LITR 4332 American Minority
Literature
Sample Student Midterm Answers 2008
Topic 1 (minority culture): Explain this course's "minority concept" in relation to Objectives 1-4 & 2-3 texts
"Best Answers"
complete essays that meet all or most
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Dominant Immigrant Culture vs. African American Minority Culture
There are several factors that distinguish dominant immigrant culture from the
American minority cultures. The manner in which each group came to the US, the
opportunities (or lack thereof) available to each group, and the emergence of
“The Dream” in contrast to “The American Dream” are just three such factors. The
texts we have read thus far exemplify the differences in the dominant immigrant
culture compared with that of African American minority culture.
The first distinction that can be made between immigrants and
African Americans is how they came to America. As we learned from objective one,
persons from the dominant immigrant culture chose to come to America
while African Americans were forced to come to America. In Bread
Givers, Anzia Yezierska tells the story of a Russian immigrant girl who
comes to America after she “ran away from home” to “make [her] own way in the
world” (p.188). This is dramatically different from the Narrative of Olaudah
Equiano in which Equiano tells how he was kidnapped from his home in Africa
and sold to slave traders who brought him to America. Immigrants sailed from
their native lands, crossed the sea, and came to America in search of a better
life, in search of opportunities known as the “American Dream.” On the other
hand, African Americans were forced on to slave ships and made to work their way
through the perilous journey, which instead of promising opportunity provided
only exploitation (objective 1a).
Opportunity for the one group and exploitation for the other is the
second main factor in distinguishing the dominant immigrant culture from the
African American minority culture. To immigrants America was, and still is, the
land of opportunity. It is a place where you are free to improve your life by
hard work and dedication. Max Goldstein, a character in Bread Givers, is
an example of the “American Dream” at work. The moment that Max steps off the
boat he is able to gain employment shoveling snow. He is paid at the end of the
day and is then able to secure a place to live. Max remembers, “At the end of
that day, when I was paid a dollar, I felt the riches of all America in my hand”
(p 189). Max goes on to tell how “at the end of the week he was in business
for himself. Every day he came back to his lodging loaded full” (p 189).
This is the “American Dream” come true for one American immigrant.
However, African Americans were not given the right to keep the money they
earned and advance their station in life. For them the “American Dream” was the
“American Nightmare.” In his, Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass,
Douglass does an amazing job showing readers the exact opposite of the Max
Goldstein story. At the end of a day’s work, Douglass is forced to give his
earnings to his master. He says, “I was now getting, as I have said, one dollar
and fifty cents per day. I contracted for it; I earned it; it was paid to me; it
was rightfully my own; yet, upon each returning Saturday night, I was compelled
to deliver every cent of that money to Master Hugh” (p 415). I love how one
student, JC, worded it in his 2005 mid-term, “Max and Frederick both worked and
they both had dreams of working, making a living, and being self sufficient. Yet
there is a clear distinction between the two men and the groups whom they
represent: the sky was the limit for Max the immigrant, while Frederick the
slave dare not venture past the tip of his master’s whip.” Continually having
opportunity ripped from their grasps and being replaced with the yoke of slavery
and exploitation caused the morphisim of the “American Dream” into something the
minority culture could relate to, “The Dream.”
The emergence of “The Dream” in contrast to “The American Dream” is
the third major distinguishing factor between the American minority culture and
the dominant immigrant culture. “’The Dream’ resembles but is not identical to
‘The American Dream.’ The American Dream emphasizes immediate individual
success. The Dream factors in setbacks, the need to rise again, and group
dignity” (objective 5a). The dream resembles the American Dream in many aspects;
such as the desire for a better life, the desire for freedom, and the desire for
property. However, unlike the American Dream, which stresses the here and now,
The Dream looks forward to the future, to “one day.” The concept of and belief
in The Dream has been around as long as the oppression of minority groups. We
see it in Fredrick Douglass when he pleads with God to make him free, “God,
deliver me! Let me be free!... Meanwhile, I will try to bear up under the
yoke…There is a better day coming” (pp 388-389). We see it in Harriet Jacobs
with both Linda’s grandmother and Linda herself. Linda’s grandmother has “by
perseverance and unwearied industry” become the “mistress of a snug little home,
surrounded with the necessaries of life” (p 458). This passage sounds very much
like The American Dream come true, but the very next sentence shatters The
American Dream revealing The Dream; “She would have been happy could her
children have shared them with her” (p 458). In much the same way, we see The
Dream take the place of The American Dream at the end of Linda’s story. She has
been freed, she is no longer a slave, yet she tells the reader, “The dream of my
life is not yet realized. I do not sit with my children in a home of my own” (p
664). The setbacks that Douglass, Jacobs, and numerous African American
minorities like them are forced to face down and overcome create an unrelenting
hope for a better day that survives all persecution. This hope is given new life
when Dr. Martin Luther King complies, compresses, and composes centuries of
anticipation into one heart rendering speech. Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream”
defines the idea of the dream that is traced throughout African American
minority literature; “Even though we face the difficulties of today and
tomorrow. I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American
dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the
true meaning of its creed--we hold these truths to be self-evident that all men
are created equal.”
