Metaphors Of Culture Essay

Some various co-cultures I belong to include the Theravada Buddhist community, Burmese community, and extracurriculars in high school. The Theravada Buddhist community and Burmese community come hand in hand for me, because I usually meet with my parents’ Burmese friends when I do monastery work or any religious celebration/activity. My parents are more religiously active, as they attend chantings at their friends’ houses while I am not able to. At the monasteries, one in Austin and one in Houston, my family and I serve lunch to the monks and pray afterwards, though this occurs occasionally. Since I am not able fluent in Burmese, my ties with the Burmese community around Houston/Austin is very weak, as I can not maintain conversations with …show more content…
The metaphor of “salad” describes culture as individual, distinct components that combine to make a better whole, like individual vegetables in salads to create a tasty whole. The metaphor of “iceberg” creates the analogy that many of us only see the tip of the “iceberg” of cultures, and that there’s much more to it than what we are able to take in with our senses. The metaphor of “tree” shows that culture has facets that we can see and hear, represented by the trunk, stem, leaves, etc. while the roots represent the culture’s values and more. The metaphor of “melting pot” shows that cultures intermingle in a “melting pot” and create a new whole that is better than the individual cultures, though they do lose some of their individuality. The metaphor of “software” shows that culture tends to control the perception of what can or can’t be done. The metaphor of “organism” relays that culture maintains its identity but can also utilize the environment to its advantage. The metaphor of “mosaic” suggests that like a mosaic, which is made up of many smaller, unique pieces, culture taken in as a whole is more beautiful than just any one facet of the