LITR 4332: American Minority Literature

Bundy Fowler

Whose Land Is This Anyway?

Despite the undeniable fact that both the Native and Mexican Americans occupied this land long before the presently defined dominant culture, these two groups remain distinctly categorized as ethnic minorities. Moreover, although contradictory, the simple truth is that today’s dominant culture are indeed the immigrants, yet have transformed themselves into the prevailing majority. Due to this seemingly odd condition, both Native and Mexican Americans are considered minority ethnic cultures, which exemplify themselves through their special narratives and distinct, nonetheless similar, reactions acquired as a result of their unique status.

Both Native and Mexican Americans fit into the mold of ethnic minorities through their “involuntary participation” and “lack of choice.” [Objective1a and 1b] Forced from their land and strong-armed into assimilation, both groups suffered mistreatment and exclusion due to being conquered by the dominant majority. For Native Americans, the immigrants came to America and took over its land, etc. In contrast, the Mexican Americans gained their minority status as a result of expansion of the United States primarily through the annexation of Texas (and other areas) after the Mexican-American War. Almost concurrently, immigrants came to America seeking their version of the American dream, more than happy to assimilate into the dominant culture to pursue life, liberty and happiness, while the others were left with haunting nightmares of “loss and survival” or conflicting attitudes of “ambivalence”. These responses are portrayed through special narratives and varied reactions to their newly acquired standing in the social structure of America.

For the Native Americans, “loss and survival” [objective 3b] became a way of life and the primary focus of their alternative narratives. Many of the special narratives they created were oral. “All the stories told were from an oral tradition.  Written cultures are typically associated with a dynamic, modern culture.  Native Americans, in order to preserve their history, have had to adapt and began to transcribe their oral traditions into the written word.  Since then, oral traditions have disappeared.  Therefore, literacy is a valuable tool that has allowed part of Native American culture to survive.” (From previous unknown student exam 2005) Interestingly, many of the “North American Origin Stories” depict similar Biblical stories depicted and adapted by the dominant culture. One of the first actual written accounts of these narratives is William Apress’s “An Indian’s Looking Glass for the White Man.” Cleverly, he points out the hypocrisy promoted by the dominant culture. He asks, “What is love, or its effects? Now, if they who teach are not essentially affected with pure love, the love of God…Did you ever hear or read of Christ teaching his disciples that they ought to despise one because his skin was different from theirs?” These words and others hardly sound like the savage beasts the Native Americans were depicted as, yet more like a group of citizens accepting the terms of “loss and survival” as a way of life dependent on the needs of their people.

On the other hand, the Mexican Americans reacted with a more ambivalent approach. As a group with strongly rooted family ties, including extended family and important focus on cultural heritage, assimilation seemed a bleak choice for them as well; however, many did not accept “loss and survival” as a way of life and possessed mixed feelings about how to react to their status as minorities. This ambivalence is exemplified in many aspects Mexican American literature including, “The Miraculous Apparition of the Virgen of Guadalupe” and Bless Me Ultima. Syncretism in these works provides the reader with a sense of ambivalence due to its combination of religious ideas.

This portrays the idea of partial assimilation in accepting the ideas of the dominant culture and integrating them into their own. In “The Virgen of Guadalupe,” Diego becomes preoccupied with taking care of his sick uncle and procrastinated dealing with  “Our Lady.” This is primarily due to the Mexican American tradition, which focuses on the importance of family, yet is slightly out of character because they also deeply value religion. Perhaps this ambivalence is due to the idea that “Our Lady” is a shared religious figure due to assimilation (similar to the Virgin Mary) while the connection with family is unquestionable.

Further in Bless Me Ultima, Tony represents an ambivalent figure due to his struggle with priesthood (what his mother wants for him) and being “his father’s son” (like his brothers who want to live their own lives). He also is confused by the different symbols throughout the book including the “Golden Carp” and “Ultima’s magic and her owl” that contradict the ideas of priesthood.  With these ideas in mind, the Mexican Americans are seemingly less resistant to assimilation than the Native Americans. This idea is further demonstrated in Pat Mora’s poem, “Elena.” In the final three lines of the poem, the speaker (a mother whose children have learned English and she has not) fears “being deaf when my children need my help.” She fears that if she does not assimilate into the dominate culture by learning English like her children have, that she will be unable to communicate and help them when they are in need.