There are many differences between the dominant immigrant culture of
the US and the American minority culture. Immigrants chose to come to America in
search of opportunity and for the most part they found it when they arrived.
They were able to gain equality, rights, and property; they lived “The American
Dream.” On the other hand, African American minorities were kidnapped and forced
to leave there homelands and become slaves in America. After centuries of
oppression and exploitation, African Americans created an alternative to “The
American Dream.” They began to put their hope in “The Dream;” a place and time
that will “one day” bring them equality. [LF]
1. American Minority Cultures and the American Dream
The American dominant culture is made up of mostly European immigrants and their descendants. These immigrants chose to come here in pursuit of the American Dream. For them, America represented an opportunity to accrue greater material wealth than in their countries of origin. They wanted to leave their pasts behind and start new lives. The immigrant narrative in Bread Givers perfectly exemplifies what the American Dream means to such people. Max Goldstein arrives in America, and knowing very little English sets out to make a living. “…I snatched up a shovel from the stack and dug into the snow. At the end of that day, when I was paid a dollar, I felt the riches of all America in my hand. . . .” In only a week’s time he is in business for himself, living the American Dream.
But not everyone fits into the dominant culture. African Americans, American Indians, and Mexican Americans have not experienced the American Dream like the dominant immigrant culture. The African Americans in particular did not come to these shores voluntarily. They were initially brought here as slaves. The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Gustavus Vassa describes the frightening experience of a man brought here against his will. “I now saw myself deprived of all chance of returning to my native country, or even the least glimpse of gaining the shore, which I now considered as friendly… my present situation [was] filled with horrors of every kind, still heightened by my ignorance of what I was to undergo.”
The Declaration of Independence outlines many underlying concepts of the American Dream. Its most famous line states “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal… with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” But as the midterm essay “African American Literature: An Ongoing Struggle for Inclusion and Voice” points out, many types of people did not originally fall under the description of “men,” including “all females, indentured servants, criminals, indigenous people, and of course all black slaves.” African Americans in particular were denied full civil rights for hundreds of years. The American Dream was the American Nightmare for them. To achieve any measure of freedom, slaves either had to risk their lives to escape to free territories or have their freedom purchased by white people. The author of Incidents in Life of a Slave Girl relates her feelings about gaining freedom through sale: “I well know the value of that bit of paper; but much as I love freedom, I do not like to look upon it. I am deeply grateful to the generous friend who procured it, but I despise the miscreant who demanded payment for what never rightfully belonged to him or his.”
While slavery no longer oppresses black people, The American Dream continues to elude many of them. In modern America, race is practically equivalent to class. White people occupy most of the best jobs while black people often struggle to achieve financial prosperity. Too many African Americans live in poor neighborhoods and struggle with dominant institutions. The police are often viewed as enemies rather than friends. New York City councilman David Yassky explains, “Too many African-American New Yorkers feel that they are at risk or that their family members are at risk of mistreatment, whether it be to be stopped without reason or to be victimized by excessive force” (qtd. in Vazquez, "Council Panel Interrogates Kelly on Police Treatment of Blacks").
