show that the quilts are a tradition that influences the family. The family’s view of the world around them would be different if the quilts were not a part of their life. The quilts are a family and cultural tradition that influence perception. Perception is influenced by cultural traditions.
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In “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, Dee’s name is a family tradition, but she changes her name to “Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo” because she wants a name that fits her culture and not “the people who oppress me” (Walker 79). Her perception is influenced by her culture because she no longer wants her name to be the family tradition name, but a name that embodies her idea of her culture and its traditions. Her culture affects her views because she wants a name traditional to her culture, which she has put on display while being in the city, rather than a traditional family name. Cultural traditions and ideas influence a person’s

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