Like Water for Chocolate

American Identity Seen Through the Eyes of Others

When being asked about American Identity it is not easy to come up with a simple straightforward answer. In its simplest form it can be described as a mixture of cultures, religions, races, and lifestyles all put into one. The reason for this is because American Identity isn’t just one type of person it describes many different people. In Creating America, Joyce Moser and Ann Watters suggest that, “ In understanding American Identities, we need to come to terms with unity and division, with separateness and common ground.” Although the argument that is being presented is contradicting, it is still very true in many people’s opinions because in order to understand what American identity is we need to acknowledge what makes us different. Although America is a diverse country there are people who are not able to acknowledge how diverse America truly is, which causes people to judge others based on race, religion, and class. When the show “Diversity Day” and the essays written by McCullers, Rodriguez, Schlesinger Jr., and Serrano are presented, it is easy to see that they all have to do with how Americans come to define what they think is American Identity. The essays relate to what Moser and Watters argument is about because they speak of how different people view what American Identity is to them.

When watching the show “Diversity Day” people can see that in many ways it supports Moser’s and Watters’ argument because the show presents how Americans are not able to truly acknowledge how diverse their country is. In the beginning of the show “Diversity Day” the actor Michael Scott says, “ I wish everyday was diversity day,” when he says this he is representing all the ignorant people that have not acknowledged the fact that this is a diverse nation which also means that everyday is diversity day. During the show the actors play a game led by Michael Scott in which he sticks a piece of paper onto their forehead with...