Race and immigrant status are two significant identifiers of minorities, but other types exist as well. The Declaration of Independence states that “all men are created equal…” What about women? Throughout America’s history, females have often endured oppression and prejudices similar to that of African Americans. They did not gain the right to vote until 1920. (Lewis, “The Day the Suffrage Battle Was Won”). Lesbians and homosexuals are another group that currently struggle to overcome oppression and attain the same civil rights that the dominant culture has long possessed. Minh T. Nguyen compares the struggle of blacks and gays, “Although the African American society has gained political freedom and equality de facto, the gay community still faces both the discrimination de jure and de facto“ (Nguyen, “Civil Rights - The History of Gay Rights“). [PA]
The Split between the Minority Concept and Immigrant Culture
America is a country of great diversity, not only represented in the many cultures that it encompasses but also in the experiences of those cultures. There are two core groups at the center of this divided experience, immigrants and minorities. The immigrants are those who came to America seeking a better way of life and who are generally a part of the American Dream. The American experience is quite different, from the minority groups, however, as these were not willing participants in their inclusion into this nation.
This is especially well evidenced in the history of African Americans in the United States. Their lives are in stark contrast to those of the immigrant group, and they do not share the American dream, per se, but instead substitute the own conception of “The Dream.” A student who previously completed the midterm exam in 2007 thought of the “Dream” in this manner: “For African Americans, I think that the best way to define ‘The Dream,’ is the American Dream with a catch.”(KR,2006) This is essentially reinforcing the idea that the American dream is the hopes of the majority, while the minority population must settle for what is in all respects, a watered down version of what the rest of the nation feels entitled to.
This concept of a dichotomy between immigrant and minority narratives relates directly to objective 1a. An example of the typical immigrant narrative is found in Bread Givers. The man who has just come to America remarks “You and I are so much alike, because I, too, wanted to make my own way in the world.” In his experience, coming to America is a way to make a name for himself, to become more than was possible in the country he came from. There is a sense of hopefulness and immediate gratification that is not present in the minority community traditionally. The minority narrative relies more on gradual successes and looking towards the future for their children and their children’s children.
This is where Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech ties in with the minority experience and gives the concept of “The Dream” as opposed to the more general “American Dream”, as indicated in objective 3a “The Dream” is willing and able to factor in setbacks and plan for eventual accomplishment of the goals. Dr. King stated famously that he had “a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed--we hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal.” In keeping with the fundamental differences between the “America Dream” and “the Dream”, his speech relied on the thought of one day reaching their goals of equality, not goals that were new and higher than what had been previously, but goals that had been guaranteed to them in the Declaration of Independence by the famous line “we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
In these ways, the immigrant narrative splits from the minority narrative. Both the forced inclusion of their peoples in this nation and the difference between “The Dream” and the “American Dream” necessitate the viewing of the minority as a separate entity from the dominant immigrant culture. [BH]
The Meaning of “Minority”
A conglomeration of white, western European cultures makes up the dominant culture of the United States today. These people came to the “land of opportunity” voluntarily as individuals, families, or groups of settlers, determined to build themselves a better future. While first generation immigrants fought for acceptance, each new group shuffled into the established population, gradually dispersing throughout mainstream society. Together they united to form the dominant American culture. These people built and designed for themselves The American Dream: a goal, a lifestyle, a standard of living that says “I have made it.” However, three cultures who occupy American soil never got the chance to “make it.” Their place in the hierarchy of white society was predetermined by the dominant culture. American Indians were pushed off their land as a new white Americans built this new white country. Mexican-Americans became victims of the force expanding ever westward. African-Americans were dragged across the Atlantic in shackles, as slaves. These three peoples never got the opportunity to make a better life for themselves and their children. Defeated and culturally subordinated from the start, they were barred from that American Dream and are still locked out today. No immigrant community, regardless of popular rhetoric, falls into the same category as these captured cultures. Therefore, for the purposes of this class, we consider only these three groups American Indians, Mexican-Americans and African-American, minority populations.
American Indians were native to this “savage” new world. These peoples were born in the land of opportunity, but denied any benefit at the hands of their conquerors. Set apart by skin color and language, they were confined on reservations and are treated as aliens by those of the dominant culture. Their many and varied cultures were collateral damage in the white men’s advance across the American frontier.
The Mexican-American community contains elements of both immigrant and minority cultures. As a minority, they were the people from the northern perimeter of New Spain and, after spending some time as part of an independent Mexico, were lost to the English speaking white nations of either The Republic of Texas or the United States of America. Although they spoke the western European language of conquistadores, it was not the English spoken by the advancing white armies. These were a people of mixed Spanish and Native American descent. Separated from their conquerors by both language and color, they were marked as “others” when they were trapped above the Rio Grande and separated from their countrymen.
