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Model Midterm2 answers 2018 Essay 1: Revise & Extend Minority Identification & Analysis (Add Mexican Americans) Index to Sample Essay 1 Answers |
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Justin Murphy
Minority Literature: The Voice to a Voiceless Group
As I entered into American Minority Literature, I didn’t quite know what to
expect in terms of minority literature. When I think of minorities, I think of
Native Americans first and foremost: they were here first. I remember thinking
to myself “I wonder what minority literature is going to say? Is it going to be
passive aggressive, or what will the tone sound like?” These two questions were
answered in a big way. Marginalization classifies the minority experience.
Native American literature is minority literature because their writings show
how they are voiceless and choiceless, and how their story is one of loss. They
show this through allusions and personal narrative. Mexican-American peoples are
considered a minority group because of their identity as “border people” and
this is what their writings predominantly show: that they are a border people
who try to assimilate. Mexican-American literature uses personal and cultural
narrative as well to show their identity. With predominantly Mexican-Americans,
the idea of “the American Dream” sticks out.
Mexican-Americans fit perfectly into the minority identity because they are a
prime example of involuntary participation. The Mexican-American War that ended
in 1848 forced the inhabitants of previous Mexico to now be inhabitants of the
new land of the United States. This choice was not made by the people who were
living in this land, but it was made by the people who were conquering the land.
Mexican-Americans are minorities because they had no say in whether they were
going to be Mexicans or if they were going to be Americans at first. The saying
that “history is written by the victors” has never been more poignant that it is
when regarding to Mexico. When American took over the land that is currently
known as Texas, the people who lived there were forced to now assimilate into
the dominant culture of their land. By doing this, they created an identity for
themselves which is now known as “the border people.” Gloria Anzaldua describes
the borderlands (or La Frontera) as the place “wherever two or more cultures
edge each other, where people of different races occupy the same territory…”
This place that can be called the borderlands is land that was previously owned
by Mexico, thus furthering the point of forced participation in America.
A great example of the borderlands being a place of assimilation is shown in The
Virgen of Guadalupe. The Virgen is described as being a dark-skinned type of
figure, thus giving off the identity of either a Native American or a
Mexican-American. Or perhaps, this is an identity of a mestizo. The dark skinned
face could possibly link back to what mestizos look like. If so, this shows a
prime example of a blending of cultures. By blending the Mexican-American image
of the Virgin from Catholicism with the image of a mestizo (who is half Native
American), the literature is showing us how two minority groups are able to
blend their cultures together in order to try and assimilate to the predominant
culture of Christianity in America. This example of assimilation helps to show
that both of these minority groups are trying to chase this “American Dream.”
They are trying to fit in with the society around them so that they can then
hopefully move on to find a better life. This is particularly shown through the
Mexican-American assimilation process.
While Mexican-Americans were forced to participate in becoming a part of the
United States, they did not necessarily immediately take part of the
assimilation process. The big issue that is found in regards to Mexican-American
identity lied in this idea of the border people. Since they are a border people,
do they predominately identify as a Mexican or as an American? This is a loaded
question in a way, because it cannot be answered. The identity that best
describes Mexican-Americans is the ambivalent minority. This means that they
have conflicting views on the idea of their identity. On one hand, they are able
to keep a lot of their culture with them unlike the Native Americans. On the
other, they are also forced to assimilate to the dominant culture. This
juxtaposition is shown perfectly in Pat Mora’s “Senora X No More” poem. This
poem describes the journey of an older woman in trying to learn how to read and
write in English. The desire to learn English shows the idea of assimilation,
however the fact that she is an adult woman shows that she was able to live in
the United States for a while, presumably, without having to learn English. This
shows the idea of an ambivalent minority because while she “carves her crooked
name” she realizes that she does not want to learn English, but that she must in
order to blend in with the dominant culture.
However, she also realizes that if she does learn English then it will
help create more opportunities for her and her family, thus allowing her to
chase the American Dream. She is no longer a senora, but rather a woman. She is
trying not to lose her Mexican identity while trying to gain her American
identity. This creates the Mexican-American identity which can be described as a
blend of both cultures, thus making them an ambivalent identity.
