LITR 4332 American Minority Literature Model Assignments Final Exam Submissions 2013

Jillian Norris

Exploring Minority Cultures Through Literature

            Growing up in a middle-class Houston suburb, I was exposed to a multitude of kids my age from all walks of life. I also was raised in a house that didn't believe in discrimination, so it was a long time before I even realized that things like prejudice and inequity existed. However, looking back on my early school years, I have come to see that there was indeed a degree of separation of the races in the type of literature I read in school. The first piece of American minority literature I ever read was a novel called Bud, Not Buddy, and it wasn't until I was in eighth grade that I was given that book. It was a great piece of African-American literature that I learned a lot from, but I can't help but imagine that I should have been exposed to minority literature at a much earlier age - after all, the schools I went to were less than fifty percent Caucasian so the majority of my classmates were of a different race. Because I had never had much exposure to American minority literature, I took this class with the expectation of being completely immersed in a new genre of literature, and getting to experience a different culture through reading. Well, I got exactly what I expected and even a little more. From this course, I gained a firm understanding of the differences between minority and immigrant status, identified the significance of "the dream" to different minority cultures, and came to understand the dilemma of assimilation and resistance for minorities. The research journal that I prepared also helped me on my road to teaching in that it exposed me to the realities of the challenges faced when presenting American minority literature. Over the semester I have learned so much about what it means to be a part of a minority culture and how much minority cultures affect day to day American life.

            At the beginning of the semester I, like most people, incorrectly assumed that a minority was anyone that was not a part of the dominant culture. Objective 1 of our course objectives indicates that this is not the case. As I discussed in my midterm, it wasn't until after I had finished reading Interesting Narrative of the Life of . . . Olaudah Equiano, The African and the excerpt from the Bread Givers that I fully came to understand the distinctions between minority and immigrant cultures. Immersing myself in Equiano's world where he was rendered both choiceless and voiceless, and then experiencing Max's quick success in America, helped me to see that minority cultures did not ask for the life they were thrust into, whereas immigrants came to this country willingly and with hopes of obtaining a better life. Of the main texts that we read, I think that The Bluest Eye best depicts the concept of being of minority status living in America. It is made abundantly clear that Pecola Breedlove is both voiceless and choiceless. I say that she is voiceless because throughout the novel we are given many different character perspectives, but we never get to hear the story told through Pecola's voice. Pecola also never experiences freedom or gets a say in any aspect of her life, and is instead forced to remain silent and endure whatever tortures are thrown her way. She, along with the MacTeer sisters, can also be seen as choiceless due to their minority status both by race, and by age. Morrison addresses minority status in her novel in two ways: black vs. white and children vs. adults. Because the adults of the novel hold the position of being "dominant" the girls are left in a rather dire position of being a minority in the eyes of their families as well as the rest of the world in a time where both children and African Americans are meant to be seen and not heard and to do as they are instructed. This particular text taught me that minority isn't always based on race, and The Bread Givers corrected the misconception I held that all non-dominant cultures fall into the category of "minority".

            The Dream was another somewhat new concept for me in that I had never heard it interpreted in any other way than the typical "American dream" that we see in movies and TV all the time. I had no idea that the American dream can mean different things for different cultures, and that minority groups were, in a sense, forced to create their own reimagining of it because they were in positions in which they could not hope to fit the classic criteria. The African American concept of "the dream" is less of a model for the perfect life, and more of a symbol of hope. It is the hope of achieving equality, the hope that an oppressed people can rise and have their voices heard, and the hope of obtaining the ability to have a choice - to be able to control their own circumstances. For the American Indian culture, the dream takes an entirely different approach centering around what they have lost and the necessity of their culture's survival. Finally, the Americano dream is one that is quite clearly seen in Bless Me, Ultima through symbols - literary devices used to create meaning through specific images or characters. The heart of the Americano dream is to find the middle ground between assimilation and resistance; it is the hope of assimilating as much as possible in order to reap all of the benefits that America has to offer, while remaining true to one's Mexican heritage and beliefs. I believe that Antonio himself is a symbol for the Americano Dream in that he strives to make peace between the opposing elements in his life such as childhood and adulthood, Luna and Marez, and American and Mexican culture. All of these elements exercise very strong pulls on Antonio, and he is even faced with the complex ideas entangled in religious beliefs, but he is eventually able to reconcile them so that they all function together as a unit and he is able to benefit from both sides of each opposing element. In short, the concept of a dream varies among minority groups, but the one thing that they all have in common is the hope of obtaining something better or stronger than what they are given.

            Taking this class has taught me a lot about American culture and how it has developed and continues to grow over time. In my midterm, I discussed at length the many contributions that specific African Americans and the culture as a whole have made on American literature/language, education, and society. However, the truth is that all minority groups play a huge role in these facets of American life. Over time, mistakes have been made and lessons have been learned when it comes to the way minority cultures are treated in the United States, but modern legal policies, and more positive attitudes towards minority cultures are direct results of those mistakes and lessons. It will always be important to remember the history of American minority cultures because the history of those cultures are so intertwined with America's own. The two concepts of minority history and American history are not necessarily two distinct ideas, which is why it is important to teach both, either in conjunction with each other or separately. It is difficult to say exactly how American minority literature should be taught, because there are so many elements to it such as history, language, circumstances, societal attitudes, and appreciating the literature itself. That being said, I think that probably the best way to teach American minority literature so that all of these ideas are properly addressed is to allot a certain amount of time in the school year to focus on American minority literature and its importance on American life or to have an entire class focusing on the genre. While I don't like the idea of separating minority literature from general literature, I feel that it would be the best way to ensure that all of the major concepts are given proper instruction, particularly for younger students. African Americans, American Indians, and Mexican Americans all play a huge role in how American literature has developed, how education has been reformed time and time again to meet the needs of the minorities, and how the attitudes towards minority cultures have changed so much in our society.

            Finally, the research journal that I prepared for this class was perhaps my biggest learning experience this semester. I chose to base my project on teaching American minority literature in the middle school classroom because I will soon have to do just that as I become a middle school English/Language Arts and Reading teacher. By conducting online research and interviewing a couple of current middle school ELAR teachers, I was able to gain a much deeper insight on what teaching American minority literature to students is actually like that has definitely helped me prepare for my future career. Not only that, but I also developed professional contacts in the field that I will be going into, which is always nice to have when I finally start my profession. Overall, perhaps the strongest piece of advice that I took away from Mrs. Orso and Mrs. Hendrix was to never underestimate children. They both agreed that students at this age are often very receptive of minority literature and they are able to empathize and connect to characters who lived very different and much more difficult lives than themselves, and that students are perfectly capable of generating and participating in thought provoking discussion about sensitive topics and ideas that are still very new to them. These two ladies convinced me that students are capable of much more than most would expect, and that it is important to always push and challenge them to explore cultures that are new to them and help them to appreciate minority literature through discussion.

            Overall, I came in to this course having had very little exposure to the world of minority literature and hoping to broaden my scope of knowledge on the genre as a whole because I knew that I would one day be teaching this type of material. I learned in detail the characteristics of minority literature and culture, the differences between minority and immigrant, and the issue of assimilation and resistance among non-dominant cultures. I also got to learn exactly how American minority literature applies to my chosen field of work and what it takes to teach the genre to young people, which goes beyond what I was expecting from the course. American minority literature plays a huge role in American society because it allows a very personal snapshot of what life was/is like for minority cultures and how the history of minority groups makes up American life today. America history is the sum of many parts, many of which may be found within the pages of American minority literature.