Abortion as an illegal act and an act of murder through the scientific and biblical view of life Essay

inductionTwo handfuls of flour go flying into the empty mixing whorl on the newly washed counter. Three eggs crack against the lip of the ara, the yoke flowing out. A pinch of salt lands on the freshly cracked eggs as o die hard oil oozes out of the bottle. The bowl is placed under the running fossett for a few seconds to complete the mixture. voiceless hands knead the ingredients into a moist dough b all. After a few hours, the dough is taken out of the refrigerator, ready to be sullen into macaroni (pasta). The dough is put finished the hand crank dough bowl to be flattened. Then, it is formed into long strings and laid to dry on the comforter in the sp be bedroom. I waste witnessed my grandmother adopt out this process of making delicious, fresh home do pasta more of clocks to prepare for Sunday dinner party. This simple hardly important rite has been take uped shoot through my family starting from my great granny to my sisters and myself.One of the groups I a m part of is Italian Ameri disregards, or more specifically quaternary multiplication millennian Italian Ameri good deals. While in that respect is a considerable amount of research on the pagan identity operator of Italian Americans who immigrated to the joined States during the early to 1900s, the research regarding the ethnic identity of fourth multiplication Italian Americans is scarce. ethnic identity is different from personal identity because it focuses on the vogue a member of an ethnic group is influenced by that ethnic group. For Italian Americans, fare plays a noteworthy utilization in their ethnic identity. galore(postnominal) Italian Americans that grew up in the early to mid-1900s neer went to restaurants to eat, so the provided food they knew was Italian food (M. Litwin, personal communication, November 10, 2015). Today, as a 4th generation Italian American that is fully assimilated to the American society, home-brewed Italian food is quiet a signi ficant part of my life history. Lorraine Caputo (2011) describes how her young woman went to Japan, unspoilt now when she came back, she asked Caputo to bugger off her some of her favorite Italian dishes (p. 194). This embodies the Italian Americans after beingness fully assimilated to the American society. I love the American culture, but I al moods start back to my Italian grow.The Italian Americans who immigrated to the United States in the early 1900s lived in communities dominated by Italian Americans. These communities became very blocklipped and were a dominant element in the Italian American culture. The tightly knit Italian conjunction along with the importance of Italian food contend major roles in the ethnic identity of the 1st and 2nd generation Italian Americans that immigrated to the Unites States in the early 1900s. However, Michael Buonanno (2011) believes that the identity of Italian Americans at present is still evolving, but instead of focusing on the old sentences we should be focusing on the shipway in which Italian Americans are creating their ethnic identities akin a shot (p. 9). Andrea Dottolo (2015) and Lorraine Caputo (2011) pose written autoethnographies just astir(predicate) Italian Americans and how they themselves retain their ethnic identity after being fully assimilated to the American society. However, these authors are importantly older than I am. in that location have not been any autoethnographies about how 4th generation millennials retain their ethnic identity in the American society. In this autoethnography, I myself am a 4th generation millennial Italian American, and I can shed some light on how we foster our ethnic identities. I foster my own ethnic identity through my dummy up-knit family that allows me to have a strong foundation. Additionally, Italian food has condition me the opportunity to not only twitch my culture, but dealwise to experience a part of my ancestors lives. Lastly, telling the stories of my ancestors has wrick a hearty piece of my ethnic identity because it allows my family to concur our history alive.Literature ReviewFoodFood has always been a significant part of the ethnic identities of Italian Americans. Andrea Dottolo (2015) analyzes how food represents family, morality, culture and home to Italian American women (p. 373). Additionally, as Caputo (2011) says, Italian Americans are either revered for the imbruted art they have made of food or objectified as the Hollywood gangster (p. 182). two Dottolo and Caputo are focused only on how the tone of food affects women. However, Italian food has played a significant role in my life as well as the women in my family. In the past, women have commonly done more of the planning than males. However, in todays society, women work in the workplace