Native Americans fit perfectly into the minority identity because of the
fact that they are voiceless and choiceless. Thinking back on American History,
I remember learning about the Trail of Tears and the forced removal of native
peoples from their land. I remember learning about Manifest Destiny and
immediately wondering what happened to Native Americans during this time. I even
remember learning about the reservation revolts, and how they were shut down in
a matter of days because the United States was way overpowering. I don’t
remember learning about the Iroquois Creation Stories, however. The Iroquois
Creation Stories are amazing in their use of language and imagery. When reading
them, the reader can immediately envision the story unfolding before their very
eyes. The entire third paragraph of the second creation story shows this
imagery. The “dirt caved in and some say the tree fell down” and the woman
“grabbed some seeds from the Tree of Life as she fell.” This excerpt shows the
scene unfolding before our eyes. “It also shows an allusion to the Tree of Life
from Genesis; however, in this story it is a liquid instead of a food. This
allusion helps the reader relate to the story; however, the allusion should not
be the first thing that comes to my mind. It is, however, because I know that
story. I don’t know the Iroquois Creation Story, thus showing that Native
Americans are voiceless in the telling of their history. The term used “some
say” also shows that they are voiceless, because Native Americans don’t have a
set written copy of their creation. The dominant culture has The Bible, while
Native Americans have “creation stories.” The underrepresentation of Native
American creation literature in schools is overwhelming, and it shows how they
are voiceless.
Native Americans were also choiceless in their history. When referring
back to American History, Native Americans did not have a choice in whether or
not they were removed from their homelands. They were FORCED to relocate, or
they would be killed in the process. Native Americans didn’t even have a say in
whether or not the white man came to America. An origin story by Handsome Lake
shows this exact lack of a choice that Native Americans had. He describes how
Columbus came, saw the land, left, and returned with a pack of five things.
These five things would eventually lead to the downfall of the Native Americans
(alcohol, gambling, disease, etc.). However, Handsome Lake refers to this
commonly known story in a calm manner. He doesn’t attack Columbus, but rather he
blames the evil invisible man for knowing what he was doing in sending Columbus.
The underlying factor is that the Natives did not have a choice in whether or
not Columbus discovered America and forced his way in, it was predetermined by
the invisible man for this to happen. This origin story shows how Native
Americans were choiceless in their adventures here in America.
Another device that is shown in Native American literature is personal
narrative. Personal narrative can be defined as the retelling of someone’s own
story. Zitkala Sa wrote a series of experiences that she had as an Indian girl
growing up. Through her stories, the idea of forced participation through
religion is shown. Zitkala Sa talks about in “Impressions of and Indian
Childhood” the apple from Genesis. Zitkala Sa mentions the “nice red apples” as
being a tool for her to hopefully reach a wonderland. The tone is very satirical
as Sa shows that the story of the apple in Genesis is one that she doesn’t
believe in. However, since she is forced to learn about these stories, she knows
about the history. By using satire, Zitkala Sa is able to show the reader that
Native Americans are forced to participate in learning of the dominant culture.
Zitkala Sa also talks about forced participation in “The School Days of
an Indian Girl” when she mentions Thowin. Thowin falls in the snow, and the
“paleface lady” comes out to correct his behavior. The lady spanks Thowin as he
disobeys her, forcing him to do as she says unless he wants to face the
repercussions. This forced participation takes away the power from the Native
Americans and keeps it with the dominant culture. In this same writing, Sa uses
a form of detournement when speaking of Satan. In the dominant culture, Satan is
someone to be feared and hated. Nobody wants to be like Satan. However, Zitkala
Sa mentions that he had bearded cheeks “just like [she] had seen some palefaces
wear.” By saying this, Zitkala Sa is showing how to Native Americans, Satan
looks like the white man. She flips the image of Satan around to the white man
and shows them that they quite possibly could be more like him than they think.
Zitkala’s personal narrative is a literary device that she uses to show that
Native American stories matter. Her work shows us that Native Americans are
often forced to participate in religion and in good behavior.
Mexican-Americans also use personal narrative and distinct imagery in
their literature to classify their experience as well. In the memoir from Reyna
Grande “A Distance Between Us” the personal narrative is used very
predominately. I mean the book is indeed a memoir, or a retelling of the life of
someone. Grande takes the reader through her experience growing up in Mexico,
and then in America. Grande lives in a poverty shaken place in Mexico for the
first part of the memoir. When she describes the area, she uses great imagery to
try and convey just hwo poor her town was, and how bad the conditions were. “The
banks of the canal lined with trash and debris floating in the water, the piles
of drying horse dung littering the dirt road…” (Grande, 64). This place was the
worst living condition imaginable, yet Grande saw it as an adventurous place of
“velvety mountains” (64) as a child. This romantic idea shows the ability of
children to find the good in things, even though they are dealing with
tremendous loss.
