LITR 4332 American Minority Literature 2013 Student Midterm Samples midterm assignment #3. Web Highlights

Tara Lawrence

Three Perspectives in Minority Literature: Bi-racialism, Chicano Influence and Voice

            Course objective 1d discusses “The Color Code.” This topic, when combined with the elements of objective 6b, creates the framework for a very interesting discussion of what it means to be black in America. The wonderful thing about blackness as an identity is that it has many elements that serve to counter the pervasive system of racism in our society. The positive aspects of minority culture san easily get lost in slave narratives, or in the stories of a young girl growing up in the Jim Crow south. But blackness is so multifaceted that even when subjected to the worst conditions, some light will shine through. Racial categories do not exist because they are important: they are important because they exist. However, understanding that things are not always black and white is a necessary step in appreciating minority literature.

            The color code clearly presents itself in society upon the mixing of races. As the product of such an event, I have a lifetime of experience navigating through, and being subjected to the color code. In a racialized society like America, the color of your skin can mean everything. When you see a stranger, you see their membership in a racial group before you ever see them as an individual. Many people never get past the race in order to get to the individuality of a person. But the color line is a gradient and there are many in-betweens. The racial ambiguity associated with biracial individuals is unique to recent history. For instance, Frederick Douglass was 50% black but 100% slave. When a slave master impregnated one of his slaves, that child did not have a spot next to his father at the dinner table.

            I am often asked why I consider myself black even though I lack most of the obvious racial indicators. I usually explain that racial identity is not contingent merely upon pigmentation—or lack thereof. People who ask why I do not try to “pass” as white are unknowingly acknowledging the system of racism that shapes how people in this country interact. Safiya Henderson-Holmes, in her poem “Failure of an Invention” talks figuratively about bleaching her skin to be white. In “Blonde White Woman”, Patricia Smith made herself white with the aid of her father’s white dress shirt. So what happens when someone of mixed ancestry has a racial identity that does not correspond with the color of their skin? Beautiful things happen. You have no choice but to appreciate the beauty of the love that flew in the face of unspeakable racism and created a life. You have no choice but to venture outside your race to find friendship and love. But also you have no choice but to be exposed to the conundrum of being biracial in America: too black to be white and too white to be black. You have no choice but to transcend racial boundaries and embrace the beautiful colors of life.

            Frederick Douglass did not frequently describe himself as being black (and definitely did not define himself with the modern terms used for someone of mixed race). Frederick’s identity was mated to the fact that he was a slave. This would not limit him, for he would one day be free. Maya Angelou knew she was black and she knew she was poor in a place where those two qualities sentenced you to silence. This did not confine her; now she lives to let her voice be heard.

            These are not merely stories of success: they are transcendent accomplishments. Objective 6 mentions the sacred concept of individuality and rights. In the above cases it is clear that Maya had a right to be heard and Frederick had a right to be free. But in this age of attempted political correctness, there is resistance to the many classifications associated with race and ethnicity. From Black to African American, and Hispanic to Latino to Chicano, it is difficult for some to keep up with the vast array of post-modern identities. But to this one must simply say, “To each his own” and recognize the importance of an individual’s personal identity. People must have the freedom to form their own identity without being immediately relegated to a racial “box.”

             Although biracial individuals whose physical appearances seem to straddle the color line, their identities are often concrete. This runs directly counter to the common fear expressed by the dominant culture when confronted with the idea of interracial relationships. Some people say that the children of interracial couples will be confused. It is obvious that children learn a lot about race from their parents, which is why it would be rather odd for the child of one black and one white parent to view these two groups as inherently adversarial. Much of the literature in this class frames the debate as a constant conflict between these two races specifically (although the case could be made for any number of minority groups). There is also a wealth of literature that embraces blackness—but not at the expense of whiteness. The poetry of Langston Hughes (himself a product of an interracial relationship) often talks of the beauty of blackness in all its shades. This is an important aspect to educate those who think that to be black is to be bitter.