just as practically if not more than men do. The sort out that only women do the make uping is dying and would be considered a sexist comment today. I commonly help my mom make dinner and have learned the recipes that have been passed down in our family for generations a good deal(prenominal) as making homemade pizza. clubItalian Americans who emigrated from Italy to the United States in the early 1900s ordinarily in communities like Bostons North End that were comprised of almost hundred% Italians (Smajda & Gerteis 2012 p. 626). numerous of the Italians who came over, like my great granny knot, did not speak English and it was hard for them to make friends outside of the residential district (Litwin). Because many of the Italians could not relate to anyone outside the fraternity, the community became a very strong in-group. But, Allport (1954) says that each in group as well must have an out-group (p. 40). The out-group for the Italian Americans was the immigrants who had come before them, primarily the Irish. My nan told me that when her parents came over from Italy, the Irish looked down upon the Italians and made them take the dirty, grimy jobs such as working in the coal exploits (M. Litwin, personal communication, November 10, 2015). The well-paying jobs were hard to come by for the Italians in part due to the discrimination they faced in general by the Irish. Part of this discrimination may have come from the stereotype that Italian Americans were gangsters. Cavallero (2004) examines how the American media in the 1900s created the stereotype of the Italian mobster (p. 50-63). Additionally, Cavallero (2004) says that the thirties were a clip of constant denigration for the Italian Americans (p. 52). This discrimination farther bonded Italian communities together. In Smajda and Gerteiss (2012 p. 3-9) article Ethnic Community and Ethnic Boundaries in a Sauce-Scented Neighborhood, the ethnic communities essentially prevented assimilation because the hoi polloi in the communities were so closely knit socially. These communities came to be known as Little Italies. The Little Italies were de nsely populated and vibrant communities. However, as time progressed, many of the Italian Americans began to move to the suburbs and the Little Italies began to shrink. Buonanno (2011) says that the Little Italies that exist today are nowhere near as lively and upbeat as the ones that existed 50 days ago (p. 9). Today, few of these communities still exist and the ones that do are much smaller than the ones that existed in the early 1900s. I live about 30 minutes outside of Baltimore, where there is still a Little Italy today. Although it is still a lively community with many true(p) Italian restaurants and shops, it is nothing like the Little Italies of the past. The close-knit community that was at the heart of the old Little Italies has disappeared from the Little Italy in Baltimore and many of the residents are not Italian.Effects of AssimilationThe diaspora of the Italian Americans has importantly changed the dynamic of what Italian Americans consider their ethnic identity. Gr owing up in America in a community that was not dominated by Italians, meant that my only photograph to my Italian heritage came through my family. The cultivates I attended and the friends I made were mostly non-Italian. For this reason, instead of thinking of myself as Italian first, as my ancestors at one time did, I think of myself as American first and Italian second. An American Italian you might say. This is due to the assimilation of the Italian Americans that took place as they moved out of their tightly-knit communities that prevented assimilation. So the strong sense of community that the Italian Americans felt had slowly disappeared. This caused Italian Americans to hold onto their ethnic culture in different ways. As the dynamics of a group change, the group adapts, but still holds onto its roots. As Allport (1954) says in-groups can evolve and adapt in run to reflect the values of the members of the in-group (p. 37). In-groups are not static because the beliefs and values of the stack in those in-groups are not static. In the case of 4th generation millennial Italian Americans, we are assimilated to the American society and have never been part of the communities that were once so pivotal to our ancestors. Instead, we hold onto our ethnic roots through the closeness of family, family traditions, food, and the memories of the old eld passed down from our grandparents.AutoethnographyChristine Walley (2013) says that autoethnographies take a look into family members lives while in the context of a larger conversation and attempt to apply their lives to society as a whole (p.15). Autoethnographies attempt to fill a gap in the research that has been done on a particular in-group through the use of studious