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LITR 4332 American Minority Literature Model Assignments Final Exam Submissions 2013 |
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Amanda Newell
Lessons from Minority Literature
There are many characteristics that link minority
cultures together and naturally their literature together. African Americans,
Native Americans and Mexican Americans all have unique beginnings in this
country but their roots are very similar. You can see similarities in the origin
stories of the different groups. All three minority groups had to deal with the
tricky task of assimilation. Then they had to figure out if the American Dream
was possible for them or would they have to make their own dream.
In this class I learned the process of assimilation
for minority groups is unique to every group. They go through different levels
of oppression to become accepted by the majority. To fully be accepted by the
dominant culture a member of the minority must learn the language, religion and
culture.
African
slaves for example are probably the first set of minorities that comes to mind
and their horrendous path to assimilation. When African slaves were brought over
to the United States they were stripped of everything and everyone they had ever
known. They were separated from their family, friends and tribal members, and
since there were many dialects and languages in Africa they could no longer
communicate. The slaves were forced to learn English so they could listen to the
master’s commands. They were forced to give up their pagan religions for
Christianity, the same Christianity used to condemn them to slavery. Olaudah
Equiano and Fredrick Douglass did not have such an easy road to have their
stories published and heard by the masses. They had to go through more than the
typical obstacles slaves had to go through.
Not every slave fought the change;
On Being
Brought from Africa to America, by Phillis
Wheatly
“[1]
'Twas mercy brought me from my Pagan land,/ Taught
my benighted soul to understand/That there's a God, that there's a Savior too:/
Once I redemption neither sought nor knew. /Some view our sable race with
scornful eye, / "Their color is a diabolic dye."/Remember, Christians, Negros,
black as Cain, /May be refined and join the angelic train (Wheatly). ”
Phillis saw being taken from Africa as a god send. She saw
herself as ignorant to the evils of her pagan beliefs and to the love of God.
She was a special case though. She was not a typical field slave; she was bought
by a family that taught her to read and write and encouraged her writing
talents.
Native Americans had an unusual problem
when assimilating to the dominant Anglo culture. The problem was that they did
not come here voluntarily or forcibly, they were born here, this was their land
to begin with. Anglos forced what would typically be the dominant group, Native
Americans, to assimilate to them instead of the other way around. They were
forced off their land into reservations, which drastically changed their way of
life and how they made a living. Then missionaries created schools to save the
savage Natives from the time they were old enough to go to school. The most
infamous one was the Carlisle Indian Industrial School (Zitkala). “These schools
worked to separate students from traditional influences and to inculcate
European-American cultural standards (White, Zitkala).” These schools isolated
the children from their families back on the reservations. The two groups lost
an understanding of each other and traditions are lost in the process.
“One challenge that American
Indians faced in adapting to the majority culture is that they came from a
spoken-language culture. Most of them did not have a written language. As a
result, their history and traditions were passed on almost entirely by word of
mouth.” With the younger generations now speaking English instead of their
native language history was slowly getting lost throughout the generations (Acevedo).
Mexican Americans assimilate in a similar way. They too have
to learn the dominant cultures language. They do share the same religion but the
story of the Virgin of Guadalupe or Virgin Mary differs drastically.
In this class I learned there is more than one “dream.” The
typically “American Dream” is a wife/husband, kids, dog, car, a house and
climbing the business ladder to the top. This dream is usually only attainable
by the wealthy few of the dominant culture. There are different dreams though.
The dream of the African American is a much less individualistic dream (white).
The African American dream is one that will raise the entire social group out of
the oppressive shadow of the past.
Another thing I learned and connected with the most is that
most of the origin stories out there have common characteristics. The story of
Genesis is the origin story for most of the dominant culture because it is based
on the Bible where America bases many of its beliefs. The Native Americans have
many origin stories. And the Mexican American story of the Virgin of Guadalupe
is an origin story for them. Each has threads that connect each other. In both
Genesis and many version of the Native American origin stories have twins; one
representing good and evil (White/Iroquois). Both have a “fall”, Adam and Eve
from the Garden of Eden and Skywoman from the Sky kingdom to “earth.” They also
have trees that hold great importance to the story the Tree of Knowledge
(Genesis) and the Tree of Life (Native American) (White/Iroquois).The figures of
the Virgin Mary and the Virgin of Guadalupe of similar but not identical, which
is odd since it is essentially about the same person. One of the main
differences is that the Virgin of Guadalupe shows herself to a minority and a
commoner.
There is also tons of symbolism
throughout the texts we read this semester. Symbols are when we as a society
give objects or images meaning, but the meaning can change society to society.
The easiest example is the American flag. While it is revered here, there are
people who burn our flag in protest for our international policies. The owl in
Bless Me,
Ultima is a symbol Ultima’s soul and also her
connection to the earth. The church has double meaning for Tony. It is a place
of solitude and a place of confusion. The phoenix on King’s car represents his
mother’s rebirth from death.
In
The Interesting
Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, . . . the African
by Olaudah Equiano, we see how different colors of skin have different meanings
to people. Anglos saw Africans as lower human race almost another species
because of their dark skin and lack of Anglo intelligence. The color of
someone’s skin quickly became a mark of how they were treated and if they would
be a free man or a slave. While Anglo’s looked at Africans black skin with
hatred the African were judging the Anglo for their pale skin too. As Olaudah
Equiano was being boarded on the slave ship this is what he observed,
“…; and I was now persuaded that I had gotten into a world of
bad spirits, and that they were going to kill me. Their complexions too
differing so much from ours, their long hair, and the language they spoke (which
was very different from any I had ever heard), united to confirm me in this
belief. Indeed such were the horrors of my views and fears at the moment, that,
if ten thousand worlds had been my own I would have freely parted with them all
to have exchanged my condition with that of the meanest slave in my own country
(Equiano).”
In his society pale skin was evil and dangerous, the exact
opposite of the Anglo’s view on race.
I learned a lot this semester, more
than I thought I would. The process of assimilation for minority groups is
fascinating and heartbreaking. They have to give up so much of themselves to
become part of the group. The question I wonder about is there a happy medium
where we can stay true to our traditions and still function in the dominant
culture? I think it is possible some Mexican American families seem to have the
best handle on this. They can function in everyday American life then go back to
Mexico to refresh in the traditions they left behind. A win-win situation.
Cites:
1.
Dr. White, LITR 4332:
http://coursesite.uhcl.edu/hsh/whitec/texts/Amerind/ZitkalaSaAIS/ZitSaNDX.html
2.
Dr. White, LITR 4332:
http://coursesite.uhcl.edu/hsh/whitec/texts/AfAm/afampoetry/wheatley/wheatleyafam.htm
3.
Dr. White, LITR 4332 :
http://coursesite.uhcl.edu/hsh/whitec/litr/4332/
4.
Dr. White, LITR 4332:
http://coursesite.uhcl.edu/hsh/whitec/texts/Amerind/origins/AmindorsIroquois.htm
5.
Dr. White, LITR 4332:
http://coursesite.uhcl.edu/hsh/whitec/texts/AfAm/slavenarrs/equianomore.htm
