Nicole Bippen

"The Struggle for a Voice for Minorities" 

          As both a literature major and fan, I am constantly being exposed to courses and fantastic texts that have survived for generations and helped shaped the society that I live in. Writers like Shakespeare, Thoreau, Hawthorne, Frost, and many others have passed along beautiful pieces that are still as relevant and enjoyable today as they were years ago. However, there is a problem with this "canon" of literature that we are being provided: they are all dead white men. Women are sprinkled throughout the canon loosely, but minority writers are finding themselves left out almost altogether and why? Their works are just as beautiful and influential.

          As Dr. White has asked the class several times, what America do you teach?  Why are the minorities and women given little to no place in these works? This is something that has always bothered me.  Sure, white men can relate to these writers and women can struggle to find the female writers who have forced their way into this, but where is the voice of the minorities? White males are not the only ones in these classes after all and certainly are not the only ones capable of appreciating literature, so why cater almost exclusively to them?

          Sure, colleges offer minority classes and courses such as Early American literature will touch on these ethnicities and give a voice to them, but these courses are few and far apart. Unless you have a patient and educated professor like Dr. White, these minority voices will still be a shadow against the blinding light of white text.

          This course has provided a much needed voice and has brought these texts into the light and made them matter. Black writers, Native Americans, and Mexican Americans are being heard in this course and Dr. White has made them matter. For example, we are given a Native American origin tale to read. "Origin and Emergence stories are complex symbolic tales that typically dramatize the tribal explanation of the origin of the earth and its people; establish the central relationships among people, the cosmos or universe, and the other creatures (flora and fauna) of the earth; distinguish gender roles and social organization for the tribe . ."

          This matters because we are able to see what was important to the Natives. We can see their point of view and how they viewed religion. Through their attempt to explain "the origin of the earth and its people," we are given an intimate glance at how they set up their society and behaved.  We can also see how their beliefs vary from ours and we can began to draw conclusions about how our religion and belief system has evolved from then to now.

          To contrast, we are given a selection from Genesis. Despite Christianity being an ethnic friendly religion, it is still predominately a white text.  In this text, "God creat[es] the heaven and earth" and "creat[es] man in His own image". The natives did not believe in a single creating force (or God) and did not believe in sin. This is radically different from what the Bible teaches. This is important because again, we are able to learn about the past through various works. Without these works, we become simple minded and limited. We have no broad spectrum with which to base our ideas on. Ultimately, no foundation.

          To coincide with the need from ethnic voice, we also see a need for the female voice. Sure, we have Dickinson, Austen, and Plath but these are mostly poets. (Not to discredit poets in any manner, but you cannot honestly tell me that Austen is one of the only female writers worth studying!)  This course gives us Anne Bradstreet who was also a poet, but like Dickinson and Plath, she saw the world through bold new eyes.

          Bradstreet, or at least in my experience, is often overlooked or lightly touched upon in American courses. Dr. White gives us several of her poems and in comparison to other writings of the time, they are very outspoken. In "The Flesh and the Spirit", Bradstreet personifies the soul and flesh as sisters. The language is rich and bold with phrases like "be still, thou unregenerate part" and in this, she deals with the struggle to do good with temptation lurking around every corner.

          This is reminiscent of Jonathan Edwards's "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God". In this piece, Edwards attempts to move his congregation to salvation through threats and dark imagery. "Every unconverted man properly belongs in hell" he boldly declares. Although Bradstreet is not as blunt, she acknowledges that the Flesh sister is doomed to eternal suffering, just like Edwards's sinner.

          Why do these matter? Specifically, so we can glimpse the past and observe how religion was executed as well as the opinions of others on their religion. We see the struggle for Puritans to stay good and true through temptation while dealing with the idea that they are "sinners in the hands of an angry God." Also, Bradstreet gives voice to the women of her period and helps us understand life for a woman during that time frame. She sets an example and gives other women the courage to express themselves.

          In conclusion, one of the biggest problems facing literature courses is the lack of minority and female voices. Although just as important as their white male on counterparts, they are consistently left out. Dr. White has given these voices not only a place in our course, but center spotlight and it is a refreshing break from the typical canon.