African-Americans were dragged to this country under heinous conditions on slave ships. They were brought as property, inhuman property. It is important to realize how deeply this belief in the intrinsic inferiority of the African people permeated American society. The central metaphor of Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye shows the internalization of white as beautiful among African-American culture. Ours founding fathers considered black people property. Those words written in The Declaration of Independence, “we hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal” were written and signed by slave holders. We underestimate the effect of this historic cultural devaluation, not in conscious attitudes, but in ways that make us uncomfortable despite our best efforts. Many times, blackness is the elephant sitting between white Americans and African-Americans in everyday discourse. Concern that traces of an unwanted inequity might surface between members of the dominant culture and those of the African-American minority hinders a free exchange of ideas between the two groups. On both sides, fears of misspeaking, misunderstanding, and suspicion throw up barriers.
Many of these barriers are becoming less evident in America today. The barrier between the rich and the poor reduces many effects of minority status. It would be wrong to say wealth can obliterate racial differences, but certainly the effects of racism exacerbated by poverty create an interlocking minority. Parity in education provides greater opportunities to escape the “shackles” of poverty. In the introduction to the classic Slave Narratives, the author stresses the role of literacy in transmitting the stories of ex-slaves and the power it gave our authors. After all, Douglas, Equiano and Jacobs could all read and write. Today, education is often the deciding factor in an individual’s ability to minimize the effects endured by members of a cultural minority.
The line between the African-American culture and the dominant white culture is beginning to blur. It is being challenged by the growing number bi-racial individuals and those of more varied mixed ethnicities. That one drop of blood is getting harder to trace. The addition of such terms such as “bi-racial” or mixed “ethnicity” to our lexicon shows advancement in attitudes towards ethnic minorities. Even if acceptance is not universal in the dominant culture, it provides a tenuous half step between the dominant culture and that of a cultural minority. While it is a start, people of those creamy complexions are still rarely asked if they are part white, because still, white is not the problem for the people in charge. [CaL]
Exploring Minority
While there are many different types of literature represented in the American culture today, there are some specific categories that need to be addressed. Americans from a variety of cultures and heritages have contributed to the American literary landscape: Chinese American, Japanese American, Russian American, African American, Mexican American, American Indian, etc. Although all these groups, and more, have contributed, there are expansive differences in the groups. The main literary difference is that of immigrant literature and minority literature. The best examples to represent these differences are Olaudah Equiano’s The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African and Anzia Yezierska’s Bread Givers. While these are both important pieces in American literary history, they represent two completely different points of view, that of the immigrant and the minority.
While the American dominant culture descended from immigrants, most who chose to come to the Americas, minorities were forced to immigrate and under most circumstances, forced to ignore their own culture and heritage, along with being involuntarily separated from their families. In Equiano’s The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, Equiano tells of how he and his sister left home; “One day, when all our people were gone out to their works as usual, and only I and my dear sister were left to mind the house, two men and a woman got over our walls and in a moment seized us both, and, without giving us time to cry out, or make resistance, they stopped our mouths, and ran off with us into the nearest wood” (Ch 2, Par 4). This story of kidnapping sharply contrasts the experience of the immigrant in Yezierska’s Bread Givers when Max told his story of coming to America; “I still see that first day when I got off the ship with my little bundle on my back…I saw these men must be paid for their work…At the end of that day, when I was paid a dollar, I felt the riches of all America in my hand” (excerpt, par 5). Where Max was in search of the American dream, Olaudah was forced into the alter image to the American nightmare. While the immigrants chose to come to America, minorities face “involuntary participation” (obj. 1) in America. The desire to come to America and the forced travel to America is the main difference in the two groups. Although groups such as Chinese Americans, Japanese Americans, etc. are termed immigrants, groups such as Mexican Americans, African Americans, and American Indians are minorities because of the way their groups became part of this country. African Americans were forced to America, where the Mexican Americans and American Indians became part of America through the takeover of land. With this forced assimilation of these cultures, the people involved were not given any voice, and therefore, no choice in their lives or their future. In this forced change of culture, these groups were forced to leave much of their original heritage.
Even in the Declaration of Independence, a document on which we all know and depend, the language used lends preference to immigrants over minorities. It states, “refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of lands … He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions” (excerpt, par 4-5). The earliest preference for immigrants over minorities was stated at the outset of the country. These minorities were taken from their country or had their country taken from them. This displacement is still evident in the racial struggles plaguing America today. [LAM]
Minority Culture
There are many misconceptions about minority cultures and concepts. A student’s midterm sample from 2007 provides a nice summary about the misinterpretations of minorities American’s make.