            The effort to be politically correct must not extinguish the desire to learn more about someone than which racial category they feel best suits them. The dialogue created between people from different backgrounds can be insightful just as reading a book with a different perspective can be enlightening. Since most of the books in the class so far have chronicled an individual’s struggle against an oppressive force through the confines of their racial community, there are only a few examples of meaningful interaction between races. The white boys who helped teach Frederick Douglass how to read would be an example. Perhaps the boys were too young to know that what they were doing was a punishable offense. Objectives 5a and 5c address these issues of influence and interaction, and the importance of this objective cannot be understated, for there is more to being black than the color of your skin. Understanding someone’s perception of self is essential; and since minority literature possesses its own implicit diversity, and it can be a tool to broaden one’s horizons. [JC]

          I was drawn to this web review specifically because the author offered a unique perspective on race, particularly being bi-racial. I think, perhaps, that in a class about minority literature we may glaze over the perspective of the people in between, especially in our more modern readings. I agree with the author that for someone like Fredrick Douglass, bi-racialism wasn't really an issue because he may have been defined by his position as a slave more so than by his race. The modern authors we have studied seem assured in their blackness. The one character we have been confronted with that is bi-racial, Maureen Peal, is foreign and derisive. this leads to an interesting conundrum—do we create more categories and more types of minority literature to make sure all viewpoint are represented? The author states, "Racial categories do not exist because they are important: they are important because they exist." I have no answer to this question or how to define the bi-racial experience in a minority literature class, but it does seem like a question worth pondering.

Amber Buitron

Tell Me What You Think:

Influences and techniques used

by Chicano writers

In this class I have learned about the dominant culture, minority groups and the choices each side have made. I have learned about everyday encounters, trials and tribulations from many different points of view. But what I especially liked was the literature pieces that taught me about my background. As a Mexican American, I was able to connect more with the second part of this semester and that is why I chose to research Mexican American literature. I wanted to know how and why Chicano writers chose their stories and what influenced them to write about it.

            I also chose to research Mexican American literature because, as a Mexican American I feel that it is important for me, not only as a person of ethnic background, but as a future educator, to have knowledge about minority cultures. Like anything in life, you cannot teach what you do not know. I feel that to become an effective teacher you have to be able to find a creative way to reach your students. Teaching is more than talking in front of the class, taking notes, and grading tests. Teaching is about getting students involved and picking out the pieces of literature that help connect with students’ lives. Like I have said in my midterm essays, this class has been my favorite by far and the literature grabbed and held my attention for hours. That is why writing about this research topic was easy for me. To start off I had to narrow down my topic. I decided to research a few Chicano authors and the effects their writing had on others and their lives as well.

            First off, I will explain what I expected to find out. I figured the stories that were written were drawn from the author’s life and personal experiences. I expected the authors to say that writing about their life was easy and they wrote because they wanted to let people know what they went through. I thought that they wanted people, of all diversity, to understand life from another point of view. Their point of view as a minority. Denise Chavez, a self proclaimed Chicana novelist, playwright, actress, and teacher said, “My writing is a mirror into my culture,” (Ikas 47). Like many Mexican American writers, drawing from personal experience was a successful way to write. Chicano writers were able to transmit the ethnic experience (Tatum 78). Author Sabine Ullibarri relied on individual personalities, relatives and acquaintances, for most of his short narrations (Tatum 79). However, for Chicana writer Lorna Dee Cervantes, not all her work was taken from personal experience. Some writings were autobiographical that came directly out of an actual event but there are other poems that were completely fiction (Ikas 33-4).

            Another finding that was familiar to me was how the term ‘Hispanic’ was created. Denise Chavez defines Hispanic as a term invented by “authorities” in Washington, D.C. to lump all Spanish-speaking people together (Ikas 51). Racial and class differences between Anglo-Americans and Mexican Americans pulls the inability or unwillingness on the parts of the former Mexican nations to give up their traditional ways explain both the stance of resistance that the Mexican American culture developed and its dialectical relationship to both its original context (Saldivar 17). Still, there were some other interesting findings that were new to me.

