What does “culture” mean to you?
What is the most accurate meaning of the word “culture”? I often use the word “culture” even though I do not really have a depth of understanding of its meaning. I look up its meaning through the internet and my Longman dictionary every time I use this word, but I still get confused because different sources provide me with different explanations until I read “Culture is Ordinary” by Raymond Williams, he gives me a new vision of the word “culture” which I have not known before. In “Culture is Ordinary”, Williams explains that culture not only is considered as a high or low level but also is normal things around us because it always has two aspects- high and low. He emphasizes that culture is normal because it is where we begin and culture is the first fact. There is no specific meaning of culture because its meaning can be defined by different society and an individual.
Opening with the observations and descriptions of the street when he sits on the bus, Williams immediately illustrates that the familiar and normal things can express our culture. In his essays, he does not abjure that culture is not a high art but he also wants to point out that culture is also common things that are associated with our daily lives. With chatty and intimate tone of the writing, the author provides his own observations and experiences to the readers in order to enlighten his explanation of “culture” rather than persuading people. The parallel structure is scattered throughout his essay to accentuate his stand on both signs of culture- high and low. The chained library, the steel- rolling mill, gasworks, and grey terraces are examples of “high culture.” A cinema, a cartoon advertisement, farms and the cathedral represent “low culture.” I use his words of what he calls “high culture” and “low culture” to make a distinction and clarify how the parallel structure is used effectively in his essay for the purpose of emphasizing two aspects of culture....