An Analysis Of The Novel The Oracles Essay Examples

The Oracles: My Filipino Grandparents in America by Pati Navalta Poblete tells of her conflicting childhood stories as she grew up with her four grandparents. Being born in America had the author living the American ways, but was unexpectedly disrupted when her grandparents started arriving one by one from different provinces in the Philippines. What ensued was a fierce clash of cultures between two pairs of grandparents who refused to give up in teaching their granddaughter her origin, and a granddaughter who fought her grandparents’ efforts in every way she can and resented them for bringing her shame. In the end, she learned that as she continued to get lost in her grandparents’ olden ways, she was able to find who she truly is.
With the continuous progress in technology, the practice of washing clothes by hand and hanging them to dry, as well as scrubbing floors on all fours using a rag, soap, and hot water seemed obsolete and unnecessary despite their practical appeal. The act of crying to express joy in seeing loved ones after being separated for years, and crying about getting separated from a loved one even for only a short period of time have become baffling and something to be ashamed of. As people move forward, it would seem that there are things integral to their being which are being left behind until they become forgotten. What modern people of today seem to have forgotten is that they were a product of culture and tradition.
Like everything that exists today, each person has an origin. Everyone came from a family characaterized by their own tradition and practices. No matter how far one goes in life, traditions and practices should not be forgotten as they are part of one’s identity. These are what shape and define a person, a uniqueness that isolates one from another.
We are all products of different cultures and traditions, and though we are faced with the idea of globalization which brings about cultural integration, it is our individual responsibility to ensure that our culture continues to exist and have it passed on to the next generation. We can and should be one with the whole world but we are also individuals. We are only able to unite ourselves with others when we have a clear idea of who we really are and we know what we can share. Without knowing our roots and having our own identity, we are mere hollow shells.

Works Cited

Gibson, Margaret. Immigrant adaptation and patterns of acculturation. Human Development, 44.
(2001): 19-23. Web. 11 February 2015.
Poblete, Pati Navalta. The Oracles: My Filipino Grandparents in America. Berkeley: Heyday
Books. 2006. Print.