Reference no: EM133288531

Case: In the reading for this coming week, Chinua Achebe talks about something he calls a "cultural crossroads." This idea is used to explain how one person or group exists at the intersection between two or more competing or adverse ideologies or ideas. For example, in our work on the story "Paper Menagerie," Jack is caught in the crossroads between his Chinese and American identities. We know that he feels angry and dismissive of his Chinese culture because of how he has internalized the racism he experiences. These feelings help us to understand how and why he acts the way he does toward his mother.

For your post, I'd like you to consider how the idea of a crossroads is helpful in helping to understand a situation you have witnessed or experienced. If you do not feel you want to share something personal, you are also welcome to look at one of the stories we've read this semester (excluding "Paper Menagerie") and talk about how the idea of the crossroads could be useful in helping to better understand what happens in the story, why it happens, and how that perspective allows us to better understand the central meaning or concerns of that story.

If you choose the story option, please use close reading to show how at least one passage from the story was useful in helping you understand this concept in that story.

If you choose the more personal option, make sure to fully explain both (or each of the multiple) sides of the crossroads you are/were at, or, experienced. Try to show how and why you think being at this crossroads affected you, your decision making, the others around you, attitudes, beliefs, etc.