            What I did not expect to find was that most Chicano writers were not influenced by other Chicano authors. In fact, both Denise Chavez and Lorna Dee Cervantes, did not come into contact with Chicano literature until well into their high school careers (Ikas 52). Chavez recalls the first Chicano book she came across was Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless Me, Ultima (Ikas 52). Like Chavez, Cervantes were influenced by Anglo-American and Native- American writers (Ikas 57).

            I think that if I continued my research I would expect to find vast improvements on Chicano writing style and technique today. Guillermo Hernandez, author of Chicano Satire: A Study in Literary Culture, suggests that Chicano creative writers have helped to forge a vital literary movement, and a new generation of authors have emerged who felt encouraged to express themselves and viewpoints (7). I think that improvements take time to get better and Chicano writers can only improve over time.

            Mexican American literature has a tendency to let the reader into the story and create a real sense of imagery and appeal. Drawing from personal experience, and influences by other worlds, outside the Mexican culture, all contribute to great Mexican American authors.

            Ms. Buitron's essay gives a general overview of a select few Chicano writer's influences and inspirations. The subject is an interesting one and Ms. Buitron makes some great points. I enjoyed learning about the origin of the word "Hispanic." I had no idea that its origins were political, but am not surprised. The information on the landscape of Chicano literature is another piece of interesting and useful information.

            This project seemed to lack a little bit of depth to me. I would have liked to know a little more about the selected author's writing and style. Perhaps, an analysis of a few of her favorite passages from these author's would have given the project a little more interest. Overall, it was still well-done and informative.

A. Ambrosius 

Identity Poetics: Las Palabras de la Gente

“Until death do us part, said your eyes, but not your heart . . .

 Your CUCARACHAS will be DEAD”

poetic liberties taken with lines by Sandra Cisneros's

character Rogelio/Flavio

            In this course, and in others I have taken throughout my graduate career, I have learned to see voice as a way, or maybe the way, for people to express what is “inside” to the “outside” or other people. Because people can be fooled by external appearances to determine our treatment of other people, appearance is the first filter for discrimination, in its literal sense as in our ability to tell one thing from another, and discriminatory practice or prejudice, as in racism or sexism. There are many factors that are used to marginalize minority cultures or people from the mainstream of the dominant culture, but one of the basic facts of negative discriminatory prejudice is that humans are visual creatures , and we sort people based on appearance, which has historically been one major, although broad, difference between those in minority groups and dominant-culture US Americans. 

            However, if our eyes may not always reach our brains, many times our ears can reach the bundles of nerves we call our hearts, our souls, or our consciences. This is to say that the voice is one way that one's self can transcend one's appearance or type in order to reach others.   This is beautifully symbolized by Sandra Cisneros's character Flavio Munguía/Rogelio Velasco, the bug killer/poet. Fictionally speaking, he is a fantastic character, but based on my previous experience he also reads true.  For just one example of many as to why this is so, when I taught ESL, I met people who had been computer programmers and  engineers in their home countries. In the US, they play the roles of house painters, or they work in landscaping or construction. Limitations on expressing one's  voice effectively limit the self, which I've seen in the real world as linguistic limitations have constrained my students' abilities to participate in their lives' works.

            Language, for people outside the dominant-culture English, is also a barrier at the same time that it is a medium of social exchange. If this does not suit the assertion that I've read* that language under pressure makes poetry, then I have no idea what would. The pressure of the expression of the voice, when one is endowed with no authority, distorts the words and changes them, which correlates to the concept of voice and choice, and is represented by encoded language that we most commonly encounter in poetry. I think of this graceful mutation in a way that I see the Brazilian martial art of capoeira. This fighting form is set to music, as it was developed by enslaved African people in Brazil and disguised as dance. What looked like group dancing to the uninitiated was actually practice and exercise in movements that enslaved men could use to defeat the armed agents of their oppression. In much the same way, double language works in both the aesthetic sense and the deadly meaningful. This double layering of meaning was beautifully exemplified in Jupiter Hammon's poem, “An Evening Thought.” When Hammon asserts the soul's desire for freedom, pleading “Haste on Tribunal Day” and reminds his fellow believers that “it is firmly fixt his holy Word/Ye shall not cry in vain,” he is not invoking only spiritual freedom and salvation. As Sarah McCall DeLaRosa noted in her spring 2010 final exam submission, “The language in Hammon’s poem is working very hard here.” The worldly, antislavery sentiment had to have been invisible or at least concealed enough to be palatable to the dominant culture of the US in order for his work to be published, but it speaks volumes to the modern reader who has the advantage of cultural hindsight.

