Anne Raimes Introduction

Overall, her strategies for analytical reading were decent. I didn't really learn anything from it; being in AP English all throughout high school, my instructors drilled critical analyses into our minds. When it comes to identity, I appreciate her brief overview of what identity entails. I never really thought of identity as a driving force of society, but it makes perfect sense. We, as human beings are all different and unique and it's up to our individuality to make this world function culturally. I never really thought about what it means to be me. I have never really sat down and asked myself this before. I am still trying to figure out who I am and what I want to do with my life.

I appreciate the authors two-way comparison in which she claims that "culture shapes and influences us, but does not exist apart from us". Culture can shape who we are, but we can shape culture as well. She continues on to explain that culture is simply not about the literature, art, or music of the time; it's about the customs, products, and the expectations that come with the ever-changing ideologies of society. Culture is what we think, say, and do. It is where we live and who we interact with. Identity is culture.