Julianna Cohen
Prof. Rodrick
ENGL 115
22 November 2017
Where Do I Belong?
Do you know who you are yet? Have you discovered that one great thing that makes you
realize who you have truly been all this time? In the novel titled Another City, edited by David L
Ulin, there is a story titled Minnie Ripperton Saved My Life written by Luis Alfaro, which is
about a young man who while learning he has to go to a high school different then his
environment discovers soul music which allows him to find out who he is. The young boy is not
able to have a clear concise viewpoint of his identity with living in Los Angeles but music and
his own experience helps him discover his identity. In the story, Los Angeles is able to maintain
a strong presence of involvement of the main characters developing identity within the citys
growing diversity, the music genre of jazz and blues having a further expansion, and the
Los Angeles is a city with a growing population and diversity of individuals and the main
character experiences this diversity with trying to create an identity that supports each situation.
Los Angeles in recent years has grown into a wide community with a range of many different
types of people from all races especially seen in the last few decades. As written by Andrew
Edwards for Press Telegram, For the first time in U.S. history, children under 5 who identify
with an ethnic minority group outnumbered white children a trend that has already been true
in Los Angeles County for more than four decades which means that the main character being
surrounded by people of different races was growing in an environment where he was forced to
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put on different faces for the public (Andrews). The main character was unable to know who he
was supposed to be and where he belonged and the growing population of Los Angeles would
have just improved the situation. The main character is conflicted and wants to fit in but he does
not know where he would truly belong so at the point of the story, he is just ambiguous in who
he is. Los Angeles is a city of growth and expansion and Edward Andrews states in the article
that, in the county of Los Angeles 83 percent of young children in the United States were part
of a minority race or ethnic group as of mid-2014 which means that even during the time period
of the story, the main character had to create an identity to form with his family and an identity
to form with the expectations of the community surrounding him (Andrews). The main character
wanted to know whom he was and without knowing which aspect of his life was more important
to him, he would not be able to. When there is growth in L.A., there is the introduction of more
cultures, which means more experience of diversity that occurs just as it does in the story for the
main character. The main character with his own views and interests is surrounded with all kinds
of people and with the introduction of different views, he has to figure out if he will conform to
Work Cited
Edwards, Andrew. New Census figures show nation is following Los Angeles in diversity.
www.presstelegram.com/2015/06/25/new-census-figures-show-nation-is-following-los-
angeles-in-diversity/.
Sharp, Charles. "SEEKING JOHN CARTER AND BOBBY BRADFORD: FREE JAZZ AND
COMMUNITY IN LOS ANGELES." Black Music Research Journal, vol. 31, no. 1,