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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

character having his own personal experience involvement.

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

those views or stay with his own.


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Work Cited

Edwards, Andrew. New Census figures show nation is following Los Angeles in diversity.

Press Telegram, Press Telegram, 31 Aug. 2017,

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,

2011, pp. 65-83, Music Periodicals Database. Accessed

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