Understanding Culture Essay plan
Discuss the ways in which a characters cultural identity is changed by his or her experiences. Make reference to at least TWO characters from one OR two texts.
Cultural identity as changing structural definitions semiotics, Saussure and Stuart Hall
Fragmented vs. whole
Shifting vs. Firm
Integrated vs. disintegrated
Incessant, human need to belong, to feel stable
Great Expectations
Pip's early life and initial response to cultural surrounding
Identity through family's death sees his family through the shape of their graves
Bleak fields and Kentish marshes give no sense of true belonging
Joe's regional accent highlights lower-class status, which contrasts with Pip's lack of defined accent
Luxury and prestige of the gentlemen classes tempt away from the drudgery of Marsh life
Understanding of the fairer sex drawn from life with his sister and the fading upper class
Life in London
Abuse of the old in the pursuit of money
Fever Pitch
Arsenal support growing out a need to belong after breakup of parents
Belonging develops from a self-conscious need to have a stable identity
Identity as performance no longer defined externally but internally
White, English, middle-class belong to no solid, stable community, no sense of belonging thus the need to create subcultures to belong to
Faking behaviour to match stereotypical ideas of cultural behaviour, to represent a lower social group than his own give the impression that life has been harder and more of a struggle than it really has
Cultural identity self-propogated to improve his standing in society, to allow him to feel more equal to others
Desire to be part of the tighter, more close-knit lower class communities, rather than be associated with the fading middle-classes
Reading fans find him out 'You shouldn't be supporting Arsenal this afternoon [...] you should be supporting your local team'
Cultural identity exists outside of predefined reality based wholly on historical precedent
Man strives for enlightenment rationality, clear thinking, no crises of identity at the time of its inception
Culture and individuality changes to separate man from man back to semiotics and Saussure's black vs. white
Without culture, we would be indistinguishable on a personal level our experiences and desires shape how we wish to be defined