Advanced Essay #3: War Shapes Identity
Cynthia To
Mr. Block
English 3
07 March 2018
Wars are inevitable and unavoidable. They happen when two sides disagree with each other and the conflict turns into something larger than the opposing parties. Many people have left their homes because their countries are being attacked by another country or due to the lack of support and resources. People are forced to deal with these struggles because their government were too unstable to protect them. War can change one’s perspective on their views of themselves and where they belong in the country.
From my parents’ experiences of growing up after the Vietnam War, they talked about the Vietnamese government and how it lacked financial supply for its nation, the little to no opportunities to succeed and become prosperous, and how not many in the country had the chance to have stable jobs, good education, and healthcare. Vietnam didn’t have enough money to rebuild the country and often times even the more popular parts of the county were dirty and run down.
Coming to the United States, those factors that chased my family away weren’t the case in the States. From my dad’s interview, he said that “Vietnam was really tiring because there was no money for anyone. People were too cheap to buy and spend. Everything was about making a quick buck with people who didn’t want to lose a buck. Your grandpa worked as a tailor and had to come home to take care of his wife and seven kids. Our family didn’t have enough money so we had to save a lot money for all of us to come to America.”
After interviewing my parents, this made me wonder what would my life be like if my parents didn’t decided to come to America. I would be living a much harder life and I wouldn’t be able to do a lot of the things that I do here in America. My parents’ identities have changed so much when they left Vietnam to come to America. They started going to school and working to support their families. My parents faced a really hard life when they came to America. In society, many people who have money leave their country to have a better life. They leave their country to start over and become what they dream to be for a long time.
This situation not only happens to my parents but in the 17th century. Before there that time with the British and the colonists, the colonist thought they were British Citizens so they should also have the same civil rights as the British. The British did not think that the colonist was with one them. This result factored in with the British adding a bunch of laws and acts which was unbearable and unfair for the colonists upset the colonists.
At this point, the colonists got tired of the British ruling them. In the source Inspiction, they said, “the American colonists were actually some of the wealthiest people in the world, so much so that the poor ‘starving masses’ so prevalent in Europe were not present in the American social structure of a predominantly middle class.” In society, people fight or change for what they believe in like how the colonists and British fought resulting in equal rights in a war. With the British adding a bunch of unless laws so the colonists, it allowed the colonists to become free from the British and make their own rules. The war allowed the colonist to make equal so there wouldn’t be really any nobility.
In a war, those who participate usually have more money are well off. They do not have to worry about the healthcare, but the lower class does. Social classes have a big impact on the war. War can leave many whom are dying or not having enough money to support their families. In the source, Lumen, they said, “the upper class, likely have better access to healthcare, marry people of higher social status, attend more prestigious schools.” The source mentions that high-class people had better healthcare, wealth, and education. In society, people that are in lower class have to work really hard to protect and take care of their family. Many lower-class have a lot of health conditions because of their lack of money. When there are wars, taxes increases which affect the poor negatively. Lower classes have it really difficult when it comes to surviving during the war.
Going back to my families’ relation with war, Vietnam is an example of a country that did not get totally destroyed by war. In fact, it is more modern, clean, and offer those who seek them, more jobs and better education. People never choose to live in a country that goes war but will try to escape their own struggles and their country struggles. From all of this, it is evident that war can shape identities.
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