research but also personal experience in that in-group. Gordon Allport (1954) defines an in-group as a group of people who use the term we to signify the aforesaid(prenominal) thing (p. 31). My most prominent in-group is Italian Americans, o r more specifically 4th generation Italian Americans. Many autoethnographies would split this section into denary sub sections, however, I feel that family, food, tradition, and memories are too intertwined for me to split them up.In my family and many other Italian families, family comes first. Whether its missing a fellowship with my friends to go to family dinner at my naans house or taking an hour out of my busy schedule to sit down and have dinner with my family every night or going to cope with my cousins play, family always comes first. At least once every month, my immediate family, my cousins, aunts, uncles, and my grandparents would all gather together at one of our houses (usually my grandmas) to celebrate basically anything that we could. Sometimes we would just get together for no reason if we hadnt seen everyone in a couple weeks. These celebrations have given me some of my fondest memories of my childhood, but also shaped the person I have become. Having such a cl ose family has given me a self-confidence that I could not have achieved without my family. I know that I have a strong foundation and that I can always count on my family. This has helped me to be confident in myself and take challenges head on. For example, I would never have been able to achieve a 4.0 in high school all four years without my family supporting me. However, having a family as close as mine does have some drawbacks. For example, my social life was significantly affected. While most of my friends were hanging out on a Friday or Saturday night, I was with my family. Additionally, your privacy is essentially non-existent when you have such a close family. Whenever something happened in our family, large or small, it would spread through the family rapidly whether you precious it to or not. For example, when I got a new girlfriend, I got calls from all of my relatives within a couple hours of telling just one of my family members. However, one of the vanquish things f rom when we do get together was that we always have extremely lush amounts of food no matter what the occasion. I recover one time at my grandmas house where it was just my immediate family and my grandparents. My grandma made enough pasta and thunder (thats what pasta act is called in my family) to feed about 20 people. Many non-Italians have never heard of pasta sauce being called gravy before, but in Italian families, especially in the old times, it is always called gravy. My grandma grew up in an Italian community in Bayonne, New Jersey. Both of her parents were first generation Italian Americans who met in the United States (M. Litwin, personal communication, November 10, 2015). In the community that they lived in, as well as in the majority of Italian American communities, pasta and red sauce or meat sauce was always called macaroni and gravy (M. Litwin, personal communication, November 10, 2015). This tradition has been passed down in my family for generations and I pass on pass it down to my children as well. As you can see, all self-respecting 4th generation Italian Americans such as myself will call the sauce you put on your pasta (or macaroni as my grandma calls it) gravy.Another tradition that my family has is that we host the Christmas ships company every year. The preparation for the party starts about a week before Christmas. The first couple days are spent cleaning up the house and setting everything up for the party. The rest of the time is spent cooking. The house smells of freshly made bread, gravy simmering on the stove, the ham cooking in the oven, and much more. We usually have to make enough food to feed about 100 people because we invite all of my extended family including 2nd cousins and family friends. On Christmas day, my grandparents are always the first ones to show up. My sisters and I help them bring in a carful of homemade food ranging from my grandmas famous brownies, umber chip cookies, a couple cakes, biscotti (an Italia n cookie), meatballs, my grand begets homemade rolls, and a couple bowls of fresh fruit. Loraine Caputo (2011) describes how cooking became a way for her grandmothers and her to compact their ethnic heritage. She says that she spends hours in the kitchen preparing meals and perfecting her dishes (p. 194). Both of my grandmothers along with my mom have also chosen to spend so much time cooking because they feel it is part of their ethnic identity. Caputos daughter says it shell when she tells her mom that We are Italian when Caputo complains about spending so much time in the kitchen (2011 p. 194). However, I have learned to cook the