In modern America, we generally consider the term “minority” to apply to various different races, usually those who are not Caucasian. Therefore, often many ethnic groups are labeled as minority, including African Americans, Chinese-Americans, Asian-Americans, Mexican Americans and so forth. However, true minority groups, especially as presented by minority literature, represent a certain cultural experience…
The experiences discussed by the student’s sample refer to the criteria required to be considered “minority.”
When defining minority objective one provides characteristics that follow minorities. The first is that minority groups experience the “American Nightmare” while non-minority groups experience the “American Dream.” The American Dream consists of the individual voluntarily leaves behind their hardships for a better future through labor and ownership, whereas the American Nightmare forces groups to involuntarily participate in labor for a future that is not “better” or is unachievable for minorities, thus preventing them from desiring to leave behind their hardships because they are living in them. Minority groups are not given a choice, because they are not allowed voice, as to whether or not they would like to join the dominant culture.
Along with these characteristics when defining “minority concepts” is the sensitivity of color skin. A problem dominant cultures feel with the definition of minority cultures is that, the past is the past and therefore minority cultures should get over it and move on. The viewpoint of the dominant culture is in my opinion insensitive to the history and origin of other cultures. It is the impact of race, gender, and social class for minorities, the conflict of assimilation or separation with the dominant culture, as well as the conflict between autonomy and collective identities of the minority culture that provide them with a sense of identity and culture.
Race, gender, and social class affect minority culture experience in many ways. For example in The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave role of race is evident, “When I got through with that job, I went in pursuit of a job of calking; but such was the strength of prejudice against color, among the white caulkers, that they refused to work with me, and of course I could get no employment” (Douglas). Because of his race he is unable to achieve employment which is common for minority cultures. Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in Life of a Slave Girl provides several examples of how being a women and a minority is a double hardship. The narratives with references to slavery demonstrate the contrast of class between slaves, masters, and the mixed children. To be minority is to have one’s race, gender, and class placed as another hardship.
The conflicts between assimilation and separation from the dominant culture is another experience for minorities. Another is the conflict between autonomy and the collective identities of minority culture. In contrast to minorities immigrants voluntarily participate in the “American Dream” and assimilate with the dominant culture. Anzia Yezierska, Bread Givers provides evidence of this when the young man immediately begins working once he arrives to America. As minorities are voiceless and thus choiceless in regards to their involuntary participation in the American Dream which turns into their American Nightmare, they are voiceless to assimilate or resist. In the end both assimilation and separation occurs to some extent. For example the mixed race individuals who learn characteristics of the dominant culture, such as language, yet remember their past experiences which define them as minorities. Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs are good examples of how some minorities resolve conflicts of assimilation and separation. They also provide examples as to how one can maintain autonomy and yet have a collective identity with their culture. [VO]
Topic One: Minority Concept in my World
I never really thought much about the concept of minority. Granted, I was (and still am) aware that different minorities live around me and I am friends with many of them. However, to actually grasp the meaning of what a minority concept is was nothing I ever thought about until I took this class this semester. As I have learned since the first day of class, America’s dominant culture is descended from immigrants. However, the three minority groups that we have been and will continue discussing in class do not fit the typical immigrant profile or narrative. As stated in Objective 1a, ethnic minorities (i.e. American Indians and African Americans) did not choose to come to America or join its dominant culture. They were kidnapped and invaded. This was especially apparent while reading the Classic Slave Narratives. All of the slaves we read about were either captured, sold, and/or traded and brought to America. (as well as other countries) These minorities did not have a choice in the matter and they had to participate in the dominant culture whether they liked it or not.
The American dominant culture basically brushes off the struggles of the minorities. I still see this happening today. I know people who refer to African Americans and say things like, “We should not have to hear about your past slave history..You aren’t a slave, so quit acting like we owe you something.” It stuns me to hear words such as these spoken in our culture. The I Have a Dream speech by Martin Luther King Jr. states, “One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination.” Mr. King was referring back to The Declaration of Independence, which stated that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Dr. King discussed that even though men were supposed to be treated as equals, there was still a huge issue regarding the unfair and unequal treatment of colored men and women. This reminded me of Objective 3, which confronted me with the question, “Does the minority fight or join the dominant culture that exploited it?” I feel that Dr. King’s speech fought against the dominant culture. His words sought peace and equality for his people. Even though Dr. King eventually lost his life, he stood up for his minority and fought against the problems they faced.
