Social Identity In American Culture

Regardless of the many changes that occur in society or culture, every person living in this world has a social identity and cultural background. I share similar cultural circumstances with the character Victor, from ‘The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven,’ and we see our heritage as something that is getting faded away as society becomes assimilated into modern culture. The society of today and that of the past live extremely different lives. The American lifestyle is more of a materialistic culture, while the Native Americans see their own culture from a different point of view. The stories about Victor, in a cultural sense, may have been written from the perspective of a person who also experienced the events described. Victor was …show more content…
Like Victor, my heritage remains with me, but although I did not fully understand my family’s traditions or heritage, I can still relate to Victor’s cultural rituals and traditions. My grandparents brought many traditions that are mostly passed on from to next generation but one in particular is to visit our ancestors’ graves annually, and perform specific rituals, yet I do not have any knowledge of them. Our cultures may not be the same but a common similarity I share with Victor is that we are both unable to pass down our native traditions, and so our cultural knowledge and behavior is slowly receding. Also, another common feature is that family is considered to be the most importance. Although our cultures may be changing due to assimilation, the heritage of keeping each other safe will always be with us, and that cannot be changed, even under the most extreme circumstances. In the United States, living as a person in a different cultural background from my own, culture plays a very prominent role in my life. Both Victor and I assimilate ‘American culture’ which is prominent and where it forms the basis of our continued survival. Not only that, but our cultures have been assimilated to the extent that it is almost impossible for us to revert to our native roots …show more content…
This caused Victor to feel ashamed that when his tribe began to adopt White American culture, in the process, he lost some of his cultural identity. However, I would say that people’s views have changed, and I do not think that is losing our cultural identity. In this quote from “A Drug Called Tradition,” Victor speaks out when he says, “They’re all gone, my tribe is gone. Those blankets they gave us, infected with smallpox, have killed us. I’m the last, the very last, and I’m sick, too. So very sick. Hot. My fever burning so hot.” (17) When he takes the new drug, Victor speaks of this because of the history between the two nations and the need to assimilate or die, and what he sees is his reflection of his people’s past. In his vision, his past, present, and future is described as follows: “I [Victor] dance one step and my sister rises from the ashes. I dance another and a buffalo comes crashing down from the sky onto a log cabin in Nebraska. With every step an Indian rises. With every other step, a buffalo falls.” (17) Unlike my thoughts, Victor provides perspective into his cultural identity, and an insight into the life of his heritage, as he says these lines with a strong negative emotion. However his heritage has not completely gone. Through the many themes and