Review of The Article "Translating Across Cultures" by Carol Korn-bursztyn

The article Translating Across Cultures by Carol Korn-Bursztyn discusses many aspects of understanding various cultures, and gives a good analysis of how various cultures provide solutions to situations based on the tenants and values of the culture.

Korn-Bursztyn tells us of a story called “The Magical Orange Seed” in which a young boy is subject to all sorts of abuse by his step-father. His biological mother is not able to help better his situation, because she too is a victim of spouse abuse and male dominance. As time progresses the child finds a magical seed that makes him prosperous, and eventually the step-father and his son mend their ways and the family starts to live happily ever after. Korn-Bursztyn suggests that the way the child and mother reacted to the situation was cultural. The mother could have intervened by informing the authorities and saved her son from the abusive situation.

The authors’ point of view is absolutely correct, yet it would also not be wrong to argue that all human beings are born of free-will and that anyone in any culture could have reacted in the same manner as the woman and child in the story. In other words, it is human tendency to be scared of or become submissive of someone who is stronger than you. The child was weaker than the step-father both physically and financially and that is why he was not able to rebel against his step-father. It is no doubt that both the mother and son’s behavior towards the father was submissive. However, I believe that this reaction was innate human nature and not cultural. All sorts of abuse occur in all societies and cultures and how people react to it is not entirely cultural. Many internal and external factors play a role in an individual’s reaction to the situation. Macbeth is a prime example of how there are certain situations in which all human beings act in the same manner, simply because we are inherently similar to one another. In conclusion, the various adaptations of Macbeth all show how power and jealousy can embrace human beings and cause them to commit horrible acts.

Despite the fact that the adaptations are in different languages they all portray the fact that human nature is inherently the same on many levels. Culture, no doubt, has an impact on how we act, however, a lot also has to do with the way we are as human beings.