Moving to The Country to Eat a Lot of Peaches
What where you for Halloween as a child? If you were a witch, you probably had to go buy a hat, a mask, a cape, and a broom to complete the ensemble. Then for one night you carried on as if you were one while speaking in a screechy voice, and cackling laughter. Becoming a witch involves a process, just as assimilation does. In the two short stories, Barbara Mellix’s, “From Outside, In,” and Alice Walker’s, “Everyday Use,” they both tell a story of individuals making the necessary steps towards assimilation. From this, there is a process that can be developed from the two stories and the incidents within them. To successfully assimilate ones self, there are a few key elements to doing so. First there is the desire to want to change ones outlook or prospective on life, next you need to embrace the very thing your trying to become, and lastly, and most importantly the element of time is needed to successfully assimilate. In these times of our own society there are some challenges many people go through to assimilate themselves. The challenges lie within the tools an individual uses: lack of human examples, items of value, and an environment to exercise the new adjustment. To start the whole process you must firs
“That’ll make them last better,” I said. Mellix did the same thing along similar lines to assimilate herself. She began to pay attention to the words and styles of the writing she was so unfamiliar with. Through her desire to learn she could further her assimilation process. In this passage it shows her desire to change and transition her thinking, “At work, at a health insurance company, I learned to write letters to customers. I studied form letters and letters written by co-workers, memorizing the phrases and the ways in which they were used” (Mellix 398). She used the works and writings of her surroundings to help herself further adapt. This is much like what Wangero had done; moreover, she pushed to obtain the things she felt would help her further assimilate and using them as reminders and examples. Mellix’s situation wasn’t exactly ideal for absorbing the proper English; in addition, this made Barbara’s assimilation process very difficult. Barbara had to go outside of her group to find examples to properly conform. Whereas, Wangero in “Everyday Use,” only had to go to her very own steps of her home to find examples to help her assimilate. This type of access can be extremely helpful and can speed the process of assimilation. t want to change what you already know or believe. To assimilate is to change the way you respond to new situations and to conform to them. In Walker and Mellix’s essay, assimilation gave each character a new outlook on life. Wangero through adjustment started to recognize the many things that represented her heritage; also, see the beauty within them. This is evident in this passage, “Oh, Mama!” Wangero cried. “I never knew how lovely these benches are. You can feel the rump prints” (Walker 702). Before Wangero had adjusted herself she paid no attention to the shabby furnishings of her home as a child. Wangero used the material things in her mother’s house to help her complete her process of assimilation.
Some topics in this essay:
Whereas Wangero,
Mama” Wangero,
Mellix Wangero,
Alice Walker’s,
Outside In”,
,
Hakim-a-barber Walker,
Walker Mellix’s,
Wagero Mellix,
Wangero Mellix,
process assimilation,
assimilation process,
sentimental value,
people assimilate,
items sentimental value,
mellix 391,
“from outside,
“everyday use”,
difficult assimilating,
outside in”,
successfully assimilate,
“from outside in”,
people assimilate themselves,
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Approximate Word count = 1393
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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