            Versification allows for repetition, transmission, and allows information to reach a stage of cultural mimeticism even in “pre-literate” cultures; epic poems, los cuentos and los corridosin Ultima, los retablos in WHC, the prayers, and even the children's rhymes  in Song of Solomon, as well as others represented by the texts across the semester are coded transmissions of information. In them, the high culture is represented as well as that of the folk. Often it is the juxtapositions of the two types of culture (or juxtapositions of multiple cultures) that require, enable, or entail poetic synthesis or represent a hybridity of form. Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz's poetry and life speak not only of women's concerns, but also spirituality and class as Rachel Risinger noted in her spring 2010 final exam essay submission. Sor Juana represents a woman with unusual opportunities for her time and culture, as “she is an educated woman” which marginalizes her in her own culture (Risinger).    Her poetry studied alongside of Sandra Cisneros's folksy retablo devotions represents the syncretic multilayering of classes, but also of spiritualities.

            Even a text as apparently unpoetic as The Best Little Boy in the World demonstrates the language of metaphor and multiplicity, even when it concerns that which people do not speak of. The fact that TBLBITW's family does not speak of their “private parts” is on the surface par for the course for a “normal” white upper-class family of the time period. However, it is also metonymic for the fact that these people do not discuss what is done with these body parts, whether the functions are excretory or sexual. In another layer of meaning, queerness is the indefinable thing, and has been characterized as a love “that dare not speak its name,” so there is another layer of willful ignorance related to TBLBITW's “parts.” Additionally, the narrator of the story makes it quite clear, in a way, what he desires when he writes that his desire is “to be cowboys” with someone. This is the song that Whitman describes only a little more obliquely as that of “manly attachment,” and “athletic love.” Whitman and Andrew Tobias express their own desires in code, but their voices also queer the mainstream conception and stereotype of limp-wristed, effete attachments and loves between men.

            As a teacher, the example of linguistic pressure and identity that has remained with me since the class discussion is Pat Mora's “Senora X No More.” I particularly enjoyed my colleague Jean Cahn's reading of the piece, and I felt that the class discussion that passed through the poem yielded significant insights. As we determined in class, Mora evokes the Ur-classroom, the nurturing teacher aspect of the feminine, and the frustrations of the mature who are trying to get the language, the medium of social exchange that floats like “bubbles from their children's mouths” in only a few bare lines. However, it is the poem's title assertion that stands out as the central point of this student's efforts; “X” as the signifier for people who don't have written literacy is also a negation or a mutable variable used to represent identity. Mora's character does not only desire to gain language for assimilation, she wishes to know it in order to make herself, as we all do.

* The definition of poetry as language under pressure is attributed to Robert Frost, which is to say that the notion is probably pretty well endorsed in Establishment Poetry.

            A. Ambrosius' final exam submission is a well thought out essay on voice and how it relates to literature, specifically minority literature. Ambrosius' relates that though our eyes may not be able to overcome prejudices, our ears hold the key to the heart and through voice we may be able to connect and overcome prejudices. Conversely we see that the lack of voice through langauge barriers or other means is detrimental and "limits the self." Poems and words have meanings that are transcendent and can break down cultural barriers.

            I enjoyed all the references to texts in this essay, even when they were works I was unfamiliar with I easily related the reference to the subject. The first quote by Sandra Cisneros drew me in and the later comparison between Sor Juana and Cisneros was one that I had made, but was thinking may be faulty.