The American Dream is all about prosperity and belief in freedom to achieve personal life goals through hard work. The Minority wants to have that same dream, but they find it hard to do so because of setbacks in their daily lives. They have to face problems with the color of their skin, among other things. Although they may not be as prevalent now as they once were, the setbacks for minorities are still among us. Mexican Americans are still told to “speak English” if they live here in America, and African Americans are still referred to by derogatory terms. I feel as though our world has gotten better, but still has a long way to go in order to understand minority concepts. This course is giving me the chance to learn more about the background of these particular minorities. Each text I read gives me a better understanding of them. Something mentioned in the objectives was “Don’t stress about being right-instead, act right.” I think this is a very good way of looking at minorities and how we should view them in America. Many people feel as though what they say will allow them to be “right” in the way they treat minorities. Instead, they should act right. They should treat minorities with respect and act as though there is no such boundary as a minority. This is the way I interpreted that particular message in the Objective notes. I think this is a very good approach on the minority concept in my world. [OR]
The Minorities’ Dream versus the Immigrant’s American Dream
Minorities are defined in this class as ethnic groups that do not fit the immigrant narrative or profile. That is to say unlike the immigrant who chose to come to America the minority did not choose to come to America, America came to them. (obj. 1a) I remember my grandfather telling me as a child that we did not land on Plymouth Rock, Plymouth Rock landed on us. Immigrants on the other hand chose to come to America in search of their American Dream. The American Dream for the immigrant was attainable with hard work and a little luck.
The “Bread Givers” is a prime example of the realization of the American Dream, Max tells of the day he arrived:
"I still see that first day when I got off the ship with my little bundle on my back. I was almost lost in the blowing snow of a freezing blizzard. Then I came upon a gang of men clearing the street with great shovels. At once, I saw that these men must be paid for their work. So I pushed myself in among them and begged for a shovel. The big, fat foreman looked down on the poor little greenhorn, wondering should he take pity on me. But before waiting for an answer, I snatched up a shovel from the stack and dug into the snow. At the end of that day, when I was paid a dollar, I felt the riches of all America in my hand. . . .”(Bread Givers excerpt)
This was Max’s first step toward realizing his American Dream. Because an immigrant chooses to come to America their assimilation into the American culture is expected. Immigrants choose to leave the past behind them and think that minorities should do the same. (obj. 1b)
Unlike the immigrant, the minority did not choose to come to America. They were either brought to America, such is the case for the African America, or America came to them as in the case of the Native American and many Mexican Americans. Although some Mexican Americans can be considered immigrants, I will leave that for a future class dealing more with the Mexican American minority.
Like Max, a slave too found work waiting for him upon his arrival in America, but unlike Max, the work that awaited the slave would not be the foundation of their American Dream it would the foundation of their American Nightmare, slavery. Fredrick Douglas after receiving his freedom like Max went to work willingly. It took Douglas three days to find employment. Even though it was a dirty job, he went about it with a “glad heart and a willing hand” (325). Both men wanted to work, but unlike Max, Douglas found working for himself would be difficult because of prejudice. White men did not want to work with a free Negro, it was beneath them. Although Douglas was a skilled caulker, he was forced to work at anything he could find.
Being treated as a person was Linda’s dream; she did not want to be property. Even though she was happy and grateful for her freedom; her reality was the pursuit of her freedom was her nightmare. Her purchased freedom was a reminder that she was property, and not a person. Linda did not like looking upon that paper that granted her freedom, because she “despise[d] the miscreant who demanded payment for what never rightfully belonged to him or his” (512). So, even though she always dreamt of being free, it was a bitter pill to swallow. At the end of her narrative her Dream still had not been realized, because out of gratitude she remains at the side of the friend who freed her; instead of being with her own children in a home of her own.
The narratives of slavery’s American Nightmare led one man to a Dream. Dr. King speaks of the “promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” (I Have a Dream – Martin Luther King Jr.). The struggle of the minority is not just for equality but for the basic human right of being treated as a person as the Declaration of Independence promises. [SAH]