LITR 4332: American Minority Literature

Jennifer Mason

The Forgotten Minority

            There is no denying that this class has studied hardship, sacrifice, torture, and alliance.  The first half of the semester dealt with the plight of the African Americans as well as their heritage.  I learned the savagery that these poor people had to endure and their lack of choices.  They entered America against their will.  These were not immigrants, these were families torn apart and held captive in the grip of slavery.  The literature of the African American culture dictates a united front and the ability to endure and rise above.

            The second half of the semester showed a different type of minority.  The question becomes, “If people are already dwelling in this land, how can they be the minority?”  The answer is not as obvious as one may think.  Because the atrocities were most apparent before our time and because the minority groups in question were primarily an oral culture, we rely on literature as our interpretation of the events of the past to help the majority understand the plight of the Native American Indians and the Mexican Americans. 

            On the surface, the three minority groups we have discussed appear very different.  However, by diving deeper like the Native American Indian stories dictate, we are able to come to a better understanding of these minority groups as well as what makes them the minority. In 2005, a student turned in a final essay.  Although I do not know the student by name rather only by initials, the statement is quite illustrating:

   Both groups are worth studying under the scope of minority literature because they deal with the issue of choice.  The ideals of American are firmly rooted in the availability of choice and independence.  Yet these two groups, whether through the forced submission of our past or the implied adherence of the present, both seem to lack the choice that, fundamentally, Americans should hold dear. [KB]

This statement is profound in that it perfectly defines the plight of the minority.  They are without choice and voice and all too often must sacrifice their culture to survive or decide to remain strong and true to their culture only to end in ruin.

            This dilemma is particularly present in the subject of the American Dream.  The Native Americans and the Mexican Americans both suffered severe loss when they were conquered and had their land and basic livelihood taken away.  Families were destroyed and lives were ended all for the sake of pursuing the “American Dream”.  This dream was a nightmare for the Native Americans, however, because as the majority achieved their dreams and industry began to grow, their dreams and expectations slowly began to dissipate as quickly as the trees began to disappear.  The response of these people was in the form of stories that demonstrate the survival of the Native American Indian in the face of the eventual devastation and demise of the white man.  However, despite the belief that their culture will not be lost, they deal with prejudice in the form of strength filled with hurt.  Consider the passage from The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie:

      It’s hard to be optimistic on the reservation.  When a glass sits on a table here, people don’t wonder if it’s half filled or half empty.  They just hope it’s good beer.  Still, Indians have a way of surviving.  But it’s almost like Indians can easily survive the big stuff.  Mass murder, loss of language and land rights.  It’s the small things that hurt the most.  The white waitress who wouldn’t take an order, Tonto, the Washington Redskins. (49)

In this passage, Alexie shows the true hardship and broken spirit of a Native American Indian that still finds solace in the face of prejudice and judgment through the strength and belief in his culture.

            The Native American Indian religion was full of symbolism and origin.  These were stories that explained an individual occurrence rather than the total picture all at once.  Christianity tells that creation was rapid and that anything that occurs happens because it is God’s will.  In response to the white man, William Apess uses the dominant culture’s words against them.  “And to cap the climax, rob another nation to till their grounds and welter out their days under the lash with hunger and fatigue under the scorching arrays of a burning sun?”  He continues in another portion by saying, “Did you ever hear or read of Christ teaching his disciples that they ought to despise one because his skin was different form theirs?”  Ideally, this statement can be used in any case of racism and/or discrimination assuming that both parties believe in Christianity mutually.

            The American Dream for the minority as it relates to Objective 3, is apparent in Sherman Alexie’s writing.  For instance, Victor had dreams of success and the dominant lifestyle located on the reservation.  He also had a nightmare that referenced the dream and showed the harsh reality of life on the reservation.  Consider the following quote, “Sometimes, though, the dream became a nightmare and Mother’s Kitchen was out of soup, the jukebox only played country music, and the roof leaked.” (6)  As was stated previously, as the dominant culture began to pursue and benefit the American Dream, the Native Americans became more isolated and unable to realize their rights as human beings.

            This lack of an opportunity of voice also carries over to the Mexican American population.  This minority group also has had its livelihood and property ripped away.  This refers to the Mexican population that found its roots on the now United States occupied territory.  This is not to be mistaken for other parts of South America.  While there is no denying that these individuals suffer hardships, they are immigrants who willingly enter the country.  The Mexican American minority, on the other hand, was already owners of this land and became part of the American population out of forced occupation rather than of their own free will.

            The isolation of the Mexican American group is written throughout literary texts.  Where the Native American Indians wrote stories filled with symbolic images and religious figures, Mexican Americans wrote about borders and walls that separate them from the land where they live.  There is a clear message of conflict between what the individual wants to do to maintain his or her roots and the realization that assimilation and acceptance of the dominant culture could lead to financial freedom and an opportunity for the American dream.  Consider the following passage from Pat Mora’s poem titled Elena, “They speak English.  At night they sit around the kitchen table, laugh with one another.  I stand by the stove and feel dumb, alone.” (11)  In this instance, language barriers represent borders that cannot be easily crossed.  By adhering to the dominant culture’s demands and learning the English language, she abandons all that she holds dear.  However, if she does not learn the dominant language then the communication borders will get wider and she will have no hope of crossing to the other side.  This situation demonstrates the Mexican Americans as “The Ambivalent Minority”.  This term describes a group of people who have mixed feelings about where they stand.  If they change, do they assimilate and if they assimilate are they immigrants.  On the other hand, because they are part of a land that has not always had the US as its owner, are they the minority culture that is distinct and separate. 

            The above referenced dilemma is apparent in Rudolfo Anayo’s Bless Me, Ultima.  The following passage discusses one boy’s issue with the family tree but is also a metaphor of the issue of ambivalence, “I waited, then said. ‘Now we have come to live near the river, and yet near the Ilano.  I love them both, and yet I am of neither.  I wonder which life I will choose?” (41)  Anayo effectively demonstrates the plight of the minority in this simple passage spoken as a metaphor that reaches its audience in personal conflict.

            The existence of the Mexican Americans is due to the mixing of two cultures.  The Native American Indians and the Europeans mated and the Mexican population was born.  This blending is represented in the History of the Miraculous Apparition of the Virgin of Guadalupe in 1531.  Consider the following passage:

      The Virgin of Guadalupe is a syncretic religious figure.  She represents a particular form of the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus Christ, and as such she mediates between humans and God the Father.  She is the symbolic mother of all Catholics.  At the same time, her brown skin and Indian features maker her a Native American Virgin Mother.  In addition, she appeared to a poor Indian.  Finally, her apparition was on a sacred site traditionally associated with a female Indian god of fertility, Tonantzin.

According to class discussion, syncretism “describes a convergence or merger or distinct religious traditions into a single expression” (class notes).  I quoted William Apess who challenged the dominant culture and their interpretation of Christianity and God’s will.  This is yet another example of syncretism.  In addition, when Juan Diego was drafted into sainthood, Mexicans as well as Indians attended the ceremony.  This was a good example of the old and new, two minority cultures brought together because of history.