In contrast to Mexico, Grande talks about El Otro Lado (the other side) as being
this place of wonder and opportunity for Mexicans. The other side, America,
provides the families with the opportunity to go and make a better life for
themselves. However, with this also come the theme of loss. It’s almost as if
the adage “you have to give something to get something” was applied perfectly to
Reyna’s parents. While her parents were indeed enjoying a better life than the
poverty in Mexico, they had to give up their relationship with their children to
do so. Grande takes us on a journey through her personal narrative to describe
what at the time was her family’s cultural narrative. Her family was now broken
because her and her siblings did not have their mother or father around to raise
them. However, even after all of this loss, Grande still finds a way to survive.
Reyna embodies the identity of a border person because she lives within the
region of the border, and eventually crosses it.
Grande ends up eventually crossing the border into America with her
father. When in America, Reyna is able to obtain an education that helps her
throughout her life. This education is proof of the American Dream that is
mentioned by so many people when looking for a new life. What makes Reyna a
minority rather than an immigrant is her ambivalent attitude towards America.
She views it as a land of opportunity, but also as a place where her greatest
losses are fortified. When her parents left her, they went to America. This
place has good and bad emotions attached to it for Reyna, thus making it
ambivalent. When in America Grande graduates from college and is able to start
her career. This opportunity would not have presented itself without the loss
that Reyna suffered in the first place. The loss was needed so that Grande could
show her survival instincts. It also makes for a great memoir. Grande is a
perfectly example of a border person because she continues to add elements of
American culture to her Mexican culture to create this idea of an ambivalent
Mexican-American woman. The personal narrative is used to make the idea of the
Mexican-American experience more personal to the dominant culture, so that
hopefully they can then begin to understand the issues that they face. It gives
voice to the minority group.
While the theme of loss and survival applies to Mexican-Americans, it is the
most prominent ideal of Native American literature that I have learned,
particularly the one of loss. This idea of loss and survival is a cultural
narrative, or a story that characterizes a group of people. As previously
mentioned, the history books have not favored the Native Americans. They have
always been on the side that is being marginalized, they are underrepresented,
and they don’t get to have a say in their history. Their story is one of loss
and a fight to survive.
This idea of loss is never better justified than in Louis Erdrich’s novel “The
Round House.” In this novel, the main character Joe is out to seek justice and
revenge for his mother Geraldine. Geraldine was raped and almost killed, and
this has caused a fire to be lit inside of Joe. Joe eventually realizes that if
there is something to be done to solve this case, he must do it. The police fail
them because they can’t get past the basics of whether or not the crime was
committed on Indian or American land, thus causing jurisdictional issues. These
jurisdictional issues showcase the loss the Native Americans face in the court
system. The court system fails Native Americans, especially Native American
women as Erdrich mentions in the afterword that “1 in 3 Native women are raped.”
This statistic is mindboggling as we don’t hear about these. More than likely,
they often go unreported because of the way that Natives are treated. This
further proves how Natives are voiceless.
The other loss that Joe and his family experience is obvious: Cappy,
Joe’s best friend, dies at the end of the novel due to drunk driving. This loss
is experienced because the boys were out being stupid teenagers and drinking
alcohol. (Keep in mind the stereotype of Native Americans and alcoholism) The
cause of Cappy’s death being drunk driving is fitting, as it shows how Native
American life is devastated constantly by the use of alcohol. Alcohol that was
originally brought over to the Americas by the white man, and as Handsome Lake
said in his origin story, would devastate the Native American society. Erdrich
is showing the loss of Cappy’s life as an analogy for the loss of many Native
lives due to alcohol, further proving that Native Americans are choiceless.
When thinking about Native American literature, I think of stories that
help represent Native peoples. I think, primarily of “The Round House” and how
it showcases a story of loss, and how this is allegorical for the Native
American experience. I also think of the creation and origin stories, and how
they tell a different perspective from the one that I commonly hear. I also
think of Chrytos’ poem “I Have Not Signed a Treaty with the American Government”
and how it discusses the issue of Native Americans being voiceless and
choiceless in today’s society. Native American literature showcases the
qualities of a minority culture in voiceless choiceless decisions, and in
stories of loss. When I think of Mexican-American literature I think of stories
of ambivalence. While there is hope in the good side of their ambivalence, there
is also loss in the bad side of their ambivalence. I think about the personal
narrative that Reyna Grande uses in “A Distance Between Us” to describe a
cultural narrative of loss and survival. Minority stories matter, as they can
show the United States of its past crimes against them. It can also serve as a
voice to the voiceless.