traditional Italian meals in addition to just my sisters as it was when my grandma grew up. Learning to cook my familys meals has allowed me to share in a substantial part of my ancestors lives, something that I would never have without Italian food.As time passes, the house fills up, making it hard to move through the rooms. The upstairs is filled wit h laughter, conversation, and of course story-telling. My grandfather will retell the stories increase up in a row house with little money. His father fixed shoes for a living in an Italian community much like in the North End. As Smajda and Gerteis (2012 p. 628) say, You used to be able to have your shoes fixed here but thats not so easy anymore. Next, hell talk about how he started his own paper route when he was 12 years old to help his parents pay the bills. These stories remind us of our roots and keep the family history alive. My grandma will tell us the stories about her parents that just like me, she had heard hundreds of times (M. Litwin, personal communication, November 10, 2015). I will pass these same stories down to my kids along with my own stories. Additionally, these stories have taught me that you never can tell when you are in the good old days (or the memories that you remember for the rest of your life) until you leave them. This has had a significant impact on my life because I try to make the most of every day, whether that means get up early to work out instead of sleeping in or making sure that I do my absolute best on a paper.Dinner My dad calls down in the cellar and all of the kids rush up the stairs to get in line. The odour coming from the kitchen is floating throughout the house and everyone gets in line to tasting the delicious food that my mom, along with our help, has been preparing for days. My moms chicken parmesan is bm and center next to my dads delicious mash potatoes. Theres pasta and meatballs, sausage and onion, pork and sourcrout, ham, mac and cheese, corn, my grandpas homemade rolls, lasagna, bread from Chef Palinos (a small mom and pop Italian restaurant), and much more. Many people make the mistake of filling up too much on dinner because theres so much food. Their mistake always proves costly when they see the dessert table. We usually have more dessert than we do food for dinner. Theres my grandmas brownies, chocolate chip cookies, candy cane cookies, biscotti, terzetto or four cakes, tandy cakes (a thin vanilla cake topped with a layer of peanut butter and a layer of chocolate), thumbprints (a tradition of my grandmas), fresh fruit, and any other desserts that our guests bring. Sitting around the table for dinner and dessert embodies my ethnic identity as an Italian American. All of my family is there laughing, telling stories of the old days, continuing our family traditions, and making new memories that we can add to the wealth of memories that my family already has.Conclusion4th generation millennial Italian Americans today still embrace their ethnic identities, but the ways in which they do so have evolved. The ethnic communities that existed in the time of our great grandparents and grandparents are almost non-existent today. The assimilation that took place after the Italian Americans left the Little Italies, transformed the way that Italian Americans look at their ethnic ident ities. There was no longer a strong community to give-up the ghost back on, but instead a tight family to fall back on. Today, close family, Italian food, traditions, and the memories of their ancestors allow Italian Americans like myself to embrace their roots, but also to keep adding to the history of Italian Americans. How will my kids and my kids kids embrace their ethnic identity? I dont know for sure. I hope they will continue to love Italian food like I do, raise their families to be as close as mine is today, and continue to tell the stories of our family. Most likely, they will evolve my definition of what I believe to be my ethnic identity into their own version.ReferencesAllport, G. W. (1954). Formation of In-Groups. The character of Prejudice (pp. 29-47). Reading, MA Addison-Wesley Publishing Company.Buonanno, M. (2011, fall). Ethnicity, Nostalgia, Affirmation The Rhetoric of Italian American Identity. Voices, 37(3/4), 3-9.Caputo, L. (2011, July 1). Gender, Food, and Lo ss. Studies in Gender and Sexuality, 12(3), 179-195.Cavallero, J. J. (2004, summer). Gangsters, Fessos, Tricksters, AND Sopranos The Historical Roots of Italian American class Anxiety. Journal of Popular Film & Television, 32(2), 50-63.Dottolo, A. L. (2015 August 31). Slicing White Bre(a)d racial Identities, Recipes,and Italian-American Women. Women & Therapy, 38(3-4), 356-376.Gerteis, J. & Smaja J. (2012, September). Ethnic Community and Ethnic Boundaries in a Sauce-Scented Neighborhood. sociological Forum, 27(3), 617-640.