Independent Reading: Memoirs & Culture

Excerpt from Children of the River by Linda Crew

Read and annotate the text listed above. Identify the following:

• Defining characteristics of memoir
• The cultural misunderstanding illustrated in the narrative
• Cultural elements in general and those tied to individuals, family & society
• Crew’s main idea

When done, answer the following. Provide typed, double-spaced responses for each question, include evidence from the narrative when necessary and appropriate:

1. How does culture limit us versus provide us with guidance?
2. How do unspoken or assumed expectations complicate our life experiences?
3. When cultures clash, how does family, society, and our peers dictate our reactions to and roles in that clash?
4. When met with conflicting expectations how should and how does one (in reality) remedy the situation?