Adrika Rahim

Jessie Carty
English 1102
October 28, 2014
Culture Influences Success
Amar Shonar Bangla This directly translate to My Golden Bangla(desh). This
phrase is the title to the country of Bangladeshs national anthem. Bangladesh is a little country,
east of India. The people of Bangladesh, better known as Bengalis, fought long and hard battles
to gain their independence, and finally was victorious in 1971. This country is still a developing
country, even to this day. The Bengali people are working hard in their lives every day to make
their country a better place to live for them and their families. They are yearning to become
successful in their lives. Now, we define success in an English dictionary, in America, as the
favorable or prosperous termination of attempts or endeavors; the accomplishment of one's goals,
or the attainment of wealth, position, honors, or the like. There are many definitions to success,
and it depends on the culture you are raised in. My parents were born and raised in Bangladesh
and moved to America to start a family. I was born and raised in America, but with a Bengali
culture. So I consider myself to be Bengali-American. Success has developed into a
controversial topic when discussed between different cultures and societies. Even I myself
struggle with understanding the concept of success because in my culture, success refers to
wealth, health, prosperity, and prestige. But I grew up understanding that success means to be
living a happily with little to no struggles, or achieving ones goals. The different aspects of
cultures that influences what we consider success and how we achieve it include immigration,
the values and traditions we are raised with, and the pursuit of happiness.
Immigration is the action of coming to live permanently in a foreign country. My
parents are immigrants. They moved to America from Bangladesh in 1987. The reason they
moved to America is for a better life. My mothers name is Fazilatun Nessa. I interviewed her,
wanting to understand what made her choose America. (**INSERT Interview Questions and
Answers that are important and paraphrase the rest of the interview**). Most people move to
America because the job market is huge, diverse, and secure. America is known for having an
economic stepladder to success. So people living in other countries, especially developing
countries like Bangladesh, want to come to America because they believe they will become
successful. That is the wealth aspect of it. America also has great security compared to that of
other countries, so raising children here is safe compared to other countries. Parents feel safer
here, because most other countries have higher crime rates than America.
The culture of Bangladesh is very different compared to that of Americas. Their culture
is also really influenced by religion. 95% of the population of Bangladesh are Muslim, 4% are
Hindu, and the last percent are of other religions. The reason why religion has an effect on the
culture of Bangladesh is because Islam is an extremely conservative religion. Even though the
religion speaks about gender equality is important, we know that still hasnt been achieved yet.
Women in Bangladesh are still treated poorly and below men. That is why in the Bengali culture,
girls are raised to understand that men will treat them lowly and they know their place as serving
men by being a good wife, making and raising babies, and doing housework. Women, yet, are
still expected to get an education and a career. Some men dont want their wives working,
though. So these women are also expected to obey their husbands and quit their jobs. As stated
before, Bangladesh is a developing country, so some of the women follow and obey these
expectations of a good housewife, while other women are out there as independent strong
career women. Men on the other hand are expected to make the household income and have
strong, honorable, and prestigious jobs. None the less, the entire culture is conservative and runs
on pride and dignity.