Cultural Case Study

Biko seems to have an intolerance to some cultural issues that come from his early childhood. The trust issues that he struggles with may arise from the breakup of his parents when he was young (Dana, 1993). Seemingly, the moment that his parents separated, Biko felt enraged with his Father more for leaving them with their mother. To Biko, his mother seemed tolerable since she cared for them at the time they needed her the most. The father, however, became a stranger to them since he seemed to have cared less about their well-being. Being a black student in predominantly white school means a lot when it comes to socializing (Bradley, 1999). It may not be directly the reason why Biko feels isolated, but there may be links as to why he feels isolated in such environment.

Question Two From the multiple dimensions of identity, all human beings behave the same way universally, making them be referred to as Homo sapiens. Globally, all humans share biological and physical definitions. Also, each human being goes through similar life experience, from birth, happiness, sadness to death (Sue, 2001). Hence the constant feeling of isolation and neglect. He was feared by people from his social circle as they saw him as intimidating. The feeling could have been the reason that people did not seem to understand him. Also, the racial aspect of him living in predominantly white settings could be playing a role in people misunderstanding him. Admitting that he joined a predominantly white college to avoid being like his father, depicts that he believes that the character is found within people of a given social background.

Question Three Biko ought to understand that people might not perceive him the exact way that he is. However, the perception should not stir up anger in him as it does. We see Biko getting angry at a teacher who mistakenly accuses him of copying another student’s work. In as much as he was not copying, Biko’s anger stirred up because of the perception that his teacher had on him. The reasons why he feels isolated while in the midst of others may be because he wants them to appreciate him the way he is. Establishing a rapport with him would lead to him opening up to the current issues that anger him. To get him to understand what angers him, the clinician ought to ask him to try and forgive the sins of the past.

His anger management issues mostly rely on his relationship and perception of his father. Biko should learn to recall positive memories of his father if he wishes to forgive him and learn to do away with his anger problems. The same way that his parents reconciled, Biko should try to reconcile his memories to accommodate the positivity that his parents’ reconciliation brought along. Question Five From seeking the sources of Biko’s anger and probing about his early childhood life, Biko would probably develop resentment towards his father to the point that he might not want to speak about him. However, assisting him to remember the few instances that his father did something useful to the family would open up his mind further into recognizing the kind person that his dad was.